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Regency Royal Mystery #1
A Brilliant Deception
Lily Thornton, daughter of the Duke of Breckenridge, unwittingly finds herself a suspect in a rash of jewelry thefts. In order to clear her name, she teams up with her best friend Emily's brother, the handsome Colin Dymoke, to find the real thief. To make matters worse, Lily's scheming former fiance keeps turning up and causing trouble while making Lily question her own self-worth. Thankfully, she has Colin by her side to help and protect her. As they work to solve the mystery, Lily fights her growing feelings for Colin, who is considered one of England's most eligible bachelors. Having been hurt in the past, she's reluctant to entrust her heart to someone again. Before long, the two of them are caught up in a web of intrique and deception. They need to clear Lily's name before she and her family are ruined and all hope for romance with Colin is lost.
215 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2007
28 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Fuller
118 books1,108 followersBest-selling author of Amish fiction. Also a wife, mother, crafter, coffee addict, football fan, and chocolate aficionado.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 27, 2020
Sometimes you want a familiar comforting snack, or read. This book is a can of Pringles or a chocolate chip cookie - predictable but diverting. Is it memorable? No, but it was just the read I was looking for.
January 15, 2020
My review on A Brilliant Deception by Kathleen Fuller :
This #novel seems best suited for a YA audience as it has all the bare bones of a romantic mystery, without the intrigue.
I felt the plot was predictable, the romance cookie-cutter, and the characters fairly flat.
However, there were no explicit scenes, and the easy reading would make this a decent YA novel, especially for those looking for a heartwarming story.
Read my full review at www.samiamreadingandreviewing.wordpre...
This #novel seems best suited for a YA audience as it has all the bare bones of a romantic mystery, without the intrigue.
I felt the plot was predictable, the romance cookie-cutter, and the characters fairly flat.
However, there were no explicit scenes, and the easy reading would make this a decent YA novel, especially for those looking for a heartwarming story.
Read my full review at www.samiamreadingandreviewing.wordpre...
August 2, 2017
This was a fun, clean Regency romance with a dash of adventure. 😊 Cute characters and nice plot. Now, on to book 2!
October 6, 2025
Sweet story.
July 14, 2011
Nothing very brilliant about the deception in this. I wasn't surprised in the least as to whom the villain was and how it ended.
The characters were so so, if not cliche. Fuller could've really done a better job at fleshing out the characters and relationships. Lily and Colin's came across shallow and superficial, because she added the most description on how it felt when they bumped into each other and no description anywhere else really. I can tell Fuller tried to make them connect on a deeper level, so I give her points for that. I liked Michael's character a lot and Fuller could've gone somewhere with that character (and Emily) and the secret he had, but she didn't and I’m left a little confused as to why she added their quirks and strong characters to this book when they weren't even the main characters. I didn't connect with the characters well, but that might be just me.
The plot fell apart. That's what, in the end, is giving this one star. The book focused more on the romance in it (fall in love, not lust, please!) than on the plot. The plot seemed more of a tacked on after thought. It was slow to begin with and the climax was cliche. The villain monologued, which gave the good guy time to stop him. The ending was as expected. The plot was boring; there could've been so much more action and drama, but as I said, it focused on the romantic aspect only. Normally, that's fine if balanced correctly. Which I obviously find it didn't...
Writing style and dialogue were so so. Definitely not one for description – save when the two leads just bump into each other – but it fit Fuller's style and the novel's length and pace. It really could've been better.
The summary makes it sound like its some big dramatic mystery, which is why I picked it up. Those of you looking for mystery, look elsewhere. People who like quick, romantic books would probably enjoy this.
I can't over look the plot flaw, so this is getting one star.
Would I recommend this? It won't come as a surprise to you when I say NO.
The characters were so so, if not cliche. Fuller could've really done a better job at fleshing out the characters and relationships. Lily and Colin's came across shallow and superficial, because she added the most description on how it felt when they bumped into each other and no description anywhere else really. I can tell Fuller tried to make them connect on a deeper level, so I give her points for that. I liked Michael's character a lot and Fuller could've gone somewhere with that character (and Emily) and the secret he had, but she didn't and I’m left a little confused as to why she added their quirks and strong characters to this book when they weren't even the main characters. I didn't connect with the characters well, but that might be just me.
The plot fell apart. That's what, in the end, is giving this one star. The book focused more on the romance in it (fall in love, not lust, please!) than on the plot. The plot seemed more of a tacked on after thought. It was slow to begin with and the climax was cliche. The villain monologued, which gave the good guy time to stop him. The ending was as expected. The plot was boring; there could've been so much more action and drama, but as I said, it focused on the romantic aspect only. Normally, that's fine if balanced correctly. Which I obviously find it didn't...
Writing style and dialogue were so so. Definitely not one for description – save when the two leads just bump into each other – but it fit Fuller's style and the novel's length and pace. It really could've been better.
The summary makes it sound like its some big dramatic mystery, which is why I picked it up. Those of you looking for mystery, look elsewhere. People who like quick, romantic books would probably enjoy this.
I can't over look the plot flaw, so this is getting one star.
Would I recommend this? It won't come as a surprise to you when I say NO.
November 13, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, lighthearted mystery with a touch of romance thrown in. Lily comes from a very wealthy family and is surprised when someone begins to frame her for the mysterious robberies that have been going on throughout the Ton. Colin is there from the beginning and comes to her rescue; soon they start working together to figure out who is framing Lily. I thought they had good chemistry, I’m not sure how believable it was that someone like Colin (who is supposed to be drop-dead gorgeous) would fall for Lily (who is supposed to be more than plain). I guess after getting to know each other they are able to look past his good looks and her plain ones? The mystery could have been developed a little more, like the reason why the burglar was stealing the bracelets could have been explained further and the end suspect was a little predictable. Overall, it was a fun read and I look forward to reading the other two books in the series.
August 22, 2016
Lily Breckenridge is the daughter of a duke, but she feels like an ugly duckling because she is too tall and too thin to be considered a beauty. It doesn't help her confidence that her former betrothed, George Clayburn, was only after her large dowry and insults her constantly. So even though she is attracted to her best friend's brother, Colin Dymoke, she knows he would never be interested in her. But it would be nice if he stopped suspecting her of being The Bracelet Bandit - a thief who is stealing bracelets from the wealthy. Someone is working hard to frame Lily of the crimes and she and Colin, with the help of a surprising ally, need to work together to find out who is behind the crimes.
Rating: 4 stars
Content: Clean
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4 stars
Content: Clean
Source: Kindle Unlimited
May 16, 2015
A HIt!
This is the first time I have read this author's books. Before I go further; let me say this is a clean read. I really enjoyed this book, it is well written, the characters are well rounded, there are plenty of sub characters, the story line is great, the romance is nice. It held my attention....start to finish. The only thing it really lacked is some humor thrown in to it. Otherwise it's a great read.
This is the first time I have read this author's books. Before I go further; let me say this is a clean read. I really enjoyed this book, it is well written, the characters are well rounded, there are plenty of sub characters, the story line is great, the romance is nice. It held my attention....start to finish. The only thing it really lacked is some humor thrown in to it. Otherwise it's a great read.
February 20, 2011
it was a fantastic romance but not an intellectual book.
October 27, 2014
A clean-read Regency romance/mystery with engaging characters and intriguing situations.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews