Tropes: secret identity; different classes

Pros:
-diverse characters
-talented heroine who is allowed to have moments of weakness
-well-written

Cons:
-heroine starts novel as a married woman
-implication that pregnancy can solve marital problems

I am obsessed with how Diana Quincy weaves subtle mysteries into her romance novels making for the most pageturning experience in historical romance today. The map-making details in this novel just put it over the top for stunning romance!

The third installment in Quincy's Clandestine Affairs series is another captivating historical romance, featuring the brother of the heroine in the first/cousin of the heroine in the second. This heroine is a mapmaker with a controlling husband that readers will be eager to see out of her life. The relationship between the hero and heroine develops realistically and will keep readers engaged to the end.

This was sadly a miss for me. There was nothing wrong with this book I just feel very neutral about it and I think a lot of that has to do that I didn't read the first two books in the series and felt like I was missing context. A lot of people love this book however so it was just a miss for me.

Thank you for letting me read this book. I look forward to reading more from this author. The first the story was a little bit hard to get into. I cannot understand why a duke would go to the extremes that he did, by working as an actual servant, just to find out who was cheating him. But then things shifty Ashley that rose in Brandon very good together. I was thrown for a loop about Mr. Fleming and his secret. I did not care for the racism that Brandon and his family experienced but I know that it happens. Even among their own. Fantastic story and I cannot wait for the next story.

THE REVIEW
Alexander Worthington, Marquess of Brandon is posing as a footman in the home of London’s preeminent mapmaker to seek revenge for using a fraudulent map to cheat Brandon out of his land. His father is known as the ‘Mad Marquess’ and being half-Arab people thought they were simpletons and that they wouldn’t understand.

Rose Fleming inherited a mapmaking business from her uncle and she continues it with her husband, although she does most do the work. Her husband, Roger, spends all the money and takes all the credit.

When Alex discovers the deception, he decides to go undercover as a footman at their home to find the proof he needs to fix it. What he doesn’t expect us to find Rose and fall in love with her. There are MANY twists and turns to this story, but to address them here would spoil the story immensely!

I really really enjoyed this book and have added the rest of her books, especially, this series to the top of my TBR list! The plot had enough angst to keep me ready, a bit of banter to lighten the mood, characters with depth and a passionate romance!

TROPES
Historical Romance, Shy/Recluse Hero, Mapmaker Heroine, self pleasure, bath steam, merchant class/Blue collar, Bath Steam, Betrayal Trope, Ton Society, Beta/Cinnamon Roll Hero, Titled Hero, Artist Heroine, Bluestocking Heroine, Damaged/Tortured Heroine, Experienced Heroine, Orphaned Heroine, Working Heroine, Class Difference, Workplace Romance, Betrayal Trope, Hidden Identity, Revenge Trope, Secret Baby, Five Star, Two Steam

I really wanted to like this book but it never fully grabbed my attention. It seemed like it would have been interesting with the main character' secret profession but the interactions and dialouge fell short.

Outraged at a scheme to steal some land from his estate, Alex Worthington, Marquess of Brandon, decides to go undercover himself to find the evidence he needs, and he secures a position as a footman in the home of Roger Fleming, London’s most preeminent mapmaker, who is responsible for the fraudulent map. Roger assigns him to look after his wife, Rose, who, it turns out, is the actual mapmaker in the family. The mutual attraction between Alex and Rose heats up rapidly, though with so many deceptions and misunderstandings, it takes longer to build trust.

Though lively, the plot is complicated and unlikely, and the apparently insurmountable obstacles to a happy ending prove unexpectedly easy to overcome. Fortunately, this, the third in the Clandestine Affairs Regency series, offers an entertaining cast of characters to compensate: the protagonists are sympathetic and have justice on their side; the villains are selfish and deserve their fate; the servants are likeable, especially young Owen, a street vagabond; and Alex’s Arab relatives are warm-hearted and lively. Class snobbery, patriarchal privilege, and racial prejudice are satisfyingly frustrated, and readers who enjoy steamy bedroom scenes will not be disappointed. Recommended.

