Review-Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress by Theresa Romain- 5*

Title: Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress
Series: Matchmaker Trilogy #3
Author: Theresa Romain
Genre: Historical Romance

Rating: * * * * * 

Publishers: Sourcebooks Casablanca

(Jan 6, 2015)

Paperback: 320 pages

ISBN: 978-1402284052

FTC Disclosure: Book provided by the author

One good proposition deserves another...

Heiress Augusta Meredith can't help herself-she stirs up gossip wherever she goes. A stranger to Bath society, she pretends to be a charming young widow, until sardonic, darkly handsome Joss Everett arrives from London and uncovers her charade.

Augusta persuades Joss to keep her secret in exchange for a secret of his own. Weaving their way through the treacherous pitfalls of a polite world only too eager to expose and condemn them, they begin to see that being true to themselves is not so bad...as long as they're true to each other...

I didn't realize until after I'd finished this book that it was in fact the third book in the series. Definitely did not feel like I'd missed anything by not having read the earlier books, but I do intend going back and reading them as this book was fabulous. I liked that the setting was in Bath rather than the London ball rooms. I loved reading about the places and activities that took place there as well as the more relaxed feel of the parties.  

I loved the banter between Joss and Augusta. They had me chuckling out loud frequently as they snarked at one another. The fact that both main characters were working upper middle class rather than the usual upper class, Lord or Lady, was also a plus for me. It was a very refreshing change of pace. 

While there was a rather quirky romance, there was also a small mystery involving blackmail that while not real in depth did add yet another layer to the story. Romance plus mystery plus snarky main characters added up to a very satisfying recipe for a late night read.