From an elite London gentleman’s club to a genteel Scottish estate, scandal becomes a family affair in this dazzling tale of deception and unexpected love . . . Miss Miranda is not really a Miss, exactly. Nor is her name Miranda, exactly. But to escape her tyrannical duke of a father, changes were required. Now in the Scottish countryside, employed by her new brother-in-law’s unsuspecting friend, … new brother-in-law’s unsuspecting friend, Heathcliff Marston, Viscount Kilpatrick, Miranda feels safe—except for the danger of falling in love. And the Viscount’s broad shoulders and seductive brogue are no help at all. Certainly, a peer of the realm would never entertain a dalliance with the help . . . And definitely not kiss the help . . . Except this Viscount isn’t a typical peer of the realm . . .
Between managing Temptations and his newly acquired ward, the last thing Heathcliff needs is investigators inexplicably hounding him about the whereabouts of some duke’s runaway daughter. At least he’s secured a governess—no doubt a sour woman. Or so he expects, until he meets intriguing Miranda. Now Heathcliff is the one faced with temptation. But there’s more to lovely Miranda than meets the eye—a truth that could change the course of all their futures . . .
Praise for Kristin Vayden’s Heart of a Cowboy
“Obsessed. That’s how I felt while reading this book, like every page was better than the previous. Just try to put this down, I dare you.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken
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This was a sweet little historical romance. Unfortunately, I went into this one without reading the first and I was a bit lost on the family background. I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships. I do feel like everything moved really fast, without a sense of real urgency. Everything just happened too fast and it didn’t give any satisfaction.
This is the 2 book in a series. It’s about two sisters who try to get out from under their dad’s power and arranged marriages. They would rather marry for love and not because their dad said they should marry.
No one can live your life for you nor do they have to live with your spouse.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Escaping His Grace was a delightful read. A story that contains a grumpy hero who finds himself attracted to the governess who is there to tutor his newly acquired ward. You can see where this will go… except there is the little issue — the governess is really a duke’s runaway daughter! I loved seeing Samantha come into her own, and realize her strengths now that she is free from her father. I really wanted Heathcliff and Samantha to find true love and I was rooting for them the whole book.
I love going back in time and reading historical romance. I was looking forward to getting to know “Miranda” in her story. She’s brave, strong and thrives in her “role” as governess, even though she had never been one (although she had been taught by one, so that’s something, right?). Miranda was a sweet soul who charmed her pupil, the Viscount’s staff, and eventually the Viscount himself. Their feisty and passionate banter was fun to read.
Escaping His Grace by Kristin Vayden is Book Two in the Gentlemen of Temptation Series. This is the story of Heathcliff Marston, Viscount Kilpatrick and Samantha / Miranda. I have read the previous book, but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so. Samantha is on the run from her father who is trying to marry her off for gain. Samantha ends up at Heathcliff house who is needing a Governess. Thinking she may be safe for awhile she doesn’t expect her feelings maybe in danger. Heathcliff has vowed to never marry again after the disastrous first marriage but the new Governess is bring out feelings he never had before. Loved their story…page turner for me.
What a great read!
Miranda is in Scotland hiding from her domineering father, the Duke who’s in London. Posing as a governess to the ward of her new brother-in-law’s business partner and best friend, she’s also not using her real name. But the first day Heathcliff meets Miranda, he’s already giving her kisses. Oh yeah, those kisses. The story moves at a good pace. I enjoyed the flirting between Miranda and Heathcliff. A very entertaining book.
ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
Samantha takes a job as a Governess to hide from her father. She is determined to take control of her life. Heathcliffe doesn’t trust love and yet he is instantly drawn to the Governess. This is a story that is told with plenty of humor and fun. It is lighthearted and will give the reader great incentive to keep turning the pages. There is very little drama and is mostly just a happy read.