HNR, Issue 101 (August 2022)
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-marquess-makes-his-move-clandestine-affairs-3/

This is such a wonderful author! I love how diverse her characters are! It just makes the books that much more enjoyable! This book really had so much going on with action, secrets, steaminess, and plot twists! Alexander, Marquess of Brandon, is our hero who is part English and part Arab. He’s been cheated out of land on his country estate due to a new map that’s been drawn. Brandon has decided to go undercover as a footman & find out the mapmakers mistake and why he was cheated! Rose Flemming is our map making heroine who’s married to a man that takes credit of her maps! She’s a strong woman & works hard. These two go through a lot. They have great chemistry and attraction, that shouldn’t be there but is! I loved how everything unfolded so they could get an HEA! Highly recommend if you loves this author(of course), forbidden love, class difference, and all the romance!

Poor Rose is put through Hell in this book. I liked the book, but part of me was wondering what Rose did to make Quincy dislike her so much. However, I did love the chemistry and will continue to read book from this author.

I have liked the Clandestine Affairs Series, and this book was no exception. A Heroine mapmaker and a Hero spy - trying to be a footman - trying to figure out how the mapmaker screws him over in a land survey. Both realize each other is not what they seem and don't care. It was a fun plot and interesting moments.

Received an ARC from NetGalley and Avon Books.

Quincy once again offers and diverse and interesting historical romance novel. This one follows a female mapmaker (who pretends her husband does the work) and a half-Arab marquess who pretends to be a footman to get access to her home.

I really enjoyed the characters in this novel, but I had trouble enjoying a romance where one of the characters is married at the beginning of the story. This is resolved throughout the plot, but it just made it less fun for me overall. Moreover, the hero lies to the heroine so much that I also had trouble trusting him.

This is the third book in the series, and it was fun to see characters from the previous books make an appearance. We see a lot of Lady Delilah and get to visit Hanna's infirmary. But you do not need to have read the other books to enjoy this one. It just makes it more fun.

Overall, the book is worth reading for what makes it different, but I just didn't like it as much as I hoped to.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun and light read, but in the end pretty average to me. This is the 3rd book in the series but can be read as a standalone. This story follows Rose (a merchant’s wife secretly drawing maps under her husband’s name) and Brandon (a half-Arab Marquess who infiltrates Rose’s home disguised as a footman in order to seek vengeance against the mapmaker). I was obsessed with the first 50% of this. I loved the initial chemistry between Brandon and Rose, there was so much witty banter and angst. I enjoyed the friendships Brandon formed with the servants while he was infiltrating the house, and how the experience influenced the way he treated staff in his own house. I was also living for all of the cameos from previous characters in the series. However…nothing against the author’s execution of it, but I just really don’t like the hidden identity trope. Between Brandon’s hidden identity and the secrets Rose was keeping from him, there was way too much deceit and distrust for my liking. I also didn’t like how hypocritical Rose was once the truth came out. I was hoping the story would pick back up for me once secrets started to be revealed, but then the added 3rd act conflict was so incredibly frustrating took a lot away from the romance for me. Despite my criticism of the second half of the book, I still had a fun reading this and will definitely continue to pick up more from Diana Quincy in the future!

The Marquess Makes His Move is book 3 in @diana_quincy_author Clandestine Affairs series. Same sentiment as above.
Female map maker (but no one knows)
Marquess undercover as a footman (spoiler alert- he isn't great haha)
Hero with Arabic roots. Loved the cultural aspects Quincy included.
Great extended family
Scandalous Betrayal
Brandon is 🔥
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
Really loved both books and cannot wait to read the rest of the series!!!

