He claims to be her husband, the only man who can keep her safe. But she has no memory of this handsome ruffian…Brilliant French scientist Marie Nicole LeBon awakens in a Paris asylum with no name and no memory of the tragic accident that has erased her past. A fair-haired rescuer with the face of an angel comes to free her, claiming to be her husband…but he is an imposter, Max D’Avenant, a … Max D’Avenant, a British agent who soon finds himself torn between his loyalty to the Crown and his love for this woman he is sworn to betray.
If you love protective alpha male heroes, edge-of-your-seat adventure, and scorching love scenes, discover why readers are raving about Shelly Thacker’s Escape with a Scoundrel series!
The Escape with a Scoundrel Series
These sexy bad boys are on the wrong side of the law–and willing to break all the rules to protect the women they love. Each book is a stand-alone steamy historical romance:
Book 1: ESCAPE WITH A SCOUNDREL (Nicholas and Samantha)
Book 2: HER SCOUNDREL EARL (Marcus and Elizabeth)
Book 3: ONE NIGHT WITH A SCOUNDREL (Saxon and Ashiana)
Book 4: A SCOUNDREL’S KISS (Max and Marie)
more
A well put together story full of suspenseful intriguing adventure a tense theme. Marvelous depiction of the era great atmosphere. Characters to admire and love. The intimate moments are heartfelt to the bone. With all of this said the author left one big question unanswered. I wonder did other readers notice?? Mean time read and enjoy.
Saddened by the number of people starving in France, chemist Marie Nicole LeBon sets out to create a fertilizer to help farmers increase their yield – but to her complete mortification the compound she gives to a local farmer to test incinerates his fields! She is working in her makeshift lab when her sister Veronique comes in, they are talking when one of her tests explodes, but before she can even begin to examine the cause, her twin brother Armand sneaks in through a window – he tells the girls they must leave now and sets off at a neck-break pace to outrun the government officials who want Marie’s formula. Because while her concoction is a failure as a fertilizer, it is a massive success as a chemical weapon! Marie watches in horror as her home is burned and hears gunfire – Armand increases their reckless pace and loses control and crashes. When she wakes, she is in an asylum and remembers nothing, not even her name.
Lord Maximilian “Max” D’Avenant is invited to meet with Fleming and Wolf, two members of a “special ministry” of the crown and they want Max to travel to France and bring Marie back to England so they can get her formula. Her compound was used on his brother Julian’s ship – it killed many men and left Julian not only injured, but blind. They tell Max of her chemical, of the notes they found, of the accident that killed her sister, of how they thought Armand was the chemist and of her amnesia. Max wants revenge for his brother and believes that Marie is greedy and evil, so he agrees to the mission. He will abduct her and convince her that he is her husband, gain her trust and hopefully learn her formula.
Max is successful in getting Marie out of the asylum and convincing her that he is her husband. He takes her to a house in Paris and begins to gain her trust. Soon Max is sure that Marie is not the evil mercenary that created a chemical weapon, he believes her brother forced her to do it. But it is becoming clear that she has no memory of the compound and seems to have no interest in chemistry at all. And Max is falling for her, but he has a mission and will carry it out. But when Marie ventures out on her own and gets lost in the city – Max realizes what she means to him and how much he loves her. In an effort to protect her, he cuts their time in Paris short and plans to take her to England sooner than expected. They set out, following the plan he worked out with Fleming and Wolf, but soon realizes one of them is a traitor and to save Marie, he will have to find a way to protect her and keep his secrets.
