Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Taming of Lady Kate by GG Vandagriff

Jack Bailey-Wintersham, Marquis of Northbrooke, meets Lady Kate Derramore in an auspicious manner, but their fortunate meeting is soon overshadowed by espionage, kidnapping and betrayal. Regardless of how they met, Jack falls almost instantly in love with Kate, but in addition to all the many pitfalls he encounters, including being wounded (twice!), he finds Kate high-spirited, willful and almost foolish  - well, downright foolish when it comes to her attempts to "save" Jack from being killed or thrown into dangerous situations which his occupation demands of him.
Set in historical England, near the same time frame as Jane Austen wrote, and with a similar flare, The Taming of Lady Kate is a fast-paced, engrossing tale of Lady Kate and her desire to marry for convenience. She will not inherit her father's fortune until she marries well. To complicate affairs, her younger step-brother, whom she adores, has been sent off to boarding school where she fears he is being mistreated because of his stutter, and she will not gain custody of him until she marries properly. She is, therefore, motivated to pursue matrimony with the handsome Marquis, Jack Bailey-Wintersham. Kate is also surprised to find herself drawn to Jack in ways she never would have expected. But, how could she love Jack? She had thought herself to be in love with an Italian whom her father had completely and utterly refused her to marry and had threatened that such an unworthy marriage would bring about her disinheritance of her father's estate entirely.
The plot is thick with surprises and twists and turns. Yet it is surprisingly easy to follow and flows from one scene into another at such a quick pace that my heart raced a little faster with each turning page.
GG Vandagriff has hit the mark with The Taming of Lady Kate and has given her readers a story they will enjoy from cover to cover.