Emily

by Maggie Carpenter

Can a wily, willful young woman win the heart of a dashing, strong-willed Viscount?



Emily Bancroft, the daughter of a wealthy Member of Parliament, has been trying to catch the eye of Viscount Alfred Cavendish. She even bought a scandalously scarlet gown just to get his attention.



He barely looked her way.



When he unexpectedly visits her family's country home she's overjoyed, but she soon discovers Alfred is a take-charge man who will brook no nonsense.



As soon as they find themselves alone he makes it his business to offer the discipline he believes she's been lacking.



But the handsome Viscount quickly realizes there's more to Emily than frills, frivolity and lace.



As a dreadful threat against the Queen is uncovered, Emily shows her worth in a surprising way, and joins Alfred in a dangerous scheme to save the crown.



Will Alfred be her hero?

Does Emily save the day?

Or will love conquer all?



Click the link and join Alfred and Emily as they fight against the forces of evil in this wonderfully wicked romance.

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2024

About the author

Award-winning and best-selling author Maggie Carpenter has published over 120 romance novels, and is the recipient of a number Spanking Romance Reviews awards spanning a variety of genres. Her readers describe her books as, romantic, funny, suspenseful, beyond a five-star read, exciting romance with a ton of surprises.

Her work includes a best-selling twelve-book contemporary cowboy series, Cowboys After Dark, (http://amzn.to/2ihCNtp), a warrior fantasy trilogy, Warriors After Dark, (http://amzn.to/2iE0cDa) contemporary love stories, and several Victorian romances. His Willful Bride was a #1 best-seller for several weeks and a BookBub Feature Deal. She is best known for her smart, witty, strong-willed women who bring unexpected challenge, mystery and humor into the lives of passionate, dominant men.

Maggie has a history in show-business both in front of and behind the camera, but moved from Los Angeles to live in the Pacific Northwest to pursue her writing. She is an equine enthusiast who rides every day, and writes until the wee hours of the morning when her eyes close only because they must.

This author loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website: www.MaggieCarpenter.com. To sample her work for free, go to, www.3FreeBooks.com.

Reviews

[Rhonda Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read each of the Misbehaving Brides books and, in my opinion, even though I enjoyed all of them, Emily turned out to be the best of the bunch. She's the daughter of a member of Parliament and Alfred is not only a friend of the family but a Viscount, an advisor to Queen Victoria. I forgot to mention that Emily tends to be an impulsive brat. That's why it made perfect sense to Alfred to say yes when Emily's father and brother were leaving London and asked him to watch over her. He knew he could curb that behavior. As their passion escalates they find themselves entangled in a plot against the Queen. There's drama, action, and suspense with all the twists and turns that come with this type of scenario wrapped in a chemistry that is only intensified by a bit of domestic discipline. Of course, I'd recommend this one. It's by Maggie Carpenter.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfred and Emily. He works for the palace and is very secretive about what he does for the palace. She wanted Viscount Alfred but he paid her no mind. She was to have him no matter what. She, Emily, is very willful to put it mildly. She was remembering a moment at a party where she was having a particularly good time and felt eyes on her and when she looked their eyes locked and he seemed almost angry so after enjoying a few glasses of a fizzy cocktail and feeling giddy she went over to the over to the Viscount to ask him why he was upset with her but couldn't remember what exactly she said to him he took her elbow and marched her out to the terrace. He told her One of these days Emily Bancroft I'm going to put you over my knee and spank you. And that young lady is a promise. And the close to her ear he whispered And I am a man of my word. A shiver rippled through her body. That was a month ago and now he was arriving at her house for a few days. When he arrives hes told by Roger Emily's brother that he and his father have to leave town on business that next morning and will be gone a few days and the other thing is my mother is with her sister and cant return so father is worried about Emily being here by herself. And where does that leave him he wonders out loud. Rogers father is going to ask the Viscount to stay until they get back. He told him so he could mull the idea over till morning but there's nothing he would like more than to spend a few days alone with Lady Emily. Emily couldn't wait to see the Viscount even if he would only be here a few hours. After all has left Alfred tells Emily they need to talk about her attitude and tells her to come her and when she doesn't he says Ill not ask again so she turns to leave and he grabs her and takes his ascot to tie her hands and she is yelling at him and he tells her to settle down or he'll do it for her and she doesn't so he puts her on the couch and locks the door and takes a white cloth and puts it in her mouth and lifts her from the couch and tells her don't look so scared I'm only keeping my promise. Remember the night at the party where you were a little loud and had drank too much my promise? Well This spanking is because you are impatient, sometimes rude, and unkind to your servants. She though thought this was the happiest day of her life. He thought of devouring her she was all he thought of he'd adored her and her vivaciousness and her sharp amusing tongue. And so begins their magical, unconventional and tantalizing dance filled with secrets, danger, intrigue, and sensuality. Absolutely loved their story and Ms Maggie Carpenters ability to weave a story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Booksprout for a copy of this ebook and this is my freely given opinion...

