I found The Marquess Makes His Move to be a typically predictable historical romance, almost so to the point it could have been created by a plot generator online.(at least that's how the story came across. Flat and minimalistic.)

The hero: Alex Marquees of Brandon wants revenge on a cartographer because the cartographer was paid off by a neighbor to cheat him of land by moving the property lines on a commissioned map.
To get this revenge bribes an employment agency to recommend him as a footman for the cartographer.
Alex has emotional issues that come from how the Ton has prejudiced his family because his mother was Arab. So much so that he's considered a recluse that hardly leaves his country estate.
All of Alex's background exposition is blandly and repetitively given. Again a really missed opportunity for deeper more connective character development.

The Heroine: Rose Kanaan, cartographer. Here is alot of missed character development. She's a young talented cartographer who "married" in order to keep her beloved shop, and in order to please her "husband" denies her true self to make him happy. The same "husband" who fake married her, is using her to make money to support his real wife and kids and who is greedy and corrupt.
The potential for this character is there, but the author doesn't deliver it. Rose comes off as a flat two dimensional character. Especially given who the audience of this book is and today's women positive political climate.! (Wasted potential!)

It was so fast paced that details were shabbily scattered about. It was just really bland, nothing popped out about the characters, nothing set it apart from the thousands and thousands of other books with similar storyline.

4 stars

The story: Rose Fleming is the finest cartographer in London but as a woman, she has to let her husband take the credit for her work. When the Marquess of Brandon commissions a map of his country seat he discovers that he has been cheated out of an important part of his property. In order to get the proof he needs, he devises a plan to obtain a position as a footman in the Fleming household and he gets assigned to see to the needs of Rose, the beautiful and talented wife. As secrets are revealed, Alex and Rose grow closer.

This story had so many smart twists and turns to it. The premise of a Marquess masquerading as a footman is a bit laughable but Alex is able to find ways to fit in but his lack of experience is obvious. Luckily, Rose finds it refreshing and she starts to rely on him for support.

Her husband Roger is one of the worst villains I've ever read. He is not physically abusive but the mental abuse, gaslighting and manipulating puts him into a sinister class of his own. This is a unique story since she starts out married to another man - we don't often see that in romance.

Trust is a big issue in the development of their love story. Throughout all the deception, Alex and Rose eventually have to choose to believe in each other.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a worthy follow up to the first book on the series, Her Night with the Duke. The second book left a bit to be desired and so I was nervous that this one would too, but Rose makes a convincing heroine there was a convincing story with her LI and it was interesting to see how an impossible situation resolved itself.

I know I am in the minority when I say I love reading about betrayal in romance. There’s something about being able to feel that character’s pain that gets me every time and I am always on the look out for books such as this. The pain hurt! This is a new to me author and now I am scrambling to read her back list!!

I don't know what else to say beyond I *loved* this book! The whole series has been great, but The Marquess Makes His Move might just take the cake! I got approved for the ARC and immediately downloaded it. I read a large chunk before class, and spent the whole period basically vibrating from wanting to get back to it. As soon as I got home I sat down and read until I finished it.

I don't want to spoil the plot since the book doesn't come out for several more months, but I do want to talk about the plot structure briefly. In general, romance novels tend to have a 'dark moment' 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through. This moment can be well done featuring true issues, or contrived and drawn out for no particular reason. Characters may sometimes act in ways out of line with how they're written, and in general dark moments annoy me. I often feel that they happen too late and don't have enough resolution after very serious events. A book I otherwise love will be ruined by a crappy dark moment and rushed ending. All this is to say, The Marquess Makes His Move does *not* do that. The characters keep some major things from each other for a decent chunk of the book. But once reveals occur, there was still plenty of time left for the characters to actually come to terms with that. And there's no immediate forgiveness either. A certain has to do the necessary work to redeem themself. I was left with such a lovely feeling after finishing the book that I want to feed into my veins.

Outside the interpersonal drama between our hero and heroine, there's a lot of supporting action and characters. I loved getting cameos from the previous books and seeing these characters interact for the first time. This outside action also gave something for our main characters to unite over even when they feel divided.

I can't wait for The Marquess Makes His Move to come out so that I can squeal about it with a bunch of other readers!

This book was a delight and I thoroughly enjoyed it! This is the second book I’ve read by Diana Quincy and it definitely won’t be my last!

Alexander Worthington, Marquess of Brandon, has recently had a map done of his property. However, the cartographer moved a critical chunk of land containing a water source that Alex’s tenants need, and that has been part of his property for ages. He suspects foul play, so he decides to pose as a footman in the cartographer’s household in order to discover proof of this treachery.

Rose Fleming is a master cartographer who inherited her uncle’s cartography business, but it is now under the control of her husband, Roger, who manages all aspects of the business and also takes credit for all of her maps because “society isn’t ready for a female cartographer.” This is just one of the unpleasant aspects about her unhappy marriage, and it is beginning to grate on her. They hire a new footman, who is tasked with seeing to her needs, and, after years of solitude, she finally feels she’s found a friend in him.

I absolutely loved Alex’s attempts at being a footman. I always love when a rich person pretends to be working class and discovers how hard it is. Hijinks always ensue and it cracks me up every time! “Wait, this is all we get to eat?!” Classic!

I also really enjoyed the chemistry between Rose and Alex. Some readers may be skeptical about a heroine who is married at the beginning. It is not a happy marriage, and I honestly liked how it played out. I did predict it, because there were only so many ways it could go, but it was one of those instances where it was satisfying to be proven right.

