To Marry a Marquess

by Teresa McCarthy

A story of love and suspense during the era of Jane Austen and Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Marquess of Drakefield has vowed never to love again. But when he makes a deathbed promise to his friend, the promise soon escalates into a hunt for a beautiful woman. Lady Victoria needs to save her family from debtor's prison and marry well, but Drakefield, who resembles a pirate, is the last person she needs investigating her, especially with a murderer on her heels. And since Drakefield doesn't know her true identity, she thinks she is free from him. But when he finds her, the murderer closes in, and soon Drakefield and Victoria must learn to trust not only their hearts, but each other as well...

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Regency, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, British Literature

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2004

Reviews

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Teresa McCarthy books; I’ve read all four and hope she writes a lot more. To Marry a Marquess was a fun treat. I just thought it was lighthearted fun. Drake and Victoria were likable characters. They meet under unusual circumstances and while instantly attracted to one another it takes them quite awhile to own up to their growing feelings. Drake once thought he married for love and vows never to make that mistake again. He married a “pauper” and ends up in a miserable match. Not only does she spend his money she ends up having numerous affairs and neglects their daughter. Drake has built up some thick walls and has some trust issues where women are concerned. Victoria likewise has trust issues where men are concerned and has a hard time coming to trust Drake. I don’t really blame her, at times he is a bit aggressive and if he’d have been a little more patient she probably would have opened up to him. I enjoyed their story though and overall thought it was a fun read.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. There was nothing amazing about it that left me begging for more. But I am just a sucker for a nice clean romance with a some tension and this one fit the bill for me. I liked Vicki. I thought she truly was trying to do right by her family. I was shocked how fast the beginning all came together. I also really enjoyed Drake. I thought they had great chemistry together and that they were totally believable. With most books there were a few things I would change but over-all I really liked it.

[Valerie Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww what a cute book. William was awesome!! Lol. Drake was a little overbearing but I liked how he ended up. Victoria was obnoxious. Seriously. How naive can you be?!?!

[Lanelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really care for the heroine. She kept making the stupidest choices, and then expected the hero to save her.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best part about this book? They waited until they were married, and kept it to themselves. Yea!

What I did not like was a stupid heroine - the villain has proven himself to be a vile, evil man with no honor, yet she believes he'll let the boy go if she shows up? (Facepalm) Step outside yourself for a minute and forget your trust issues - someone else's life is at stake and TELL SOMEONE! You're not Wonder Woman, you need help. Then she gives a perfect stranger access to her money - just offers it - then gets angry when she feels duped. No one forced you to share your money who does that without confirming their situation. Dumb. Really dumb. OK, rant over.

Plus, as a mother, I would've liked to have seen a little more discipline and punishment dished out on the kid. He got away with too much.

Overall, great book.

[Liza · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was (in my opinion) so bad that it actually destroyed the reading binge I was on because I couldn't force myself to get through it. (But I did. Just took me a few days.)

In short: Victoria is a blithering idiot with no redeemable qualities. She's bland, boring, and has no common sense at all. Drake is an asshat who, once he decides to marry Victoria, spends the entire time emotionally blackmailing her into it (and in general; UGH). I disliked them both immensely. And the author's proclivity to babble on about the kids - I get it, they both like kids! - just wasn't endearing to me at all.

This book made me wish that there was actually some kind of choice in romance novels as to whom the "heroine" ended up with. I'd have picked Fox for her. Or anyone else, really. Drake's a controlling jerk.

The only character I liked in the whole book was Drake's grandmother :p

[Arianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that my favorite character in this book was the little cousin. He was always roll playing as a pirate and said the cutest things. He really made me laugh and warmed my heart. I just loved this book! I never could see why it really mattered if she had married the dead guy in the first place. If he's dead she can marry again, right?

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable clean historical romance. I give it 4 stars or 3.5 because some of the dialog was annoying. I found myself rolling my eyes... frequently. The heroine repeatedly expresses herself with meaningless statements like, "You wouldn't dare!" I wanted to like the book more than I actually did. There was potential and I might try something else by this author.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this free on Amazon and it was an ok read. I found William really irritating and Drake's fascination with his watch was another bug bear. I thought it was pointless to keep mentioning it when it was already made clear he had a thing about order. I probably would've only given it 2.5 stars rather than 3.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I enjoy fiction set in the regency period, this book was just full of too many haphazard events. It is hard to appreciate a main character when they keep doing stupid things and don't learn anything about themselves, or grow up. It was written fine, I just really didn't like the characters.

[Antoinette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun clean read. Not 100% perfect, but i like it
I love all the characters, especially William, witty and fun with his role play as a pirate. A little too mature for his six years of age. This is a book for all ages.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of this were engaging such as little William and his pirate way of protecting the princesses, the caring of Victoria, and loving father in Drake. But, other parts seemed inconsistent, such as Victoria falling for a guy that's so angry and other things that would give the plot away.

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant book.....wish there was more passion. Her naïveté grew a little old instead of talking to any adult she decides to carry the burden herself and in each situation if she would have left it alone or spoke to someone it would've worked itself out.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun squeaky clean regency read! Totally up my ally.

[Elizabeth Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the book was good and I enjoyed reading it.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as a Kindle freebie. It's a clean, fun regency.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, I was not expecting it to go in the direction it did. I figured they would get married right away, but this isn't what happened.

[Sharon Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant little character in the form of her cousin William, and of course Captain Whitie, but felt the rest of the story was fairly average.

[Maria Claudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely boring, plain charecters. Didn't like it all.

[Melissa’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this clean, action filled Regency romance. Look forward to reading more by this author.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good writing, but the story itself was a little bland. Not enough actual romance or intimacy to be realistic for me.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plot was all over the place, could have been great with a few extra chapters and some editing.

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read: 3 stars
Second read: 3 stars