This was a well written and fast paced story with wonderful characters, secrets, amnesia, betrayal, heartache, lies, steamy love scenes, intrigue, cameos from the D’Avenant brothers, Ashiana and Nicobar, a bit of angst and HEA that didn’t seem possible. I thought the author did an amazing job portraying Marie’s amnesia, it was very well written and believable, but I did feel like the ending dragged out a little and I started to get annoyed with Marie’s refusal to forgive Max – yes, she deserved her anger, but I felt like she held on to it for way too long and then just let it go in the blink of an eye. Overall, this was a great book and I highly recommend it – unlike the first two books in the series that are completely unconnected, this book is loosely connected to the previous book One Night with a Scoundrel, you don’t have to read that book to enjoy this book, but if you want to learn more about the D’Avenant brothers, including Max’s “illness” I would recommend reading that title first.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me.*
Ms. Thacker is a new to me author so I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up. I can tell you I was very pleasantly surprised. This was such a well-written novel that it kept my interest from beginning to end and I had a very hard time putting it down. This book had everything from betrayal and conspiracy to intrigue and romance. It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was so sweet how Max was so worried about Marie and finally realized his feelings for her when she ventured out into the city on her own. The plot was fast-paced, with not a single dull moment. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A story with strong emotions from such sadness, to feeling a little happiness, then betrayal and everything in between. In the opening pages I was captured and felt my heart break a little but I kept going and this turned into a somewhat complicated spy, suspense, and with all of the falsehoods the hero led the heroine to believe, it seemed impossible for a happy ending.
When Max is sent to France to retrieve Marie, who was a female scientist, she had lost her memory so she did not realize he was not her husband as he portrayed. She had been making experiments that had backfired and in trying to correct got the attention of some villains.
Max is trying to get Marie back to England and so many things happen. Trust me, you do not want to miss this amazing story filled with intrigue, secrets, sadness, suspense, and wonderful characters and these two try to make it to a happy ending! I read this through Booksprout
This was the first book I’ve read by Shelly Thacker, but now I’m going to binge read everything else she’s ever written, because this adventure was astoundingly yummy. Steam, espionage, courage, resourcefulness, trust, politics, clever women and the men who respect them, sorrow, loyalty, familial bonds/duty, betrayal, hope, and love all featured in this captivating and bingeworthy tale.
I received a free copy of A Scoundrel’s Kiss, but that did not affect my review.
A Scoundrel‘S Kiss
Escape with a Scoundrel series
Book 4
by Shelly Thacker
The story begins with Marie Nicole LaBon a young woman of French noble birth with a love for science on the verge of finding what she hopes will end famine for France. She needs to find the means to help her family but instead things go so very wrong and her fertilizer now is a weapon that everyone is after! Marie is in danger after an accident took her memory left her sister dead and her twin brother in prison. Life for poor Marie is about to get worse before it gets better.
Max D’Avenant is a man with many talents but at heart he’s a scientist but hasn’t had luck in love. Love deception angst makes this a powerful and emotional tale. A Great Read I recommend it Highly. I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
A sad, mysterious, romantic, thrilling, story with misunderstandings between two people whose countries are at war. Max was a sickly child who grows up to surprise even himself with his maturity, and Maria grew up with a brilliant mind a head of her time. This was a wonderful story showing several different ways of overcoming obstacles.
Heart racing adventure filled with dangerous and exciting charters, witty banter, emotionally thrilling twists and passionate turns. Was a great read that was so hard to put down. Really enjoyed this heartwarming yet very exciting journey!
The fourth book in the Escape with a Scoundrel Series is well written with a very good storyline. French scientist Marie Nicole LeBon and British agent Max D’Avenant’s story there is suspense, drama, danger, twists, turns, and romance. I hope there is more to come in this series. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a wonderful and surprising book! I loved Marie, she was brilliant and focused. Max was dashing and heroic…although I got a little frustrated with him a few times! But the ending made it all worthwhile! I now need to go back and read the earlier books; I’m hooked!
Well-written, exciting and romantic, this novel kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Max D’Avenant is sent to France to retrieve a female scientist who formulated an explosive that was responsible for blowing up one of his brother’s ships with devastating results. He sets in motion an elaborate plan that has echos of the 1965 WWII movie 36 Hours, but he is ultimately hoisted by his own petard when the hunter finds himself losing his heart to his prey. Marie LeBon has one thought only, to find a solution to the poverty and famine stalking her country. When her experiments go wrong, she catches the attention of the wrong people and before she knows it, Marie finds herself in a dark world, not knowing where or who she is. The man claiming to be her husband is her one chance to escape the hell she is in, but nothing is adding up. The plot is fast-paced and exciting as Max and Marie navigate the dangerous route back to Britain, remaining in hiding until the story comes to a disastrous point where revelations explode in their faces. One can only despair for both Marie and Max as betrayal and deep wounds prevent them from seeing the truth right in front of them. I became so invested in this book that I was completely taken by surprise when it came to an end and I very reluctantly had to close my Kindle. I received a copy of this novel through Booksprout and this is my honest and voluntary review.