This is book 5 of the series and continues along the veins of young women who are requiring a strong hand to keep them in line, and men in their lives who are more than willing to be the ones to administer the discipline. So there is some mild BDSM and domestic discipline, and sexual scenarios that involve spankings. If that is not to your taste, then be aware of this.

Emily is a young and rather spoiled, headstrong woman in Society who carries a hidden tendre for her brother's friend, Viscount Alfred Cavendish. She has tried to attract his attention in the past, but her behaviour has not brought about any romantic attention, but rather a promise of punishment, and otherwise he has ignored her.

Alfred is very attracted to his friend's sister, but has stayed away because of his friend, but also he presumed there was not much more to Emily than being a fluffy, spoiled socialite.

However, when he travels to visit his friend, and Emily's brother and father have to take a sudden leave to attend to business, they request Alfred stay behind to keep an eye on Emily. He and Emily end up exploring their attraction to each other, and Alfred lives up to his prior promise to punish her when she oversteps and Emily finds that she desires his punishment as part of his attention.

But Alfred has secrets that provoke Emily's curiosity, including his work for the queen. He ends up drawing Emily inadvertently into his affairs when she shows a talent and intelligence that helps to push forward an investigation into a threat against the queen and government, and when an opportunity comes along for Emily to actively help, she bravely leaps at the chance.

One thing I do not like in this series is that so many of the female characters come across as spoiled brats. Which I guess works because it leads to their spanking scenarios... and initially I did not like Emily because I am not a fan of spoiled brats. But later it comes across more that perhaps she is a woman who is seeking an outlet for her adventurous spirit and intelligence - not something encouraged at the time for young women of Society. This ends up becoming more of an adventure spy thriller in the end, and made the story more enjoyable for me.

3.25 stars out of 5

[Marion Löw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Taming Of A Spoiled Miss

I quite liked the book, although there are better ones in the series. It‘s light-hearted, the narrative is a little shallow, but entertaining. It has a nice plot with some steam involving spanking and bondage, and a spy mystery. I liked Alfred‘s character and dutiful manner, but I grew tired of Emily‘s immature and lively behavior.

Emily Bancroft is vivacious, spoiled and used to getting what she wants, and she wants Lord Alfred Cavendish.

When Alfred is invited to his friend Roger's family estate, he is happy to visit, especially when he is sent to the area on a secret mission by his superior. But Roger and his father have to go to London on an urgent matter, and Roger's father asks him to look after his daughter Emily while they are away. Alfred agrees, he has admired her for some time, but he does not tolerate her self-centered, high-handed and sometimes childish manner. She needs a strong hand to guide her.
But his mission is also more dangerous than expected…

