The quest to break a mummy’s curse turns dangerous when a peer ends up dead.Miles Lawrence Hawkins, fifth Earl of Archewyne, is alone and the last of his line, save for a young daughter, and he’s made peace with that…Yet unexpectedly finding an attractive female thief in his library gives him doubts. Drawn into the lady’s insane plot to retrieve various stolen mummies from around … around London—including the British Museum—he accompanies her merely to see what will happen next. Being captivated by her quest and intrigued by her talent for skirting the law is a much needed distraction from the stress of his own life’s misfortunes.
Lady Emmaline Darling, skilled thief and only child to the Earl of St. Ives, is under a mummy’s curse. Believing herself damned due to her father’s penchant for removing antiquities from Egypt, she’s vowed to return a pair of mummies to their eternal resting place in order to save his life and her own. Being caught by Miles wasn’t in her plan, and neither was falling for his charm, but she’ll do anything to see he’s free of the curse as well, for their histories are too intricately connected for his ills to just be bad luck.
When a peer with ties to them both ends up dead and Emmaline’s jewelry is found at the scene, Miles is honor bound to offer for her and lend her his protection. Despite her refusal, desire pulls at them and scandal surrounds them, and when Miles is summoned to once more embark upon a secret mission for the Crown, he must shed everything that will become a liability, but keeping Emmaline out of trouble—and out of his mind—is easier said than done.
Trigger Warning: Some of the content found in this book may be triggering and/or sensitive. Sexual violence, sexual assault and attempted rape/abuse are some of the topics mentioned within the pages and might illicit a strong or potentially harmful emotional response.
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A perfect start to an adventurous series! It’s steamy, has a mystery, and mummies! I was drawn in from the start when they met again and never knew what was going to happen. There is a scene with a book and a dart that is movie worthy that I love. They are a unique couple from the start because they both have reason to not want to get involved in romance. I really did not expect a rival to go as far as this one did and to bring a twisted person into it. The ending definitely leaves you excited for the next one.
Emmaline doesn’t give a care to what people think and won’t be stopped on her mission. She is strong, but also a bit broken because of everything she has gone through. I loved her right away because she knew what she was doing and how to do it.
Miles will do anything to protect his daughter and live in peace. He will win you over right away with how he doesn’t think twice to help. He doesn’t care what people think and has no plans to be tricked into marriage.
This was a good paced story. I liked Lady Emmaline, she was one of a kind and very daring. She had know Miles, Earl of Archewyne since childhood but they haven’t seen each other for some years. Emmaline believes she is under a curse. I enjoyed their connection and the lengths Miles went to, to help her with her quest. They do have an attraction but there is a rival who wants to marry Miles. There some very dangerous moments. Although some matters are resolved, others are not and are obviously continuing in the next book.
Great first book to a series centered around this couple. Engaging characters, intriguing adventures, and diabolical villains await the reader.
I enjoyed the interaction between Miles and Emmaline. He’s missing love and adventure in his life, since he recently lost his wife and has been staying close to home to help raise his young daughter. Although he is a spy for the crown, Miles would rather be done with all that and be free to stay with his daughter instead of traipsing across Europe to ferret out plots against Britain. However, when he meets Emmaline Darling trying to steal something from his house, he gets more adventure than he bargained for.
Emmaline in on a quest to find two mummies that her father had unearthed years ago in Egypt. She hopes that if she can return the mummies she can break the curse that has led to several deaths in her family. She’s known Miles since they were children in Egypt, but she hasn’t seen him in years and has no idea if he remembers the young girl who used to tag along with him and his brother.
Danger seems to follow Emmaline wherever she goes. Whether that’s because of the curse or a human threat, Miles is determined to protect her and help her with her mission. If he could only avoid the match-making schemes of certain members of the ton and figure out how to fulfill his duties to the crown, he thinks he and Emmaline could be a good match. Emmaline has other ideas. Although she is very attracted to Miles and could easily fall in love, she’s got a mission to complete.
The chemistry is great between these two. Their sleuthing, spying, and burglary skills come in quite handy as they try to outwit adversaries in the ton and murderers alike.
Be aware that this is just the first part of the story. Nothing is resolved at the end of the book, and it very much leaves you hanging, waiting for more. I think it will be interesting to see how the story develops with Miles and Emmaline over the course of several books.
03/01/2021 “Captivated by an Adventurous Lady” (nook) has an involved story-line which draws in the reader. Love and angst are among the intense feelings of the characters. The “bad” people are very nasty and the reader wants them to get their comeuppance.
I was a bit surprised when the book ended but not the story. When I chose “Captivated by an Adventurous Lady,” I did not realize that I would need to read several books. At least it ends with hope for our main characters.
Some editing is needed in Chapter 16. On page 188 is written ’emphasize’ rather than ’empathize.’ On page 200 I found ‘condensation instead of ‘consideration.’