Brazen by Margo Maguire

Lady Christina Fairhaven has known she was adopted as a young girl her whole life and her love for her parents and younger brothers runs deep.  So when she is blackmailed into gathering two thousand pounds for information about her supposedly dead brother, she does not hesitate to gather all the jewels from her late husband.  They were not jewels meant for her, but for his lover whose bed he died in and she has no qualms about selling all of them.  But just as she is about to leave, she meets the battle-scarred Captain Gavin Briggs and lets just say there first encounter starts off with a bang!

Captain Gavin Briggs is on a mission to bring home the long lost granddaughter of a duke.  He is relieved to finally find her and anxious to bring Christina back with him to reunite with her grandfather and her sister, both of whom come as quite a shock to Christina.  But as excited as Christina is to meet her twin, she is less than enthused about meeting the man who ignored her for years plus she must complete her mission to gain information about her brother first and Gavin reluctantly agrees to head to London first.  Gavin believes that her brother is truly dead, but as they travel and details are discussed he starts to have some suspensions that all is not as it seems.   Also adding some tension to their travels is the fact that the dukes heir, a scheming, greedy man, wants Christina dead as she will inherit quite a fortune at the dukes death and he does not want to share one shilling.  Oh, but where there is tension, there is passion!  And Gavin and Christina have an immediate attraction that grows and Christina wants to enjoy before she must remarry.

Overall, this was a enjoyable historical romance!  I loved the fact that Christina had short hair and while other people made little snide remarks about it, it was one of the first things that attracted Gavin to Christina and he does not let her forget that.  I also admired Gavin and his fierce protection he has for his sister who was shunned by society and he just wants to collect his reward from the duke and buy her a home in the country to live in.  Gavin believes that no one could love him with his past transgressions from the war but Christina makes him see what a compassionate, decent man he is.  And in return, Gavin proves that Christina is worth all the love that should have been showered upon her by her late husband.  The mystery surrounding Christinas brother added a nice element and when the truth was revealed, I was quite surprised.  My only little problem with this book was the epilogue.  I wished there had been a bit more.  I don't want to say much for spoiling it but maybe there will be a novella or something in the future to just expand on it a bit.  I mean, I understand the epilogue and think it works, I personally just wanted more :)  If you are looking for a book that is a bit unique with a dashing, gruff, caring Captain and women a bit burned by love who is looking to reclaim her heart mixed with a bit of mystery with no big misunderstanding, Margo Maguire as delivered a sexy story!  4 stars

I received this book from the publisher via netgalley.com

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