Alex is also half-Arab, and I really liked how he was so connected with his Arab relatives, even in a society that looks down upon immigrants and tradespeople.

There was a lot going on in this book, and some of the storylines are a bit underdeveloped in my opinion, and, towards the end, there are some things that felt a bit over the top to me, but these are extremely minor complaints.

Overall, this was an incredibly enjoyable book and I highly recommend it! Especially if you love any of the following tropes: secret identity, rich person pretending to be working class, marriage of convenience, revenge.

Enjoyable and fast paced romance book. Read in one sitting. I will say that book 2 remains my favourite but nevertheless I will recommend this series for anyone who likes historical romances with strong female characters. I did however struggle to connect with the romance.

I know a lot of readers will dismiss this book right off the bat because Rose is married to someone else at the outset -- that's not made clear in the plot summary and I think it's a disservice to readers not to let them know. BUT, I'd encourage people who are firmly in the "no cheating" camp to give it a try, because the way that Rose's marriage unravels is really unique. It reminded me of a recent Fated Mates episode (3.51) and although I'm not quite sure it's the plot Adriana Herrera was dreaming of, it's something I haven't seen done in historical romance before.

Still, this book was a little stressful. Obviously you know there'll be an HEA, but Roger's betrayal is viscerally painful and is compounded by the fact that Alex is also being a little deceitful (how does a marquess have the time to be a footman and also do all his marquess things?). There's a LOT of Romance Reasons going on in this book.

Where this book really works for me is in its exploration of what it means to be mixed race/biracial and how people have varying levels of connection to their different ancestries. It's really sweet to see people reconnecting with their roots and their realization that they didn't even know how much they missed it.

Anyways, I think this'll be a tough one for some romance readers. But I think it's another strong installment in this series, and I encourage people to try and work through it.

Rose Fleming comes from a family of mapmakers. After her parents died, she was in the care of her uncle, who married her to his apprentice. Rose is a skilled mapmaker, but she doesn’t believe anyone would buy maps from a woman so she allows her husband to be the face of the business. I had a very difficult time rooting for the heroine when she is married to another man.

One of their maps catches the eye of Alex, the Marquess of Brandon. This map has an incorrectly drawn a property line that would shrink Brandon’s property. Brandon believes Rose’s husband is behind this mistake, so he becomes a footman in the Flemings’ house to gather information to restore the property line.

This book is part of a series but did fine as a standalone. It is an interesting plot that does move the story along. I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but to me the first two books in the series are definitely more stand out.

I really wanted to like this book. I absolutely LOVED the first two books in this series and was looking forward to finally learning more about Brandon. And while he as a character was fine I wasn't overly enamored of the story itself. While all historical romance is understandably predictable, this one was ridiculously so. Brandon/Alex is a likable enough character and Rose is a strong female, which I appreciate, but they were just so boring. Overall a disappointing installment of the series.

3.5 stars

The Marquess Makes His Move by Diana Quincy is a story of love, vengeance, and self discovery. Rose Fleming comes from a family of mapmakers. After her parents died, she was in the care of her uncle, who married her to his apprentice. Rose is a skilled mapmaker, but she doesn’t believe anyone would buy maps from a woman. She allows her husband to be the face of the business. One of their maps catches the eye of Alex, the Marquess of Brandon. It turns out the map has an incorrectly drawn property line that would shrink Brandon’s property. Brandon believes Rose’s husband is behind this mistake, so he becomes a footman in the Flemings’ house to gather information to restore the property line.

The story was very original and I enjoyed going on this journey with the author. This is the third book in Quincy’s Clandestine Affairs series, but works well as a standalone. Alex is half-Arab on his mother’s side. The first two books in this series are about his cousin and sister. I really enjoyed reading about their family dynamic and traditions. It was also interesting seeing how being a multiracial peer affected his experience in the ton and marriage mart.

I think it is important to note that this book covers some dark issues especially regarding Rose’s marriage. At first, I was worried that I wouldn’t like the book as Rose was already married. However, the story progression worked well and it did feel natural that Alex and Rose could end up together. The book also had some light and funny moments regarding the idea that a marquess could pose as a footman. There were some cute and funny moments for Alex as he learned to become a footman and how he balanced his life as a marquess during his Sunday off.

I was invited to read an ARC of The Marquess Makes His Move, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #TheMarquessMakesHisMove

Where this book really shone was its characters. Especially Alex, who took his job posing as a footman seriously enough to pay an urchin to teach him how to do his duties, as well as provide baskets of food for the other servants when he realized they were going hungry. His haughty demeanor (appropriate for a marquess, not so for a footman) sometimes made the masquerade quite amusing. But there was also an earnestness to him that I appreciated.

Rose, too, was an excellent character. Her life was less than pleasant, but her determination, resilience, and pride in her work made me root for her to find her happy ending.

I also really liked Alex's Arabian extended family and the way he related to them.

The plot was at times predictable, and at others surprised me. The writing was average and, while not up to my usual standards, there were enough good things to make up for it.

All in all, an enjoyable afternoon's read.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an e-arc for review.

I loved this book!! Rose and Alex were the best. The author added some new elements to the story that I don't recall reading in previous romances and I liked it. Rose was a dynamic and well written character. Her relationship with Alex was the best part of the story and that is how a romance should be. I thought the external conflict was tied ups little too quickly and neatly but overall this was an outstanding story.