I adored Nathan and Verity's story! I'm so glad that Camp paired these two together! It was so much fun watching them find their HEA!!

This is a book in series by Candance Camp. I have not read the other titles, which unforunately made it really hard to get into this book. Usually, historical romance/mystery books in a series you can get away with reading them as one-offs or even out of order, but I would say that is not the case with this one.

A regency, a romance, a mystery. This is a really good one. A great length for an evening of enjoyment.

Nathan and Verity's love story is absolutely adorable! These two characters have a wonderful chemistry that’s sure to bring some smiles and laughter. I just loved Verity, especially her knack for being an investigator—she’s such a strong, independent woman, especially in a time when that wasn’t the norm. This tale is packed with romance, intrigue, and just the right touch of humor. It’s a fantastic stand-alone read, and I’m already excited for more adventures with Verity!


Thanks to Netgalley and publisher

The good guy doesn't always have to finish last and in this book Nathan gets his chance at love after his long time object of his affection marries another. Verity Cole, former spy and now investigator has a way of intriguing and irritating Nathan but he needs her to prove that the man that just showed up at his house to claim he is the actual legitimate heir is a fraud. But their investigation is not just hindered by the man's disappearance, the possible proof in faraway Scotland and a threat from Verity's past, but Verity is sure that she could never be a suitable mate for someone with a title. In spite of problems, sparks fly and true love may just be in the wings.

This is the third in a series which I have not read the previous ones. It is easy to understand without the others but it is also obvious that there are layers of emotional nuances that are missing by not reading them. I enjoyed Nathan and Verity's interactions but some of the mystery felt a little forced. Also, there were elements that did not ring true for the Regency period, but that may just be nit picking.

Overall, enjoyable. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Verity Cole is a woman who is use to hiding who she really is. A retired spy, she now runs an investigation agency retrieving lost or stolen property, or all manner of other cases. Nathan Bunbridge is a man from her past, and her latest case has her working with him to find the truth about his heritage. The search places them in close proximity, and in danger, as they uncover the true stakes of the game. Verity make lose her heart before the case is closed.

****spoilers ****

I really enjoyed this book. I hadn't read the first two in the series, and I felt this book was pretty stand alone. Verity is a breath of fresh air as a quirky, plucky, fiesty detective. The fact that she hides weapons in her padding for a pregnancy disguise was just so.... Verity, lol. Nathan was a nice guy, but Verity is the star of this book.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Another great story from Candace Camp. The beginning was slow but as the plot thickened I couldn’t read fast enough to get to the end of the book to find out the answer to the mystery Verity and Nathan were trying to solve. A scandal at Stonecliff was different from the other HR stories which mainly features ton balls and aristocratic events. It was about a woman detective being hired by a friend to prove his legitimacy and therefore right to keep the property he inherited from his father. Verity was an independent woman in a time when it wasn’t acceptable for women to be so. Nathan was respected and accepted by the aristocracy even though he was a landholder with no money. Though each of them knew they couldn’t end up together because of their backgrounds, fate had other plans for them. A wonderful addition to the Stonecliff series. Hoping Poppy gets a story next.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review

Fun story. Nathan and Verity were secondary characters in the previous book, A Rogue at Stonecliffe . Nathan had the unenviable role of Annabeth's fiancé and lost out to that book's hero, Sloane. He spent several months traveling in Europe to get over his heartbreak. Nathan is a nice guy who gave up the woman he loved so she could marry the one she truly loved. Once he returns to London, he slowly gets accustomed to seeing Annabeth and Sloane. Life returns to normal until a man who claims to be his brother and the rightful heir confronts him. Nathan doesn't believe him but needs to be sure. He knows exactly who he needs to help him investigate.

Verity was previously Sloane's partner as they spied for the Crown during the war. After retiring, she set up a discreet private investigation firm that has become quite successful. She is content with her independence and living life on her own terms, even if she's a bit lonely at times. The secrets in Verity's past make her believe she has no chance of marriage.

Nathan and Verity knew each other in the previous book. They frequently butt heads, but under the antagonism are sparks of attraction. When Nathan encounters Verity at a Society function while she is working on a case, he unexpectedly finds himself helping her. I loved his internal conflict. He feels that what she is doing is dangerous and foolhardy, but he must also protect her. Matters between them become complicated when he asks for her help investigating the stranger's claim. Nathan won't sit back and let Verity investigate on her own, but he insists on being involved. I enjoyed watching them work together and how they balance her tendency to take chances with his resistance to taking risks. Their teamwork was very effective, and I loved seeing Nathan get into the spirit of the chase.

