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Love & Temptation #4
Sweet Masquerade
The tenth earl of Berham did not know what to do. An attractive 32-year-old bachelor, he had been appointed guardian of the young Freddie Armstrong, the eighteen-year-old grandson of his late father€™s dear friend. That was bad enough. Then he discovered that this boy was really a girl! It was against all convention and against his personal code to keep a young lady concealed in his own home. He had to find a solution.The earl€™s frequent visitor, Lady Clarissa Rennenord, heartily agreed - but for less noble reasons. Lady Clarissa hoped to snare the earl in marriage and she did not want any competition. She recommended that Freddie be sent to a seminary. No one but Lady Rennenord knew what a horrid place it was. No one, including Lady Rennenord, had expected Freddie to escape€¦ Now Freddie was back, and the earl found her presence unsettling in more ways than one€¦ABOUT THE SERIESDetermined heroines run the gamut from those w
176 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
52 people are currently reading
342 people want to read
About the author
Marion Chesney
139 books750 followersMarion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 11, 2012
Holy infodump, Lord Batman!
On the one hand, I was not really engaged in the story and kept comparing it to the cross-dressing redhead story I actually like. On the other hand, no one had ever given me a really good description of cockfighting before. Of course, it was two pages of transcribed research paper, but still, it was new.
Also, I object to the amount of fainting. And the weird gender issues. I mean, weirder than I would expect in a crossdressing book. Freddie's costume appears to dictate who she is, even to herself. Ick. I am me whether I am in skirts or pants. And the point where the hero realizes she's a girl because he's attracted to her... isn't it possible that he could be attracted to a boy? Like, doesn't it cross his mind and weird him out?
I think my favorite part was the earnest and impoverished former schoolteacher. She was the most interesting character in the whole thing.
"Like most shy people, her world was filled with hanging judges, all ready to condemn her for her sins, and so she never said a word."
Read if: You are sick in bed and not smart enough for anything thoughtful or challenging.
Skip if: You are in it for characterization, drama, depth, or sparkling repartee.
Read instead: These Old Shades, the authoritative spunky redhead/satanic-looking older man/crossdressing book.
On the one hand, I was not really engaged in the story and kept comparing it to the cross-dressing redhead story I actually like. On the other hand, no one had ever given me a really good description of cockfighting before. Of course, it was two pages of transcribed research paper, but still, it was new.
Also, I object to the amount of fainting. And the weird gender issues. I mean, weirder than I would expect in a crossdressing book. Freddie's costume appears to dictate who she is, even to herself. Ick. I am me whether I am in skirts or pants. And the point where the hero realizes she's a girl because he's attracted to her... isn't it possible that he could be attracted to a boy? Like, doesn't it cross his mind and weird him out?
I think my favorite part was the earnest and impoverished former schoolteacher. She was the most interesting character in the whole thing.
"Like most shy people, her world was filled with hanging judges, all ready to condemn her for her sins, and so she never said a word."
Read if: You are sick in bed and not smart enough for anything thoughtful or challenging.
Skip if: You are in it for characterization, drama, depth, or sparkling repartee.
Read instead: These Old Shades, the authoritative spunky redhead/satanic-looking older man/crossdressing book.
April 10, 2011
This is one of the few books/series I would read again. These stories of Marion Chesney started me on my adventure...reading Regency Romance/Novels/History! There is not a set of books that will teach you more about the basics about life in Regency England. There are six series with six books each. I love them all. It must be a "past life" thing:)
January 28, 2022
The H an Earl became guardian to a young man 18 years of age. The young man was really a girl disguised as a boy. Apparently her grandfather wanted her to be disguised as a boy for her protection. Once the Earl discovered she was a girl she had been living with him unchaperoned. He was courting a wealthy widow whom he was attracted to. Freddie the h didn’t like the widow. The widow tried to get Freddy sent away so she could have the Earl all to herself. Freddy falls in love with the Earl but he doesn’t realize until he is locked in his bedroom with her. There is a lot of action in the story with some villains. I gave this story 4 stars.