HELLO NEW FAVORITE HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE YEAR. Seriously, this book was amazing. AMAZING. From the start, I was really into this story. Brandon knows that a mapmaker falsely created lines of his land on a map, cheating him out of his own land. To get down to the bottom of it, he disguises as a footman at the mapmaker's household. Brandon is put in charge of waiting on Rose, the mapmaker's wife. Little does he know, she's actually the talented mapmaker and her husband takes the credit because no one would take a women seriously in that profession at the time. The more time he spends as her footman, the more he starts to like her and fall for her. I really loved how Rose was trying to hold onto her life, but she uncovered secrets that made her really go against society and do what she wanted for a change. I loved how she slowly fell for Brandon and how really and authentic their love was. Of course, he was hiding a really big secret, which added to the tension and angst of the romance. I really loved the journey they went on and the plot of this book. I also loved how Brandon had to interact with the servants and learned what it was like to be of the working class, and how they really changed his view of them. He became much more conscious of how he treated his own servants and actually became friends with servants he was working with. And I really enjoyed Rose's own journey coming into her own and taking control of her own life. This was just so so good and you need to read it!!

**Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for providing an E-arc.

We follow Rose and Brandon in this sweet friends to lovers romance. Rose Fleming is the most talented map maker in all of London but no body knows, She is forced to sign all her works R.Fleming and allow her husband Rodger to take credit for her work. Brandon hired R. Fleming to draw up his land but when he receives the map he realizes he has been cheated out of large chunk that includes a water source. Angry and desperate for revenge he goes uncover as a footman to Rose. The longer he is works for Rose the closer he gets and the more he wishes that destroying her husband didn’t have to destroy Rose as well. But when Rose’s world comes crashing down around he wants nothing more than to be her knight in shining armor even if she doesn’t need one.
Brandon is a cinnamon roll, a strong don’t you dare insult my wife cinnamon roll. Rose is an independent, business woman determined build her business. They were adorable together. It could have been a tad spicer for my taste but it was still a great read.

This is the third book in the clandestine affair series. Here we have a half Arab Marquess who hides as a foot man because he believes that the map makers family cheated him out of his land. What’s interesting is that the love interest is a rose who happens to be married to the math maker but she is the secret and brains behind the map making. It is kind of crazy that it starts out with the heroine being married but keep reading and you find out and it kind of in a weird twisty way we all make sense. The household make interesting side characters in the book and it’s nice to have both a hero and heroine who have Arab heritage. It did feel like the plot overwhelmed at times the development of the characters but all in all I actually enjoyed the love story between Brandon and rose a fair amount. It was also interesting to have mapmaking in the background of the book. I really do feel like Diana Quincy puts a lot of effort into researching things for her books. If you would like a historical romance it has a different story than you’re used t

I loved the unique story of this one. Yes, there have been others when a MC disguises him or herself but the mystery behind the maps was a plus. Rose's mapmaking was interesting to read about. Their love story was not perfect all in all. Enjoyed how they really had to work at it. Story was steady paced.

WOW do I love Diana Quincy! These are such unique original historicals with amazing hero's and heroines. I hope there’s more in this series, still!

Rose's uncle made it a condition of inheriting his cartography shop that she marry his apprentice Roger. She happily did so....happily, at first. A few years into the marriage they live more as business partners. It's really Rose drawing the shop's popular maps while Roger takes credit. He says they'll be ruined if it's found out a woman is drawing the maps. Alex, the half-Arab Marquess of Brandon, is enraged to find out the mapmaker he hired has drawn the map of his property giving the water rights to his neighbor. He knows something nefarious is happening. He decides to pose as a footman in the mapmaker's home to search for proof of a scam. It's unusual for the heroine of a romance to already be married! Alex's parents were shunned by society for his father marrying the daughter of an Arab merchant. He plans to marry Lady Olympia, the Diamond of the Season, to show the ton the son of an Arab merchant can marry the finest woman in London. So, he lives partly as the worst footman ever, and partly in Society. Big secrets are revealed, Roger is an arse (that's no secret). How an already married woman can marry the Marquess I'll let you discover on your own. First, after Rose has been lied to by two men, Alex has to earn her forgiveness. We get to see Hanna, Alex's cousin and the bonesetter from the previous novel along with other characters from previous books.