If you enjoy quick to read historical romance novels of this genre with a touch of suspense, you'll like this book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Rose Seals · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another absolutely fabulous story by this author. Full of suspense, intrigue, mystery, love, steam, romance, villains, action, adventure and so many twists. Emily is a young lady who wants adventure before she marries. Her father and brother need to return to London on urgent business so they ask Alfred to look after her. Alfred is a Lord who's a friend of the family but has also some agenda to deal with near where her family lives. He agrees and then the heat between them turns to a boiling point. Together they get involved into a plot against the Queen. Their scenes are very hot and steamy. Emily has to act the Queen to help keep the real traitors away from her. Has lots of action in these pages. But they do get their happily ever after and more. Very hard to put down to do anything else. Would strongly recommend to everyone.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pico1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific story. I’ve read, reviewed and enjoyed all the books in the Misbehaving Brides series of Maggie Carpenter – but “Emily” was the best of them, in my opinion. It hit all the right marks – two wonderful main characters, Emily and Alfred – a great love story, a lot of enthusiastic and consensual spanking, and an interesting mystery with a number of twists and turns. Both Alfred, a Lord and advisor to Queen Victoria, and Emily, daughter of a member of Parliament and an extremely attractive and intelligent young woman are smart, passionate, and committed to assisting the Queen in dealing with her enemies. It is interesting to follow the mystery as their affair develops and becomes more passionate. I received a free copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily, the heroine, has been attracted to Alex for quite some time, yet she thinks he doesn't even know she exists.
Alex has been attracted to Emily for a while but he is friends with her father and brother. When her family need to leave suddenly, they ask Alex to keep her out of trouble.
Emily and Alex team up to help save the queen while also exploring their attraction for each other.
Maggie Carptenter does a wonderful job writing an extremely spicy romance that also has a good plot and developed characters. The spice starts off pretty early in the book and the plot is action packed. This romance has vocal domination and light domination themes.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jayne Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Bamcroft fell in love with Viscount Alfred Cavendish the first time she met him. What she didn’t know was that he fell for her too. When her father asked Alfred to stay with her when he and her brother went out of town, things heated up between them. Alfred worked for the queen and Emily became drawn into one of his missions. She proved to be clever and brave and helped solve a serious problem. In this story, Alfred’s hand meets Emily’s bottom quite frequently as they work together to thwart the villains. This is a steamy story where quick wits and convoluted plans save the day.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is out of control!

Emily sees Alfred at a party and she wants him! It takes forever to meet him. Suddenly he is left to watch her when her father is gone. Alfred has been waiting to handle her. What will happen? What will they do? What type of mischief do they cause? Is Alfred a spy?

Maggie Carpenter has done it again! This brief novel is spicy and full of entertainment and mystery! I guarantee you'll love it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sexy read with good intrigue!

The book is a passionate and sensual romance blended with a captivating plot. The book is an entertaining read that alternates between sensual scenes and thrilling mysteries. The mystery part progresses continuously, maintaining my interest and keeping me hooked on the book. I also loved the two main characters, whom I found both diverting and charming. I recommend this quick, spicy, and entertaining read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Merilu Keenum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily is a very clever young woman and Alfred knows just how to curb her bratty, impulsive behavior. Maggie Carpenter is one of my favorite authors and this regency era novella is action packed, full of intrigue, danger, and mystery. Emily and Alfred are attracted to each other and their chemistry is extremely steamy with some kinks. I love the cloak and dagger aspects and how Alfred is protective but appreciative of Emily’s quick mind and bravery. This was a great story!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy Gittleson Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily is craving Alfred and he ends up staying with her for a few days while her father and brother are gone. During that time, they get closer in feelings and intrigue as he is on a mission and she is smart and ends up helping the cause to save the Queen. Loved the characters, the personalities and the pageantry, along with the sass and bit of spanking. The storyline keeps you on the edge and you can't stop reading as the action keeps the pages turning quickly. Wonderful read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cherie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Mystery Romance,
My first time reading this author. I found Emily very spoiled and shallow and Alfred extremely controlling.
The plot finally showed up and was quite an espionage mystery to uncover. That saved the book rating from 2 to 3 star.
Between you and me if you like spanking, a domineering male character, a submissive female character you might enjoy this story.
It was not an enjoyable charismatic love story for me.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy for my honest thoughts and opinion.