October 19, 2024
Regency romance with a cross-dressing FMC
The handsome, extremely wealthy, 32-year-old Earl of Berham is shocked to discover he has been designated as a guardian for Freddie Armstrong, the 18-year-old grandchild of a longtime, close friend of his deceased father, until Freddie comes of age at 21. It is obvious that this wealthy aristocrat failed to update his will after the death of the current Earl's father. But because Berham is an honorable man, he reluctantly shoulders responsibility for Freddie. Unfortunately, when Freddie arrives at his palatial country estate, Berham discovers to his dismay that his charge is small and effeminate and seems more like a 12-year-old boy than an 18-year-old man. After a week or so of placing Freddie in the charge of a crude and careless male companion/tutor, it becomes apparent to Berham that Frederick is actually Frederica. He learns from Freddie that her eccentric grandfather was a recluse who raised her as a boy. At a loss for figuring out a viable solution for how to deal with any female ward, but especially one as peculiar as Frederica, he turns for advice to Lady Clarissa Rennenord. She is a beautiful, wealthy widow around the same age as the Earl, who has recently become a frequent visitor to his home. Because she aspires to marry the Earl, Lady Clarissa offers a self-serving suggestion that is extremely dangerous for poor Freddie. She recommends placing her at what she convinces the Earl is an elite finishing school for young ladies, but which, in actuality, is a de facto prison for wayward, aristocratic girls run by two brutal, low-class women.
Similar to virtually every Regency romance that Marion Chesney wrote, there is a big age gap between Freddie and Berham. In addition, a "damsel in distress" plot takes over most of the story and leaves the romance portion as something of an afterthought, which is sloppily tacked on at the very end of the novel. The Earl spends over 75% of the book unimpressively snared in the toils of the Evil Other Woman.
The story is told in omniscient POV, and we are frequently subjected to the wicked thoughts of the EOW and three other villains whom she has paid to carry out her dastardly schemes. On the plus side for this plot, every single villain gets their well deserved comeuppance by the end of the book.
In terms of onstage sex, this novel is not quite G-rated. The sole sex scene at the very end of the book happens after marriage, and there is no description other than that the husband and wife are in bed together and quite pleased with each other after their wedding night.
I obtained access to the audiobook version of this novel through Hoopla. It is narrated by British actress Lindy Nettleton, who has performed the vast majority of Marion Chesney's Regency romances. She does a good job.
The handsome, extremely wealthy, 32-year-old Earl of Berham is shocked to discover he has been designated as a guardian for Freddie Armstrong, the 18-year-old grandchild of a longtime, close friend of his deceased father, until Freddie comes of age at 21. It is obvious that this wealthy aristocrat failed to update his will after the death of the current Earl's father. But because Berham is an honorable man, he reluctantly shoulders responsibility for Freddie. Unfortunately, when Freddie arrives at his palatial country estate, Berham discovers to his dismay that his charge is small and effeminate and seems more like a 12-year-old boy than an 18-year-old man. After a week or so of placing Freddie in the charge of a crude and careless male companion/tutor, it becomes apparent to Berham that Frederick is actually Frederica. He learns from Freddie that her eccentric grandfather was a recluse who raised her as a boy. At a loss for figuring out a viable solution for how to deal with any female ward, but especially one as peculiar as Frederica, he turns for advice to Lady Clarissa Rennenord. She is a beautiful, wealthy widow around the same age as the Earl, who has recently become a frequent visitor to his home. Because she aspires to marry the Earl, Lady Clarissa offers a self-serving suggestion that is extremely dangerous for poor Freddie. She recommends placing her at what she convinces the Earl is an elite finishing school for young ladies, but which, in actuality, is a de facto prison for wayward, aristocratic girls run by two brutal, low-class women.
Similar to virtually every Regency romance that Marion Chesney wrote, there is a big age gap between Freddie and Berham. In addition, a "damsel in distress" plot takes over most of the story and leaves the romance portion as something of an afterthought, which is sloppily tacked on at the very end of the novel. The Earl spends over 75% of the book unimpressively snared in the toils of the Evil Other Woman.
The story is told in omniscient POV, and we are frequently subjected to the wicked thoughts of the EOW and three other villains whom she has paid to carry out her dastardly schemes. On the plus side for this plot, every single villain gets their well deserved comeuppance by the end of the book.
