Historical Romance with Mystery and a Dash of suspense

Is Saffron's brother still alive? Seeing his face in a painting gives her hope. As she works to uncover the truth, she falls in love and faces deadly danger.

How is Leo, the man who owns the painting connected to it all? For the answer, you will want to read this entertaining tale. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who like historical romance with mystery and a dash of suspense.

Companion to the Count by Melissa Kendall is the first book in the Seductive Sleuths series. I just happened to come across it and it grabbed my attention as I have been on a historical mystery/romance binge lately so I wanted to check it out.

Our main fmc in this story is Saffron Summersby. She and her sister lost everything when her brother died suspiciously and everything they had went to a distant relative. Having had to move in with their aunt, the only thing that has saved them up to now is the fact that Saffron has been able to sell just about everything in their home to keep a roof over their head. Unfortunately, their aunt is pushing her sister to marry an awful man and Saffron is determined to do whatever it takes to save her from having to make that choice. So when she sees her brother's face in the latest painting by the famous anonymous artist Ravenmore, she is convinced he might still be alive. Her plan is to learn the identity of the painter, find her brother, and save her sister, What she didn't plan for was that her investigation would lead her to a notorious rake.

Leopold 'Leo" Mayweather, (Viscount Briarwood) is our mmc. While he is known to all as a rake, ever since the death of his sister, he's actually given up his wild ways and is now devoted to his art. Specifically, the distribution of the paintings by the reclusive Ravenmore. So when he finds out that someone is stealing and replacing them with forgeries, he decides to host an auction for the last original he has in his collection to draw the thief out. When Saffron storms into his life, determined to unmask Ravenmore, Leo has to figure out what he's going to do with her. Agreeing to introduce her to Ravenmore in exchange for her help arranging the auction and investigating, Leo and Saffron find they work well together. Not only that, the sparks start to fly and as they get closer to finding out who the thief is, the danger becomes more real.

I thought this story was well done. I enjoyed the character development and the story. Both Leo and Saffron truly care for their siblings and will do whatever it takes to protect them and their legacy. I thought it was great how the friendship and eventual relationship was developed between these two characters as well. If you're looking for a new historical romance series to start, I would recommend picking this one up. It has an interesting story, solid characters, and a mystery that will have you turning the pages to see who is the culprit.

Super fun historical romance with a mystery twist. The premise is intriguing -- our FMC sees her thought-to-be-deceased brother in a recent painting and she seeks out the painter, hoping her brother is alive; meanwhile, our MMC is looking for the thief who is stealing his deceased sister's paintings. The two continually come into contact as a result.

The depictions of Victorian clothing, hairstyles, balls, homes etc. were well done. The mystery was fun, and the romance was spicy!

This is a delightful mix of mystery and historical romance set in the Victorian era. The story centers on Saffron, a woman who has lost her accounts and family title after her brother’s death and a rake and artist.

The romance between Saffron and Leo is definitely a highlight. Their banter and the cat-and-mouse dynamic are engaging and add a playful element to the story. The chemistry between them is palpable, and the spice in their relationship is well done, making for aa super fun and enjoyable read.

However, when everyone in Saffron's family ends up romantically involved with someone in Leo's family, it feels a bit contrived and unnecessary.

Another aspect that didn’t sit well with me was Leo’s repeated comparison of Saffron to his late sister. It was meant to show his deep connection to Saffron, but it ended up feeling awkward and a little off-putting. I understand the intent behind it, but it didn’t quite land as intended.

The lack of diversity common in this genre is also something I am frequently frustrated with. It’s a common issue in historical romances, and it’s always disappointing. Here is my official call to make Victorian-era stories more inclusive.

Despite these quibbles, I had a great time reading Companion to the Count. The characters are well-developed, the plot is engaging, and the romance is swoony. If you’re in the mood for a lighthearted and steamy read, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the opportunity. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary. All opinions are my own.