There is no shortage of action and dangerous situations to keep me invested in the mystery. Some things didn't make sense, leading to questions about who was really behind the claim. The twists and turns of this investigation kept me guessing to the end. I was glued to the pages during the final confrontation as the intensity of the danger peaked. There was also a secondary mystery as Verity's past returned to haunt her. The resolution of that was not what I expected and brought unexpected happiness to Verity.

I liked watching the development of the relationship between Nathan and Verity as they went from antagonists to partners to friends to more. I liked seeing how Nathan's growing feelings for Verity took him by surprise, opening his eyes to the differences between his former feelings for Annabeth and his feelings for Verity. I liked his persistence in pursuing her once he realized the depth of his feelings. I ached for Verity because of her belief that there was no chance they could be together. I loved the emotional scene as he overcame her insecurities, opening up the opportunity for the future they wanted. The epilogue was terrific.

Thank you to NetGalley, Canary Street Press, and Candace Camp for this advance reader copy of the book. Below is my honest review.

A rare 5 star story. Although I'm a fan of the author not all books are 5 star worthy so I don't give them out often. There's a list of characters and their relationships in the prolog that was very helpful, I hadn't read the first two books in the series, so the author didn't have to backtrack very much. There wasn't a dull moment from the first page to the last. It's a friend to lovers' trope but they weren't really friends when the book starts. Their relationship goes through all the expected stages; acquaintances, partners, uneasy friendship, trusting friendship, lovers, and finally a lovely HEA. A truly enjoyable read.

Nathan Dunbridge is a Gentleman with a capitol G. He's easy to get along with, does his best to keep the peace, doesn't lose his temper, wonderful dancer, handsome, well dressed. The kicker is he stepped aside and let his fiancée ditch him and marry her true love, that's a true honorable Gentleman. He's been licking his wounds for about a year and now that he's in London again he gets back into the rhythm of town life. At a ball he runs into Verity Cole pretending to be a wealthy widow, she is a former spy and has become a private investigator. Verity is a complicated character, so many secrets, disguises and prickly personality that figuring out who she really is kept me reading. When she takes off to look around the house for a piece of jewelry Nathan tags along. It's the beginning of Verity taking a wrecking ball to his well-ordered life. There's a fake courtship, secrets, an identity discovery, murder plots, twist with two family dynamics, romance, and a little bit of sex. It put me in mind of an old 1940's movie, they made good mysteries back then. The characters are turned around in this story with Verity the hardened PI and Nathan as the romantic sidekick. A scandal at Stonecliffe is book 3 of 3 so the series is finished; wonder what's next.

#NetGalley #AScandalatSronecliffe #AStonecliffeNovel #CandaceCamp #CanaryStreetPress #historicalromance #historicalmystery #romance #mystery

A delightful case filled with twists and turns. Nathan and Verity offer some humorous escapades with rumblings of passion underneath. The reader doesn't know who will get burned until the very end. Couldn't put it down!

After time abroad nursing his broken heart, Nathan Dunbridge is finally ready to return to society and at his first foray into the season he is surprised to see a familiar face – Verity Cole. After following her and getting involved with her latest case, he finds himself conflicted and decides to leave town for a bit to regain his bearings. But a disturbing revelation has him seeking out Verity once more. She affects him like no woman he has ever met, she aggravates him, intrigues him and makes him feel things that he has never felt for any woman, including his beloved Annabeth. But Verity has secrets and Nathan has nothing to offer unless they can find a way to clear his father’s name. Will Nathan clear his family name and finally win the girl or is his fate doomed to be a loveless solitary existence?

Spy turned detective, Miss Verity Cole leads an exciting, fulfilling life, even if it is a bit lonely. Her successful investigation business has enabled her to live independently and on her own terms, and as she has no plans to marry, life is good, and she is content or at least she was before Nathan Dunbridge reappeared! That man is too perfect and probably still in love with Annabeth Rutherford. She has no idea why he intrigues her so, he is handsome, but they have nothing in common and could never love her. But as they work together, she begins to fall for a man that can never be hers, because she has no future, thanks to her past. But she can’t seem to walk away and can’t seem to stop wanting what she can’t have.

