Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.com
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Lady Seraphina Montgomerie first meets her neighbor Gabriel St Clair, the Earl of Blackstone when she dresses as a boy and tries to escape from highwaymen. Naturally she is grateful for her deliverance and wishes to see more of her dashing, handsome and amiable new neighbor. But "The Blackguard of Blackstone" has a reputation as one of the worst rakes in society and her brothers are madly against any match. Sera has a habit of getting her way, but unknown to her Gabriel has orders to watch her very closely and suspects her of being a spy in the pay of his - and England's - enemies. As she hunts for a jeweled egg monogrammed with the sigil of the traitorous Triad Society he is sure that she has already lost herself to his greatest enemy, The Angel.

Here is a Regency with more than just romance, although there is plenty of that in this exciting book as well. Sinister spies, wartime intrigue and secret treasures as well as a race to unmask the villainous Triad leaders make this a book to dive into and not come up for air until it is finished! This is the ideal book for anybody who enjoys a romance but wants more from their book than just love. It is not a short book - twice as long as many Regencies - but Kokoski manages to fill the pages and the pace doesn't flag, which is quite an achievement in itself. I would say that this is probably the best Regency I've read yet this year, so I hope Ms. Kokoski has more in the pipeline.