This book is my introduction to the author's work as well as the first in the Victorian era-set Seductive Sleuths trilogy, and I dearly wanted to get lost in the story: an impoverished gentlewoman trying to discover the truth behind her brother's death, and a wealthy aristocrat, still grieving his sister, joining forces to uncover a fine art forger!

Alas, the execution didn't match my expectations, by far. By the time I had read a third of the book I just didn't have it in me to keep going.

Beware: panic attacks and social anxiety; bullying; death of siblings; grief; carriage accident; DNF. Please note: the author has page of content warnings that includes swearing and explicit sex scenes.

Saffron Summersby, her younger sister Angelica, and their aunt Rosemary, have been left destitute by the death, three years prior, of her older brother Basil, a wealthy baronet. As he died without heirs and all the wealth and property was entailed, the three women have been reduced to selling art, furniture and jewelry bit by bit, in order to pay the mortgage on their small townhouse.

As the story starts, they've sold most everything of value, except the books in the library, and have dismissed all their servants (or at least, none are mentioned, from lady's maid to cook), and Saffron loses sleep trying to figure out how to put enough money together to pay the bank, lest they be evicted. Not mind, that she comes up with a practical course of action there.

As their hope is that Angelica, who is very beautiful, will marry a titled man (under the assumption that he'd naturally be wealthy as well, who would then support her two relatives), Saffron spends a lot of time on page thinking about all the sewing she does (or will be doing) to alter old, tired gowns, to keep the pretty Angelica looking reasonably fashionable amongst the ton.

On top of all this, Saffron has a reputation for strangeness that, now that everyone knows she's poor, the ton takes great pleasure in mocking her for. Mostly, she has both social anxiety and sensory processing issues; at one point during a ball, she has a panic attack and has to go outside to hide while she sweats it out.

In practical terms, neither Angelica nor aunt Rosemary do much of anything to help Saffron; not with her anxiety, not with the matter of paying bills. The latter especially seems to exist simply to be dismissive and needy, which made me twitch more than once.

Meanwhile, our hero is grieving the death of his younger sister, who was a very talented painter. He was the spare once, but as both his father and older brother have also died (not sure when), and his mother has taken to blame him for all their losses, he's now both a wealthy viscount and a recluse who devotes all his time to painting, depending entirely on his servants to manage his property and not rob him blind. He doesn't seem to have a man of business or stewards for his estates, just a butler and housekeeper at the mansion and a solicitor in London, yet he's apparently still solvent; nay, very wealthy.

These two meet during a ball in London through one of those convoluted happenstances that are meant to be intriguing, but where trying to figure out the logistics took me right out of the story.

Leo, who supposedly never leaves his estate, shows up to the ball looking for a painting that "should be in a museum", apparently because he himself sold (or gave?) that painting to said museum. The hostess graciously lends him a maid to walk him around the house looking at walls--in the middle of a ball, natch--when Saffron, Angelica in tow, stumbles upon him in an out-of-the-way room.

As he walks them back to the ballroom, Saffron becomes upset over a painting--the very one Leo was looking for, of course--because she swears that one of the people in it is her dead brother. The problem? The painting is dated just a few days (or weeks?) prior to the ball--but since her brother was declared dead three years before, Saffron is now convinced her brother is alive.

Leo, on the other hand, is having fits over the provenance of the painting, because the artist Ravenmore is actually his sister--also dead for three years. (Mind you, I'm still wondering why Leo would need to wander about the house with a servant--again, during a ball--rather than call on the household during the day and just ask about the painting, but whatever.)

At any rate, Saffron's new life plan is to find proof that her brother is alive--and somehow unaware or uncaring of his sisters' and aunt's plight--, so that they can petition the Crown to restore the title to him. For reasons that escape me, she seems to believe that this would give her control over the money or something, while they look for him.

Logic is not strong here.

For his part, Leo decides that the way to hunt down the fiend who is forging his late sister's work is...to hold a house party-slash-auction, in the same understaffed-for-years estate manor that he has let go to rot--literally in places.

