Say Yes to the Marquess
Rafe Brandon, Britain’s four-time heavyweight champion, is determined that his older brother, Piers, the Marquess of Granville, will marry Miss Clio Whitmore even if he has to plan the wedding himself. Which is exactly what Rafe proceeds to do… with hilarious consequences. Piers and Clio have been engaged for eight years. Although everyone assumes that Clio is excited by the prospect of marriage to one of Britain’s foremost peers, in reality Clio is attracted to the misfit younger brother, who would rather be beaten bloody in a fight than dress in a tailcoat and step into a ballroom.
Set sometime during the early years of the 19th century, this romp has little need of specificity of time or place. Dare’s writing is fluid and enjoyable, but it is her characters that steal the show. Clio is a delightful heroine with a sense of humor as luscious as her curves; Rafe is appropriately bemused by Clio’s shenanigans; and the supporting dramatis personae are diverse and interesting people who provide many laugh-out-loud moments. This is the first book written by Dare that I have read, but it certainly won’t be the last.
