Marcus Haverly,
introduced to readers in The Lost Lieutenant, was sailing through life
just fine as a spy for the Crown. As a single man, and a “spare” rather than
the heir to the Duke of Haverly, no one questioned his comings and goings.
However, when both his father and older brother suddenly pass away, Marcus
is saddled with a title he never expected to bear. Pressured to marry and live
up to his new responsibilities, he impulsively marries a presumed wallflower.
After all, since she’s meek and mild—or so he thinks—it should be easy to
sequester her in the country and get on with his life as a secret agent for the
Crown. Marcus thinks he can separate his life into neat little boxes—his
family, the duties of his title, being a spy, and a new wife. He even puts his
faith in a box that is only opened on Sundays. In his mind, it’s simple
. . . until it’s not.
“Marcus knows it is his
duty to marry, and even his superior officer in the agency encourages him to
wed, but he doesn’t want marriage to change him, nor does he want to have to
give up anything when he marries,” Vetsch shares. “He’s certain that if he
chooses correctly, he will find a wife who is content to run his household and
bear his children, but who won’t interfere too much with his plans.”
While Marcus thinks
he can juggle the various aspects of his life without one part spilling into
the other, his bride, Charlotte, has other ideas. Unlike the other women of
society, she reads anything she can get her hands on (even the newspaper!) and
has ideas of her own. “Chivalry
and the protection of women were a large part of proper English society during
the Regency, and it was feared that too much academic work or exposure to the
more, shall we say, gritty elements of life were both improper and could be
dangerous to the ‘weaker female mind,’” Vetsch explains. “I’d like to think the
men of the era had women’s best interests at heart, or at least thought they
did, but I suspect it was because they were afraid of just how smart women
are!”
Charlotte is
determined to take her place not only as Marcus’s duchess but as his wife. As a
duchess, Charlotte can use her position to help the lowest of society—the women
forced into prostitution because they have no skills or hope, including a half sister
she just learned she has. Her endeavors are not met favorably in society or by
her new mother-in-law who does not approve of her son’s choice of women.
Marcus doesn’t so
much mind his wife having a mind and cause of her own, just as long as he can
go about his business. Can the duke succeed in relegating her to the sidelines
of his life? When his secrets are threatened with exposure, will his new wife
be an asset or a liability?
The Gentleman Spy provides readers
with plenty of romance and history, a good dose of humor, and even some action
and adventure mixed in. It is sure to be a favorite of the readers who followed
Vetsch on her new venture into Regency fiction as well as the new readership of
those faithful to the Regency genre that she gained with The Lost Lieutenant.
Next up in the Serendipity
& Secrets series is a bonus novella in Joy to the
World: A Regency Christmas Collection, a trio of novellas by Vetsch and
fellow authors Carolyn Miller and Amanda Barratt (available October 13, 2020).
Then, the last installment of the series, The Indebted Earl, the story
of Marcus Haverly’s younger sister, Sophie, will arrive on shelves in March 2021.
Praise
for the Serendipity & Secrets Series
“Erica Vetsch brings such a fresh, true voice to Regency romance. She catches
all that’s best about the genre while weaving together a fast-paced, intriguing
story full of characters I cared about so much. I can’t wait for book two!”
~ Mary Connealy, author of the best-selling High Sierra Sweethearts and
Wild at Heart series
“Love Regency? How about a swoon-worthy hero and a plot that twists and
turns yet ties up in a neat bow at the end? Then get thee to a bookstore! The
Lost Lieutenant is all that and more, from the battlefield of Salamanca to
the gowns and suits at Almack’s. This is my favorite Erica Vetsch title to date
and earns a place on my keeper shelf.”
~ Michelle Griep, Christy Award–winning author of the Once Upon a Dickens
Christmas series
“A riveting Regency read, with captivating characters, that will tug at
your heartstrings.”
~ Carolyn Miller, best-selling author of the Regency Brides series
About
the Author
Erica Vetsch is a New
York Times best-selling and ACFW Carol Award–winning
author. She is a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota with her husband,
who she claims is both her total opposite and soul mate.
Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not
writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering
on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks.
A self-described history geek, she has been planning her first research
trip to England.
Learn more about Erica Vetsch and her books at www.ericavetsch.com. She can also be found on Facebook (@EricaVetschAuthor) and Instagram (@EricaVetsch).
My Thoughts
This has been my favorite series of the summer. This is book 2 in the Serendipity and Secrets Series. While this can be read as a stand alone, you are introduced to Marcus in Book 1 - and get a great deal of background to his character. In this story, Marcus gets his story. Marcus is a spy - and he is a really good one.
In his story - he has to take a wife when his father and brother die tragically. Marcus has lived a life as the child who was not going to become the Duke. Then life is altered and he is thrust into a life he never desired. He now has to choose a wife and move forward. Not one to want to settle down - his marriage to Charlotte in his opinion is name only. He wants to continue on his spy missions.
Charlotte was an amazing characters. She is well read and educated. She is always lost in a book. She always seems to know what is going on with current events - which during this time period is not something a lady would do. When she marries Marcus - she wants all that that means.
Both of them bring secrets and baggage into the marriage. Which we know is never a good thing. Can they get past hurt and secrets?
Well written characters, beautifully written, I am loving the Serendipity and Secrets series and cannot wait until the next book releases.
I received a copy of this book through the Publisher, Author and Read with Audra blogging program - all thoughts are my own.
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