Overall this was a lovely sweet romance, which for me is very different to what I usually read. Please don't think I didn't enjoy the book because I did. Ms Baxter referred to slavery in the book and for me this is quite unusual, but made a refreshing change. But the heart of story is romance.

As you can see I'm not giving much away, and that's because I don't want to influence you and just let you make your own mind up.

I would definitely read more of Ms Baxter's books and I give this book 4/5 stars.

The book is available to buy from Amazon UK and all other retailers.

I received this complementary book in return for a honest review.

Isabel is the marchioness of the title, a young, beautiful, wealthy widow who survived an elderly husband and is now free to make her own decisions in life. Marriage is the last thing she wants, as by law her freedom would then be given over to her husband. However, everyone else in the book seems to think she can’t do without a husband, including her own mother, and they all seem quite determined to see her settled with Marcus Bateman, her uncle’s business partner and a very wealthy man indeed.

I always have a bit of an issue with a book where ‘everyone’ but the heroine can see that the couple are just perfect for each other. It smacks of gaslighting, and indeed everyone seems to be determined to convince Isabel that what she THINKS she wants isn’t really what she wants at all.

While this book contains lots of interesting historical facts about slavery and the pushback against it within certain segments of the educated upper class, it comes across as heavy-handed at times in the righteousness of the heroine’s beliefs. Isabel was ‘sold’ to a wealthy elderly husband instead of being allowed to marry the man she loves, and to her credit, she refuses to allow anyone to compare her plight to that of slaves. While Bateman appears to be playing both sides, working with Isabel’s abolitionist uncle and befriending a notorious plantation owner and former slave trader, Isabel is quite right to distrust him… but everyone still tries to push them together anyway.

I was really rather surprised that Marcus was her only eligible suitor - the villain of the piece doesn’t really count. Considering Isabel’s youth, beauty, wealth and social position, she should have been positively swarmed by suitors, titled and otherwise, to choose from.

My favourite parts of the book were when Isabel and Marcus were working together in an effort to keep everyone fed, and I was disappointed that section didn’t last long, because I felt it was the one time they truly ‘clicked’ as a couple. The cookery sections were intriguing and well-researched, and I’d have enjoyed seeing more of them.

At the end of the day, I enjoyed this book but didn’t love it. Four stars.

A Marchioness Below Stairs by Alissa Baxter is the story of Isabel Axbridge and Marcus Bateman.
Isabel had to break off her engagement to Lord Julian Fenmore some years ago to marry a older old Marquess due to family needing his help. Now some 10 years later she is a widow who enjoys her independence. But when she goes with her mother to help out a cousin with a party she finds Marcus there. On their meetings she has found him not to her liking but when the cousin's cooking staff get sick Marcus steps up to help her. Which starts Isabel to get to know him better as they try to hide that they are the ones helping to cook the meals at this party.
Enjoyed their story.

Lady Isabelle Axbridge is a young widow who has decided never to marry again. She was forced into a loveless marriage by her father and had to give up her true love, Lord Fenmore. Isabelle and her mother are visiting her Cousin George as members of a large house party. One of the guests is Marcus Bateman, a rugged, handsome man who is a friend of the host. Isabelle and Marcus are compelled to work together " below the stairs" when a member of the staff falls ill. Isabelle finds the situation almost impossible when she finds out the Lord Fenmore is arriving with his fiancé. A satisfying story that is a good addition to the Historical Romance genre.

A Marchioness Below Stairs by Alissa Baxter is available from Regency Reads. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

Bath England - 1813

Isabel Axbridge, age 29, is the Marchioness of Axbridge. She had once been engaged to Lord Julian Fenmore, but she broke off the engagement to marry an old Marquess. While he was kind to her, she was never a wife to him. Her father’s finances were in bad shape and he needed her to marry the wealthy man. Now after 10 years, she is a widow and living with her mother Mrs. Beresford. Today, she sees Julian and is able to apologize for breaking the betrothal. He is now engaged to Miss Hamilton. The old gossips of Bath are wondering if Julian’s engagement has upset Isabel. A lady accompanied by her grandson, Mr. Marcus Bateman, stopped by to warn her of this gossip. As she speaks to Marcus, she finds she does not care for the man and feels he has a past.