This was an entertaining, well-written book. Marie is a French scientist with amnesia. Max comes to her rescue, claiming to be her husband. The story was fast paced with plenty of action and steamy romance. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.
A Scoundrel’s Kiss by Shelly Thacker is book 4 in the Escape with a Scoundrel Series. This is the story of Max D’Avenant and Marie Nicole LeBon. I haven’t read the previous book, so for me this was a standalone book. Marie is a great French scientist who was trying to event fertilizer to help her people but instead created an explosive recipe that cause her and her family to run. But Marie was injured causing her to have amnesia which landed her in asylum. Max is British agent who has been asked by the British Crown to bring Marie to them. To do so he pretends to be her husband so he can take control of her. What he doesn’t count on is her being innocent and his growing feelings for her.
This was a page turning story for me! Love it and hope to read more from this author.
A well-written story involving a French scientist and an English spy.
I enjoyed this story and it is a great escape. I will be adding this author to my TBR list.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
How did a female scientist, trying to perfect a formula for fertilizer, get mixed up with amnesia, a fake husband, spies, and both the French and British governments chasing her? A really good read that I hated to put down. I received an ARC of this book.
Max is recruited by the English to go to France and retrieve the formula for the most powerful explosive ever made. Max is a scientist not a spy but he is resourceful in tough situations. He manages to rescue Marie from an asylum, make there way back to England but he never expected to fall in love with her. There are a lot of tense moments in this book, danger is rampant, a traitor to the Crown makes his mission even more dangerous. There is a HEA but it was a fight all the way. This is an entertaining read and I would recommend it.
This is book 4 of the series, but is a stand alone.
How this begins for the h broke my heart. The way the author introduces the h and her little sister made you feel their love and connection. It stayed with me throughout the story and the emotions I felt for the h not remembering anything was heart wrenching. When we knew the backstory but she didn’t
Even knowing why the H acted as he did with the information he received was hard to watch unfold. As the story progresses you see his feelings change for the h. As you see them changing for her but for a different reason. She is making false memories with the information the H is telling her. Again, so emotional from beginning to the end.
You will be drawn into this story from beginning to the end. There is not one part that dragged for me. You have betrayal on many fronts and you won’t know who is friend or foe. This story is an emotional roller coaster that I read in one sitting. I had to know if our couple were not only going to be safe, but when the trust and loved they formed was going to come tumbling down.
We have lovemaking outside of marriage, heat level 3 out of 5 if that. The connection that you felt from them, made their lovemaking filled with love and passion.
When our h learns the truth I felt the betrayal done to her. This author knows how to draw all your emotions from her reader’s. My only unanswered question was how did the h drive a carriage alone to the H’s home? This was a foreign country for her and she wouldn’t know the way.
This story is filled with villains, tragedy, a lot of suspense, action, twists, betrayal, great character’s. No cheating, no cliffhanger, HEA, romance and a small tad of spice.
I was gifted a copy and all opinions are my own and voluntarily given. (ljb)
The Story of Marie Nicole LaBon and Max D’Avenant was a Powerful and Emotional
Tale.
They each had a Burden of their Past Issues and Dealing in Relationships. There
were many twists and turns and unexpected events that kept you Intrigued through
the whole story.
Most of ALL WAS There Relationship . You could Feel there Growth and Trust and Love and
Desire that Grew throughout the Obstacles of their Journey.
Great Read I recommend it Highly.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Wonderful written romance with suspense, drama and mystery. Marie and Max are thrown together when she gets locked up in an asylum and has loss her memory that she is a scientist that has discovered something amazing that both France and England are after. Max rescues her for his country England while pretending that they are married. Loved the intrigue of the story and the romance between Max and Marie.
I loved this story! There’s adventure, suspense, romance, angst, and much more. I really felt the emotions while reading this and the story really touched me. This is my favorite type of romance in a book and I hope there will be more in this series. I received a copy of this book from the author and this is my honest opinion and voluntary review.