The Earl of Rossmore and Grace marry within weeks of meeting, this would explain why soon there is little trust between them. Numerous misunderstandings and frustrating lack of communication between the passionate lovers keep them apart. I particularly enjoy reading about by gone times and this fast moving novel is set in 1815, in Dorset and London.

This is -not- a clean romance, so not my cup of tea and would not recommend. Publishers should really put Mature content labels on the cover or spine like you have to with cds and movies, etc.

That aside, their "love story" starts and stops fast enough to give whiplash. I didn't find much to admire in Grace - are in you in awe of the earl and/or raised to be a dutiful, polite and submissive wife or are you not? Alex is painted as demanding and controlling, but is quick to laugh it off and adjust his behavior. Characters were not consistent or realistic in this way.

I was then disappointed in Grace's lack of propriety and sense. Many of the characters make foolish or ugly choices. The book is full of envy, greed, lust, promiscuity, infidelity, betrayal, treachery, etc. Yikes.

An action-filled romance, set in the Regency period, that takes the reader backwards and forwards between Dorset and London as one misunderstanding after another thwarts the relationship between the Earl of Rossmore and Grace, his new wife.

They were two people who’d felt an instant attraction for each other, and on the strength of their mutual passion, had married. But neither really knew much about the other. Both were unaware of events in the other’s past life, which inevitably shaped the way in which they responded to situations thrown up in the early days of their marriage, and the path of true love was far from smooth.

Throw into the mixture of swirling passions, a handsome captain who lives near Grace’s Dorset property, Solitaire, and a gambling man who can see his chance of inheriting an estate fast disappearing, and you have a page-turning novel that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

Definitely recommended.

This historical novel from Julie Roberts captures the heart of period fiction.
it is clearly richly researched but the social and gender inequalities of Regency England are portrayed through the emotion, passion and actions of two compelling characters who have to break free from the expectations of people of their class at this time in England.
This is a page turner of a historical romance that is not to be missed!

Historical romance which follows the traditional pattern. Slow to get going then moved along quickly. Good characters.

A Tainted Marriage, Regency Marriage Laws series, Julie Roberts

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (adult)

I like to dip into historical fiction every now and then, everything seems gentler, less fraught, though of course life was still a real struggle for so many folk. I really enjoyed this read, it took some turns that I didn't foresee and which were very real. I do like my fiction to have a sense of reality – even if its fantasy I need to think that events could actually happen that way. The things in this book, especially when Grace visits Greensleeves, I could see things happening just as they played out.
I really liked Grace, wasn't so keen on Alex. I sort of understood his fears, but it was really hard on Grace and I could see how upset by things she was, and how she reached the conclusions she did. Later in the book it was easy to see why Alex, jumped to conclusions and I guess most would see things the way he did given the constraints on women at the time, the conventions of society that she wasn't adhering to. Earlier in the book when he was so ,,dogmatic, autocratic, I'm not quite sure how to describe it, I had to keep reminding myself his actions were the norm for the time, when ladies were considered property of their husbands, of fathers, and decisions made for them. I guess that shows just how far we've come with women's rights.
I was expecting a simple historical romance, what I got was just that, plus an interesting side story, that lifted the novel from “just” a romance, to a story that really made me think about conventions, about women's rights, and about how easily some of these events could have turned to disaster for Grace. I even came round to Alex, he redeemed himself by his love for Grace and his willingness to admit where he'd been wrong.


Stars: Five, An enticing story with romance, drama, some fabulous obnoxious characters and a real flavour of the time.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

A most enjoyable read. Intrigue and mystery with characters who have had issues and emotional traumas in the past and then misunderstandings throughout the course of their relationship until the inevitable and happy ending.