[Lyn D Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fifth book in the Misbehaving Brides series was an intriguing story of a young woman who required a strong hand to keep her in line by a strong man who was willing to administer discipline by using mild bdsm and domestic discipline and sexual scenarios that involved spankings. It kept menvery engaged with conspiracy plots against Queen Victoria and an evolving intense relationship between the characters. I enjoyed the delightful ending of this passionate and thrilling adventure espionage romance.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a fun read that was very entertaining. I loved Emily’s zest for life and how she threw caution to the wind. The attraction between Alfred and Emily was mutual and fun to watch especially when she is corrected. Along with their romance, there was a dangerous plot that added to the story. This is a story definitely worth reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and are voluntarily leaving a review.

[Knight Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A power house of mystery and intrigue as, as Viscount Alfred Cavendish works undercover with his new friend Lady Emily Bancroft to solve the message of the music box, and finally they work together to trap the men trying to kill the Queen all staying one step ahead of the miscreants themselves. A suspense filled romance.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Donise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heroine in this story is a spitfire and the hero decides that he is just the man to teach her the error of her ways. The chemistry between these two is hot and fun to read about. Add in some intrigue, some spanking and a couple of surprise rainstorms and you get quite the adventuresome story that will keep you guessing.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Genesia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily saw Alfred at a ball and had feelings for him even before they were introduced. She's naughty, and when they met, Alfred decided that she needed discipline. The book is entertaining, with suspense, a little action, spanking, and romance; it's worth reading. To me, it's a page-turner, with wonderful characters and great world-building.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Connie Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steamy read

A compelling heartfelt love story between a young immature lady and a handsome man. The white hot chemistry between the characters will have you wanting more of this intense and very emotional sexy read mystery, dangerous men, but most of all love. I truly loved this book. I highly recommend it.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was so good, I read it in a day. I love the characters! Emily was definitely ahead of the time and the same goes to Alfred. They jump pretty fast to the bed.
Romance is hot, suspense in full force.
I would definitely recommend this.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily has been trying to get the attention of Alfred...going as far as getting a scarlett gown to impress him but it doesn't work. When he comes to stay with her family...he gives her the discipline he believes she's lacking and Emily proves to be more than just lace and frills.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[casvec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily is young and immature, wanting to catch the eye of Alfred, a Viscount. Alfred finds himself alone with Emily when her father has to go out of town. He uses the time to correct her behavior.

Emily and Alfred's story has a hint of mystery and suspense as they do work for the Queen.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Áine Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've already read a couple of books in this series and I have to say that I preferred them to this one. That being said, it was entertaining, and I will continue to read the rest of the series. I just found Emily a bit tiresome.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[AMBER CLARK · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth book in the Misbehaving Brides, Emily Bancroft and Viscount Alfred Cavendish's steamy story. This regency era novella is full of danger, mystery, and spice. I enjoy this series and find it to be an absolute page turner.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, and enjoyable read. Well written with a good storyline, and characters that are well-developed and likable. Heart, thrills, and sizzle that don’t disappoint.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 5 is captivating and a completing story. Characters are great, not really realistic but great non the less. Different plot that will keep reader engaged.

[K G Wakeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Another fun sexy read from Maggie Carpenter. Alfred who lives by rules has wanted to spank our heroine over his knee for a while. Will be be able to tame her and save her from herself? A must read.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

MMC Alfred and FMC Emily met at a ball and he is friends with her brother. He knows that she is kind of a brat and needs someone who can handle her. He likes her because of and despite that, which I thought was very endearing and sweet.

His profession is somewhat mysterious which leads to some intrigue and there is some interesting action to the plot. I liked both Alfred and Emily, as well as how they grew closer once they got some time alone together and how their relationship developed.

There was good character development and growth, and the pacing was well done and kept the story moving forward. I did think that some of the dialogue and phrasing could have easily been more authentic to the time period and location, as I have read in other period stories. Overall this was a fun sweet read with realistic and lovable characters