In terms of onstage sex, this novel is not quite G-rated. The sole sex scene at the very end of the book happens after marriage, and there is no description other than that the husband and wife are in bed together and quite pleased with each other after their wedding night.
I obtained access to the audiobook version of this novel through Hoopla. It is narrated by British actress Lindy Nettleton, who has performed the vast majority of Marion Chesney's Regency romances. She does a good job.
May 30, 2012
If you have read a Marion Chesney book before, you'll know exactly what to expect here. If you haven't read Marion Chesney before, I hesitate to recommend her. Her writing style is tell rather than show, her characters are caricatures, the farcical situations are on par with an episode of Three's Company. Yet, for me, there is still a laugh-out-loud quality to the idiotic absurdness of it all. Freddie pitching a book out a window at Lady Rennenord to interrupt the earl's marriage proposal is certainly silly and not very creative, yet I find it amusing enough to enjoy it. You either like this stuff or you don't!! (I'll take it in limited quantities, please.)
July 18, 2020
Extremely light and fluffy read.
February 7, 2014
The Earl of Berham is 33, unwed and bored. His life turns upside down when he becomes guardian of 18 year old Freddie Armstrong, the grandson of his father's old friend. Freddie seems very weak and feminine and not at all someone the Earl wants in his life. The situation becomes tense when Freddie is introduced to the lady the Earl is courting and the lady and Freddie take an instant dislike to each other. When it is discovered that Freddie is actually Frederica, a girl who has been raised as a boy, the Earl packs Freddie off to a seminary recommended by his girlfriend. Unbeknowst to the Earl, the seminiary is actually a sort of prison for wayward girls where the proprietors extort money from the wealthy while abusing their children. No one counted on Freddie's wayward upbringing to help her escape from the dastardly seminary, let alone the Earl who was beginning to suspect his intended bride knew more than she let on. Freddie must learn to control her feelings and accept her future as a woman. The plot of this book isn't very interesting. The characters aren't likeable, not even Freddie, who I was expecting to be a tombiyish girl masquerading as a boy. Freddie had moments of spunkiness which I admired but she was very young and acted very immature for a heroine of a romantic novel. I disliked this book and felt it was one of Chesney's worst.
October 22, 2014
The tenth earl of Berham did not know what to do. An attractive thirty-two-year-old bachelor, he was appointed guardian of one Freddie Armstrong, the eighteen-year-old grandson of his late father's dear friend. That was bad enough. Then he discovered the boy was really a girl! It simply would not do to keep an unchaperoned young lady in his home. The earl's frequent visitor, Lady Clarissa Rennenord, heartily agreed--but for less noble reasons. Hoping to snare the earl in marriage, her ladyship did not want any competition. She recommended that Freddie be sent to a seminary. No one but Lady Rennenord knew what a horrid place it was. No one, including Lady Rennenord, expected Freddie to escape.Now Freddie was back. And the earl found her presence disturbing in more ways than one. . .
Typical fluffy romance and though the story premise was interesting and the bad, grasping wanna-be fun, Chesney can't seem to change her descriptions of characters enough to make them more real from book to book.
Typical fluffy romance and though the story premise was interesting and the bad, grasping wanna-be fun, Chesney can't seem to change her descriptions of characters enough to make them more real from book to book.
January 25, 2023
I borrowed the audiobook from the library not realizing the original book was an 80’s formula regency romance. Some of the formula has not aged well at all.
August 10, 2017
Didn't like this series so much. See her Poor Relations and The Traveling Matchmaker for fun romances.
June 22, 2019
One of the things about really old-school regency romance novels is that when they have teenage heroines, the heroines feel very young. It just adds a level of creepy, particularly when, as here, you have a guardian/ward romance, when the guardian is old and crusty and the heroine is a flippety child. I might have enjoyed it if I was in the right mood, but when you add in the Villainous-For-No-Particular-Reason Other Woman I just wasn't.
March 18, 2018
Five stars for this period piece.
Deals with Freddie who masquerades as a youth and is sent to a friend of her fathers as his ward until reaching the age of 21.
The Earl discovers the gender of his ward, but his param0ur convinces him to send her to a 'convent' for education.
No spoilers.... great read.