Isabel’s mother has been asked to hostess a house party for her Cousin George at Chernock Hall as his sister has taken ill and will be unable to do so. Unfortunately, Isabel learns that Marcus Bateman will also be at the house party.

At the party, Marcus’s comments continue irritate Isabel. An emergency arises when the chef becomes ill with influenza. Isabel insists on taking over as she has had some cooking experience. However, no one must discover this as a Marchioness cooking would be unseemly. Soon, she is joined by Marcus who had worked as a chef when he lived in America. The meals are tasty, the guests are happy, and they don’t know who has been doing the cooking.

Before long, Isabel’s mother marries her cousin George and Isabel lives with them. This means that she sees a lot of Marcus. Although she has sworn to never marry again because she relishes her freedom, her attraction to Marcus increases. Will she fall in love and truly become a real wife?

This book has lots of quotes by Mary Wollstonecraft about women’s rights plus much discussion about the slave trade. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without descriptions of that dreadful English weather, plus a rogue or two. I didn’t have much patience with Isabel but as she has led a isolated life from a young age, it can be understandable.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Entertaining and enjoyable romance.Dark sultry hero,strong minded liberal heroine. Happy ending, what more can you want.
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Isabel, the young widowed Marchioness of Axbridge, accepts an invitation to her cousin George’s house party. Where she stumbles into a domestic crisis of majestic proportions: The kitchen servants have succumbed to the influenza.
If that weren’t bad enough, her former fiancé the Earl of Fenmore arrives with his fiancée, seeking shelter from the increasingly hazardous snow storm. Trapped inside Chernock Hall with a volatile mix of house guests, including abolitionists and slave owners, Isabel wishes she could hide below stairs for the duration. But, alas, she cannot. While helping in the kitchen, Isabel is cornered by her cousin’s friend, Marcus Bateman, who challenges and provokes her at every turn.
An enjoyable read with well portrayed characters. The plot was well paced & kept my interest throughout. Marcus was a little bit of an enigma & he obviously had changed from the youth who was banished. Isabel is likeable but although she had decided views I found her to be immature & acted like a girl under twenty rather than a widow who had been married for a number of years. I was a little sceptical about some of the events until I read the author’s notes at the end

When Isabel the newly widowed Marchioness of Axbridge meets her former fiancé in the park she immediately needs to clear her conscience about why she was forced to break their engagement so many years ago. We are immediately plunged into this scene upon opening the pages of A Marchioness Below Stairs from Alissa Baxter.

After being able to salve her conscience, Isabel and her mother must make haste to Cousin George’s country home. George needs her mother to play hostess while his sister Maria recuperates from influenza. Upon arrival, Isabel discovers most of the kitchen staff is also afflicted. Even the French Chef! Given the impending arrival of a house party, this is a disaster.

Stepping into the breach could ruin Isabel socially, but she knows there is nothing else that she could do. In order to help her cousin George, she must take charge of the kitchen. With the uncalled for help of cousin George’s good friend, the ever provoking Marcus Bateman. Unfortunately, matters are further complicated when Isabel’s former fiancé, his current fiancé and her parents arrive, unable to travel further due to weather.

Now not only must Isabel try to hide her kitchen duties from the rest of the house party but she must also hide her heart from her from her former fiancé and the new woman he loves, as well as avoid the attentions of Marcus Bateman.

A Wonderful Story From Page One

In the best Regency romance style, Alissa Baxter has created a wonderful story. You are thrust into the life of the title character literally from Page One. This is a sequel to Lord Fenmore’s Wager.

This review is based on a complimentary copy of the book sent to me by the publishers in return for an honest review.