EyebrarianPrize winnersGet the app

Books › Kate and the Marquess

Cover of Kate and the Marquess

Kate and the Marquess

Sheila Walsh

224 pages

A sparkling battle of wits between a fiery Irish innocent and a cynical London rake that proves opposites do more than just attract.

Where to buyBooks like this

What it feels like

Reading this traditional Regency romance feels like stepping into a brightly lit ballroom filled with sharp banter and swirling silk. The narrative moves at a brisk, entertaining clip, driven by the crackling tension between a spirited, morally upright heroine and a delightfully wicked rake. It is a cozy, sparkling experience that leans heavily on witty dialogue and the delicious friction of opposites clashing. The prose is crisp and period-appropriate, capturing the rigid social rules of the London Marriage Mart while allowing the characters' rebellious hearts to shine through. It will thoroughly delight readers who crave the classic, old-school charm of Georgette Heyer, where stolen glances and sharp tongues eventually give way to swoon-worthy, hard-won romance.

Mood
  • sparkling
  • cozy
  • swoony
Tone
  • witty
  • playful
  • romantic
  • lighthearted
Pace
brisk
Themes
the rake's redemption · clash of cultures · duty versus desire · scandal and propriety
The writing
Crisp, dialogue-heavy, and infused with period-appropriate wit and charm.
The arc
Moves from spirited defiance and moral outrage to reluctant attraction and ultimately, wholehearted surrender to love.
Who it's for
Fans of classic, old-school Regency romances who love a fiery innocent clashing with a cynical rake.
Content notes
  • mild sexual tension
  • period-typical sexism

About the book

The Maddening Marquess

Beautiful, flame-haired Kate Sheridan was far from home - and close to confusion. Her well-meaning parents had sent her from her beloved Ireland to the London Marriage Mart to make a proper match, and trusted their old friend, the wise and witty Marchioness St. Claire, to make sure their plan did not go awry and Kate did not go astray.

Yet it was the marchioness's own son, the devastatingly handsome if thoroughly depraved Marquess St. Claire, who posed the greatest danger to Kate's dutiful designs. This man who mocked all morality, who made women his playthings and propriety the target of his scorn, was all that Kate told herself she loathed. But the tenor of her conviction and the voice of her conscience were drowned out by the pounding of her heart when he took her in his arms - not for marriage, but still for better or for worse...

Description from Open Library.

Books like Kate and the Marquess

See why they match