Escaping His Grace by Kristin Vayden
Gentlemen of Temptation #2
In book two of the series we find Lilah’s younger sister on her way to Scotland to be governess to Iris, Heathcliff Marston’s ward. She is a lady masquerading as a governess and wants to be free from her father so has taken the chance her sister’s husband offered to help out his friend and finds herself teaching dancing lessons and comportment and such to a young woman soon to make her debut into society.
Heathcliff and the governess Miranda/Samantha do a bit of a dance as he thinks a dalliance might be fine with the hired help BUT when he finds she is a lady his mind begins to think otherwise…though hiss body does not. He has had one dipping of the toe into marriage and has no desire for another. This is a somewhat predictable story without too much of a ruckus occurring and a straightforward romance with a HEA.
Did I enjoy the story? Yes
Would I like to read more in the series? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Lyrical Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3-4 Stars
A story of a hidden identity to escape a tyrant of a father, that weaves a tangled tale! Samantha has escaped her father and ends up hiding under the name of Miranda, becoming a governess.. Her new brother in law has found her a position in the home of his best friend, Heathcliff ( yes I do love that name!). Iris is the ward of Heathcliff and she is suppose to get her ready for her come out.
Heathcliff has endured one tragedy after another, the last being his cheating wife and stillborn child. He tries to stay out of the spotlight and runs an exclusive gaming hell. But when he arrives home thinking the new governess will be an old curmudgeon, imagine his surprise when he finds Sam/Miranda? A beautiful lady who he cannot help but be attracted to!
But the adventure begins when he finds out who she is and that she is being hunted down by investigators hired by her father! Another lying woman!
A delightful story that runs through the gamut of emotions and takes you on a page turning read. I read the first book in this series which was just as good but this can be read as a standalone. But trust me, you will want to read this one too!! I read this through NetGallery.
PS Don’t you love this cover?
Miss Miranda is not really a Miss, exactly. Nor is her name Miranda. But to escape The Duke of Chatterworth her tyrannical father, changes were required. Now in the Scottish countryside, employed by her new brother-in-law’s unsuspecting friend, Heathcliff Marston, Viscount Kilpatrick, Miranda feels safe. Between managing Temptations and his newly acquired ward Iris, the last thing Heathcliff needs is investigators inexplicably hounding him about the whereabouts of some duke’s runaway daughter. At least he’s secured a governess, no doubt a sour woman or so he expects, until he meets the intriguing Miranda. Now Heathcliff is the one faced with temptation.
His is the second book in the series & follows on immediately from the first when Samantha leaves for Scotland, it could be read on its own but to fully appreciate the bullying Duke of Chatterworth I’d recommend reading the books in order. It’s a well paced book that grabbed my interest from the start & held it all the way though. Heathcliff has vowed never to fall in love or marry again but hadn’t been prepared for Miranda. Miranda hasn’t had a season & has always lived a very sheltered life so al last was able to spread her wings. The attraction between the pair sizzles but they also grow to like each other too. I also liked Iris & look forward to her story & perhaps a certain Marquis? It was also good to see how happy Lucas & Liliah are.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
An enjoyable story with likeable characters, that made me want to read both the previous and next book in the series.
To escape her father, Samantha’s new brother-in-law finds her a position in the Scottish household of his best friend. However in order that Samantha’s new identity and location is not inadvertently given away to her father’s investigators he doesn’t tell Heathcliff the truth whilst he is residing in London. Therefore when he returns to Scotland and first meets and is attracted to “Miss Miranda” he is not aware of her social standing as Lady Samantha, younger daughter of the Duke of Chatterworth. Once he knows the truth he pulls away, knowing he is not worthy of her but he finds her temptations difficult to resist.
What I disliked was the use of American words such as fall, if a book is set in England and all the characters are English, I find this jarring and it interrupts my reading flow. At least there were only a few typos (these may have been addressed in the final copy).