No, I really don't follow the logic behind any of this.

Still, and because coincidence, Leo invites Saffron and her family to the house party, three months hence.

From the moment they meet to Leo handing out the invitation to Saffron, it's maybe a day and a half--and a full twenty percent of the book. Then the action jumps two months, to a bank agent arriving with a few thugs to evict the Summersbys, who have been both late and short with their payments for several months--remember, they were already behind when the ball took place.

There is drama and manipulation, with the sisters endeavoring to gain a few more months reprieve in exchange for their very valuable library. Here's the thing, though: had they had the library appraised, and sold even just the first editions themselves, they would have had enough money to pay the mortgage for a few months. As it's clear that at least the sisters were quite aware of the value of the books, it makes absolutely no sense that they would rather get in arrears and risk eviction than part with a few volumes--which hey, would mean they would also lose all the books.

But as denial is the name of the game, they instead hire a derelict carriage to convey them to Leo's state, ostensibly to attend the house party. Only, if time works the same in the novel that it does for me, there's at least a month to go, so let us try not to pay too close attention here.

From Leo's point of view, the house party is imminent--they're already expecting guests! But no one has hired more staff, or cleaned rooms, or done absolutely anything to prepare to house a few hundred people for three days. Because he's grieving, you see, and therefore can't be bothered to do--or allow his butler and housekeeper to do--any of the myriad things necessary to host a ton event in the country.

At the time I gave up, the Summersbys carriage had overturned during a storm, far from the estate; someone had broken into Leo's studio and maybe/probably/likely stolen the last of his sister's paintings; and Saffron and Leo ended up spending the night in a hunter's cabin somewhere in the estate.

Here's the thing: if you read the summary of the plot so far, there's nothing too outrageous there, especially for genre romance; however, the pace of the narrative is off; there are strange anachronisms here and there (Saffron mentions reading "many romance novels", which wasn't a likely term to use in1860); and a number of secondary characters seem to pop in and out of existence to suit the needs of the plot (from Leo's cousin to Angelica's suitor, the portly and crass Duke of Canterbury--yes, really).

It may be the case that other readers would have no trouble letting go of all the things that took me out of the story, but when I find myself avoiding opening my kindle, I know it's time for me to give up.

Companion to the Count is a DNF for me.

Companion to the Count by Melissa Kendall is the first offering in The Seductive Sleuths series. Saffron Summersby is trying to get her sister married off, and not to the aged duke that wants her. She wants her sister to be in love. To that end, they have arrived, with their aunt at Briarwood for an art auction. It gets a bit complicated, but Lord Briarwood’s sister had died several years earlier and she left a myriad of paintings. She had been very talented but being a woman, could not sell her work. He had been seeing it was placed in museums, where it belonged, under the fictitious name of Ravenwood. But, he had discovered that someone was stealing the paintings and replacing them with well-done forgeries. He was the most handsome man Saffron had ever seen. She had danced with him in London, but he had a reputation as a rake and she was spinster, so that was that. She did agree to try to help him find the thief, however, another chore on her list. ‘

This was a highly entertaining book with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader’s attention. The thief was clever. And people were greedy. Saffron was an excellent character and Briarwood came a close second. It was an intriguing mystery. It is a good thing there is never a shortage of wrong-doing in this world or where would writers be? It kept me reading, and not all books do. I understand this is Kendall’s first Regency romance and she did that and so much more in this enticing read. Looking forward to more.

I was invited to read Companion to the Count by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #MelissaKendall #CompanionToTheCount

This is the first book I have read by this author and although I liked the main characters, I found Saffron's aunt to be self-serving and her sister took a while to wise up to what was important. Saffon feels sure that her missing brother cannot be dead, because to accept his death meant that she had no further options open to her other than the marriage of her younger and more attractive sister. There is an instant attraction between Saffron and the Viscount of Briarwood, Leo, and in spite of the reputation he has garnered, Saffron cannot help herself but cave into his seduction. I found that there were some gaps in the plot, leaving the reader to surmise the chain of events and in particular Leo's horrific accident and Angelica's marriage. However, it was a fun and steamy read and ended on a sweet note. I received a copy of this book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

If you are a historical romance reader who likes a little mystery in your books then this is for you.