Deals with Freddie who masquerades as a youth and is sent to a friend of her fathers as his ward until reaching the age of 21.
The Earl discovers the gender of his ward, but his param0ur convinces him to send her to a 'convent' for education.
No spoilers.... great read.
October 27, 2021
3.5🌟 I love these books as a breath of fresh air after reading a really dense, serious book. Not quite as good as the 3 others I've read in this series so far, but still entertaining and worth reading. I don't know what I'd do without these silly, light regency romances. They really brighten my days and reading life!
December 23, 2017
A mildly diverting Regency romance full of silly cowards and clueless idiots (like most books by Marion Chesney aka MC Beaton). The bad guys get what's coming to them and the good guys live happily ever after.
May 30, 2023
*3.25….it was a fun romp with not a lot of substance but it was fun nonetheless. Just what I needed after almost being put into a slump from the book before this that I’m not sure if I’m going to DNF or not🤷♀️
November 25, 2019
Fun Read
This is a fun read. One of her best romance novels. A very enjoyable pilot and great ending. Love this author!
This is a fun read. One of her best romance novels. A very enjoyable pilot and great ending. Love this author!
April 23, 2020
Loved it!
Sweet and clean short novel.
Earl Augustus Berham ♥️ Frederica aka Freddie Armstrong.
Sweet and clean short novel.
Earl Augustus Berham ♥️ Frederica aka Freddie Armstrong.
March 19, 2023
Not a favorite.
October 31, 2023
Great characters!
Read
January 20, 2024Creepy
June 30, 2025
Another good clean, fun romance. Like characters and. Storyline.
March 15, 2017
These books are hilarious. I love them and am never disappointed.
January 17, 2017
Not bad, but I hate reading books where women dress like men. It did have a few funny spots.
April 5, 2015
This was a re-read for me, but I again enjoyed the story of Freddie and her guardian, the Earl of Berham. Frederica has been wearing boy's clothes for years. She was raised by her grandfather who did not like girls and treated her as a grandson, teaching her boxing and fencing and other masculine sports.
When the masquerade is revealed, the Earl doesn't know what to do with Freddie. She must begin to wear dresses. She must have a chaperone. She must have a Season. So many complications the Earl did not expect.
Ms. Chesney's Regency romances are sweet and gentle with no steamy bedroom scenes. Most of her heroes are strictly gentlemen and her heroines are mostly naïve young misses. If that's what you're looking for, you should enjoy her books.
When the masquerade is revealed, the Earl doesn't know what to do with Freddie. She must begin to wear dresses. She must have a chaperone. She must have a Season. So many complications the Earl did not expect.
Ms. Chesney's Regency romances are sweet and gentle with no steamy bedroom scenes. Most of her heroes are strictly gentlemen and her heroines are mostly naïve young misses. If that's what you're looking for, you should enjoy her books.
September 12, 2016
These books are like potato chips you can't read just one. The start of this book is so predicable it is almost waste of time. When the 10th Earl's ward (nudge nudge wink wink) a delicate pale red haired boy (WINK WINK) arrives he has no idea what to do with Him. Luckily his attractive neighbor knows just what to do and soon our Boy (Wink) is fighting a duel at a Cock Fight (Roosters). After the 'secret' is revealed the Earl realizes the girl is compromised unless he can protect her. He sends her off to a distant finishing school which has misrepresented itself. But true love will out..
January 11, 2017
At the beginning I didn’t like the hero. He was in love with a conniving heifer who he allowed to treat the heroine badly. I also am not a fan of books in which the heroine dresses like a man/boy. I did like that the heroine had spunk and there were some funny moments and all the villains got what was coming to them.
July 16, 2015
It's a good thing I've read some of Chesney's other Regencies, or I might never read her again. Frederica was the absolute worst heroine! Spoiled, immature, ugh. I was so disgusted with her that I was actually hoping that something terrible would really happen to her. She would deserve it!
July 29, 2016
Read this once before, but not recently. It was fairly tiresome and obvious. Probably won't re-read if I think of it.
September 18, 2012
Read this as light relief in between 'serious' coursework books, for which it was absolutely perfect :)
February 19, 2013
Popcorn for the brain
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews