Review: Delightful!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 14, 2013
I'm a big Kate Harper fan anyway, so I was already going into reading this book with the expectation I would enjoy it.  Granted, some of her novels I enjoy more than others, this one might be one of my favorites.  The characters are engaging and enjoyable.Lord Scoundrel, aka Lord Sutton, is the most hated man in Society, although not everyone knows it... just the people who are being blackmailed by him.  He's a scoundrel of the first degree; he hoards secrets and debts in order to use them for his own devices - not because he needs to but because he enjoys it - and he steals jewelry from innocent debutantes while flirting with them and kissing them before returning them to their Mamas.  That last is what happens to Harriet's cousin Sarah; Sarah then recruits her more wild cousin Harriet to sneak into Lord Sutton's house and steal the priceless family heirloom necklace back before Sarah's mother discovers that it's missing... since Sara wasn't supposed to be wearing it in the first place.  Charles Lamporth and Viscount Aubrey Talisker are in similar situations with Charles' friend and Aubrey's sister-in-law.  By chance all three break into Lord Scoundrel's on the same night... and discover the Scoundrel dead.  Oops!They collect what they came for but they also discover a basic treasure trove of scandalous letters, debt chits and jewelry that Lord Scoundrel has collected.  Harriet decides to return all of these things, despite the pleas of Mr. Lamporth and the insistent edicts of the Viscount.  Trying to identify all of Lord Scoundrel's victims proves to be rather difficult and she soon dragoons the amiable and impressionable Mr. Lamporth to her cause.  Against his will, Viscount Talisker finds himself pulled into her mission as well, despite the fact that he thinks it's both a silly mission as well as a dangerous one... but what he can do?  He finds himself worrying about the young lady's safety.At first I thought that Ms. Harper was going to set this up as a love triangle and I was a little worried because I really liked both men for completely different reasons, but the romance that follows isn't at all a triangle and I found it incredibly entertaining to read through.  I loved watched Harriet figure out various ways to return the items that have come into her possession, thought that the issue of who murdered Lord Scoundrel was dealt with magnificently, and thoroughly enjoyed the romance of it.  Don't expect more than a couple of kisses (it's not THAT kind of romance), but as long as you're not looking for more than this is a fun light read that has just a hint of danger without overdoing it.