Saffron Summersby lost everything after her brother's death. She attends a ball and notices a painting of a man that looks exactly like her brother, she wonders if maybe he didn’t really die and he is alive somewhere maybe helped captive or on the run. The owner of the painting is Leopold “Leo” Mayweather, whom Saffron finds most attractive and a romance ensues. Leo discovers someone is trying to steal his paintings as well as others so he holds an auction to try and catch the art thief.

Thank you Dragonblade Publishing for an advanced copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Leo is hiding behind his art. Saffron is trying to save the last of her family's reputation and survive. When you put both of these people together with a new author, you have an exciting mystery set in historical times. The plot was great, the characters are lovely and overall I fully enjoyed the story. I generally believe that very long stories have some repetition or fillers that may not be necessary. I think this is something that new writers do but that with time, they change this. Therefore, I am excited to see growth in this writer's abilities as her base and creativity is wonderful.

do like a bit of extra in my historical romance reads, and this has certainly got that. We get a good mystery to solve and great, unusual characters.  Our hero is a temperamental man trying to hide from tragedy in his painting. Our heroine is trying to save what is left of her family from being thrown from their home. Her panic attacks, however, often cause more trouble.  

An action-packed steamy story, filled with excitement, adventures, and more than a little danger.  

I loved it.

*This book is an ARC. This is my honest voluntary review*

So I haven't been reading a ton of romance the past few weeks as I haven't really been in the mood, but this book, y'all, I finished this book in 2 days. Probably would've finished it sooner if I hadn't had to work. Melissa does an amazing job writing a story that just pulls you in. The mystery behind Saffron's brothers death? The chance he might still be alive? Meeting Leo? The emotions that he gives her? All wonderfully written. Fully recommend if you want an engaging historical romance.

When I am in the mood for a sumptuous historical romance, complete with dress tearing and secret passageways, I know who to turn to next. Companion to the Count is everything you want in a historical romance, a easy to place time period, titled lords and ladies who are more attractive than anyone should be, a strong lead man who pulls off being dashing, handsome, and gentle, and a lead lady who is easy to relate to and headstrong. It carries itself on its story alone, with me racing through the novel to find out what happens next, and shines as well written in its easy to read yet enticing writing style and well constructed spice scenes that didn't feel additive to the plot but as if they moved it forward.

The story itself took heavy cues from a Cinderella rags to riches style story of a woman down on her luck who is a wallflower pushing her sister towards a strong marriage that could support them and their aunt as well, finds a rake that she should never be alone with and then promptly spends much too much time being alone with him in all kinds of interesting situations. The main MMC is your very standard "I do not wish to marry, but to stay free and let the wind and women flow through my hair" style man that works so well in these stories. However the twist with him is instead of being the normal dark and brooding, he is blonde and more social.

I would recommend this to you if:
- You like a good bodice ripper
- You want a new historical romance author to read
- You want a light weight fun read

I received an advance review copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased

Saffron Summersby lost everything after her brother’s suspicious death. So when she sees her brother’s face in the latest painting from famous anonymous artist Ravenmore and realizes he might still be alive, she comes up with a plan: learn the identity of the painter, find her brother, and save her sister from marrying a brute in order to avoid financial ruin. After the death of his sister, Leopold “Leo” Mayweather, Viscount Briarwood, gave up his wild ways and devoted his life to art, particularly the distribution of paintings by the reclusive Ravenmore. So when he discovers someone is stealing the paintings and replacing them with forgeries, he decides to host an art auction to draw out the thief. He doesn’t expect a beautiful woman to storm into his life, determined to unmask Ravenmore.
A new author to me & a new series. A well written entertaining book, which I enjoyed. I found it didn’t flow seamlessly & sometimes events jumped around or things were left hanging, which led for some confusion. The characters were likeable but needed to be developed more. I am interested in how the series will develop & hope future books are more tightly edited
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

The premise of this had potential and it was an easy read but sometimes things weren't fleshed out enough making it hard to follow exactly what was going on in the story. I also felt a few times the spice in the story didn't actually add to the story and was arguably at inappropriate times.