This was a well-written, interesting story with likable characters who at first glance appear to be polar opposites. After reading the previous book, I wouldn’t have thought Nathan and Verity would be “couple material” yet they are perfect for each other, each bringing something to the relationship that the other needs and balancing each other. And while I felt that it was more mystery than romance, it was spicy enough to keep me reading and their connection developed into a believable soulmate type love. This book has a lot going on and has multiple twists and turns before the real villain is unmasked and served justice. Add in cameos from previous characters, a wonderful cast of secondary characters, a decent mystery as well as some steamyish love scenes, a few life and death moments, and finally a HEA with an epilogue that is more than just a romantic ending. This is the third book in the series, while it could be read as a standalone title, I would recommend reading the books in order for the best reader experience.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Not one of Candace Camp's better offerings. The characters, Nathan and Verity, are a good 'opposites attract' couple- she's a former spy and enjoys taking risks, he's pretty risk-adverse and contained. But they bring out something in each other and Verity can always manage to bring out Nathan's inner risk-taker (despite his best judgement). I liked that he shows her, just by being him, that sometimes people are exactly who they say they are and can be there for you and on your side, something she's never had before.

The problem/mystery part of the story fell seriously flat for me and that feeling carried over to the whole plot. When someone shows up claiming to be Nathan's older half-brother, he goes to Verity to figure out the truth. Verity is a detective but the two pretty much flail around like they've never done any investigating before. Weird things keep popping up that make no sense for the mystery or the plot or the history (no one elopes from Scotland to England. There were actual reasons it went the other way around). Unlike most of Candace Camp's books, this book had little historical description to let you know what time period this book was actually supposed to be other than a reference to Verity having spied during the Napoleonic War. It was pretty generic. Things were annoyingly convoluted for no reason, then sped up to be obvious for everyone and magically resolved themselves.

Despite liking the independent Verity, I had a hard time connecting with the characters here or getting invested in the book. I like Candace Camp's earlier books, but can't say this was her best effort and wouldn't really recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I loved loved Verity. She was outrageous and real. I liked her relationship with Nathan. I wish I had read the previous books where they met, but I was able to follow along with a little back story. I could not put this book down and stayed up late to finish it. I hope there is another book with Verity and Nathan to come.

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️

I’m a fan of Candace Camp’s writing style. This is the 3rd book in the series. I have read the first book but this one can be read as standalone.

The protagonists know each other in the beginning. There is a cute scene when they run into each other at a ball and the heroine is in a disguise and the hero plays along.

There is slow burn, adventure, spy/detective heroine, and mystery!

Thank you to the publisher for providing the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This was such a fun read! It was drawn out a bit longer than I was expecting but the plot was well thought out and wrapped up perfectly. I really enjoyed the characters and their lighthearted teasing and flirtations. Their romance was sweet, well paced and fit naturally into their adventures and the overall story.

I also appreciated the different layers and histories of both of our MCs. It was great to see them work together as a pair but also uncover deeper family secrets that brought about their own insecurities in which they face and find comfort in each other. 🥹 but all within the excitement of an adventure as they take on a mystery!

This is the third book in the Stonecliffe standalone series. I read this as a standalone and didn’t have any difficulty jumping in to the world and meeting all the characters. What a great time!

Thank you, Netgalley, for the advanced copy & a chance to review!💛

When his family legacy is challenged, scandal-ridden Nathan seeks help from Verity, a former spy turned London detective. As they delve into a web of secrets and deceptions, their undeniable attraction grows, but their pasts threaten to tear them apart.

This mystery romance is full of twists. I love how strong and determined Nathan and Verity are, and how devoted to each other despite the differences between them. I’m really enjoying this series.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This was entertaining, if a bit unbelievable. But I was willing to suspend disbelief that there would be a woman-run detective agency in Regency England and the owner of that agency could show up at society events and everyone would just accept her appearance there. The hero asks her help to unravel the mystery when a man shows up claiming to be his legitimate older brother making the hero’s mother an unknowing bigamist. Our protagonists travel (rather quickly) up to Scotland to search out clues. It was a fun read and the growing romance between the unlikely couple was enjoyable.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This is the third book in this series - I haven’t read the previous two and although it didn’t impact the overall story I think it would have been better to read them in order to.

Verity and Nathan are both sweet and their love story was quite enjoyable. There were a few mysteries to solve in the book which got a little confusing at times but overall I really enjoyed this one

Camp has a knack for writing likable, believable (within the constraints of the genre) characters and this pair- Verity and Nathan are no exception. She's a private detective with secrets of her own and he hires her to look into someone who is trying to claim his title. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. There's stolen jewels, a bit of scandal (of course), a touch of steam, and all in all, it's a trope-y good time.