I had to much fun reading this, I normally read a lot of fantasy and dark romance but this was perfect to clean the palate, the author really did an amazing job in creating this characters and the story on the way they are connected was indeed interesting but I don't give 5 starts because the author could have done a better job with exploring a bit more Angelica and Simon, the other characters and more angst? Well I enjoy it in general so good job

This was unfortunately not for me. I found it very disjointed, relying heavily on outdated cliches, and trying to do too many things. I'm DNFing at 17%, and while I usually do not rate DNFs, NetGalley requires a rating to submit feedback, so giving it a 2-star.

This new author is talented and has a lot of potential. I loved the writing very much. But I found the story somewhat confusing, in particular in the development of the plot, and I think the book would have benefited by a more accurate beta-reading and editing. I don’t want to spoiler anything, but the reason why the villain targeted Saffron is unclear, as is Saffron’s behavior after the carriage accident and some of the things that happen at the end as well. On a positive note, I liked the characters very much and their chemistry was very high. I’ll certainly read the next books by this author.

This is the first book I have read from Melissa Kendall so I went in without any expectations. There was aspects of this book that I really enjoyed and others that just didn't seem to fit quite right. I, for the most part, really liked Saffron - she's kind, smart, and a truly gifted problem solver. Leo is fine, but I didn't really find anything that original about his character. One aspect that didn't really work for me was the pacing of some of the sections of the book. Most of the events in the book happen so quickly that it feels rushed and doesn't leave a ton of room for character development. After Leo finds Saffron following the carriage accident the author (and Saffron) seemed to forget all about her sister and aunt who were still trapped in a carriage. She had left them to find help and then while they are still in the carriage in terrible conditions she's hooking up with a guy she barely knows. And later she sees a thief and then before you know it she and Leo are hooking up again without much thought to who the thief was or what they were up to. As a reader you catch on pretty quickly to the connection between Sabrina and Basil, but once Saffron finds out there is very little about it - I'm not sure Leo even knows about them. The scene with Leo's mother came out of nowhere and there wasn't really much follow up after the incident with the fire during the ball (was that meant for Saffron?). I'm not sure why the villain thought getting her out of the way would solve his problem considering Leo was already on to the fact that something strange was going on with the paintings. My final complaint comes with the final few chapters. It's not really made clear how much time had passed between the events on the ship and Leo waking up. Having him lose part of his leg didn't really add anything to the story and that part could have been left out with no impact on the rest of the story. Overall, this book had a lot of promise but didn't quite deliver. At times it felt like the author had a lot they wanted to do and couldn't quite make it all work together as seamlessly as it needed to. I realize this review makes it sound like I didn't like the book, but I did actually find it to be an enjoyable read and I'm curious to see how the next book in the series turns out.

This historical romance delightfully blended mystery and romance in a captivating tale. The plot, centered around solving an art theft, was refreshingly unique compared to other historical fiction novels. The unexpected twists kept me engaged throughout the narrative.

The characters were well-developed and endearing. The FMC was a strong, independent woman whose neurodivergence added depth and authenticity to her character. The MMC was a charming and supportive love interest who balanced the story perfectly. Their relationship evolved naturally, from initial attraction to a deep connection.

The author's writing style was engaging and easy to follow, transporting readers to 19th century England. While the exact time period was somewhat ambiguous, the atmosphere was well-established. The inclusion of mild romantic scenes added spice without overpowering the plot.

Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise. It offered a refreshing take on the historical romance genre while delivering a satisfying mystery. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy intelligent heroines, complex plots, and a touch of historical intrigue.