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Heathcliff Marston, Viscount Kilpatrick, has lost both his parents, his cheating wife and his stillborn child (though he’s not sure if it was actually his or not) in rapid succession. Along with his two equally downtrodden friend, Lucas Mayfield, the Earl of Heightfield, and Ramsey Scott, the Marquess of Sterling, Heathcliff establishes an elite gaming hell called Temptations, which thrives on anonymity and exclusivity. Samantha, under the assumed name of Miranda, has accepted employment at Heathcliff’s Scottish estate as a governess to his new ward, Iris. Miranda got this position thanks to her sister’s recent marriage to Heathcliff’s friend, Lord Heightfield, thus enabling both sisters to escape the control of the tyrannical father, the Duke of Chatterworth. Upon arrival, Miranda experiences some definite culture shock due to her self-imposed demotion from the status of lady. With investigators sniffing around the viscount due to his best friend’s hasty marriage to the duke’s eldest daughter (not exactly with the duke’s approval), Lord Heightfield decides it is best to keep Heathcliff temporarily in the dark about Miranda’s true identity. In fact Healthcliff isn’t able to meet Miranda upon her arrival, not that he really cares to actually meet the sour new governess, so long as she does her job well enough to enable him to marry his new ward off as soon as possible. When he finally does meet his new governess, he is decidedly surprised. She is nothing like what he expected and he senses there is more to her than meets the eye. He is also decidedly attracted to her. When his friend Lucas and his wife, Liliah, Miranda’s sister, visit the estate, Lucas clues Heathcliff in to Miranda’s true identity. Heathcliff can’t believe he’s been duped by a woman yet again; though he knows it’s not really her fault, he still holds the trickery against her. He just seems to be having a hard time holding on to his feelings of resentment. Miranda wants the viscount, but when her sister and brother-in-law begin making plans for her to meet eligible suitors in Edinburgh, Heathcliff doesn’t protest, so Miranda sees she must go along with the scheme if she has any hope of finding a love match and escaping her father. She can’t be with someone who would use her and then show no feelings for her. Heathcliff is jealous and quietly tries to find issues with the suitors, even though he tells himself it’s no competition since he’ll never marry again. Heathcliff feels he would certain fail as a husband yet again and he isn’t willing to risk his friendship with Lucas, though his feelings may change as Miranda’s true location is betrayed and she finds herself in danger of being found by her father.
This was a complicated trope with the relationship beginning on a foundation of lies, but I found it very well done and enjoyable. My only complaint was that Heathcliff never really opened up to Miranda/Samantha about his past and his hurts and reasons for being the way he is. Otherwise, a great read.
I received a complimentary ARC via NetGalley. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Miranda (an assumed name) has escaped her father, the Duke of Chatterworth and is in hiding in Scotland working as a governess for Iris, the ward of Heathcliff, the Viscount Kilpatrick. Her sister, Liliah has just married Lucas who is the eighth Earl of Heightfield and the one who gave a glowing reference for Miranda to his best friend Heathcliff. The story is well written and tells of a young girl escaping her tyrannical father along with her sister Liliah who just secretly got married. When Heathcliff returns to his Scottish home he is drawn to Miranda but because of a previous bitter marriage he tells her nothing can ever of their attraction. A party is to be held to try and find her a husband but when the Duke discovers where his daughter is plans have to change. There is a HEA but there is a lot that happens before this comes about. The book is worth read and I would highly recommend it.
Another great read from Ms. Vayden. She has a knack for writing fun stories with great characters that you can root for their happiness. I knew I would love Heathcliff. He was a little bit brooding – which we love, right?!? His interactions with Miranda/Samantha was so compelling that it was hard to put the book down. You know when you say “just one more chapter”. My only issue is that the last third of the book went kind of slow for me. Looking forward to Ramsey’s story.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
Escaping his Grace by Kristin Vayden is the second book in the Gentleman of Temptation series. This book can be read as a stand alone. I have not read the first one but after reading this one I will definitely be going back and reading the first. The writing is fantastic and I don’t want to miss a single thing in this series. Though it is not necessary to read the first I recommend doing so, because I felt like I was missing some important history in regards to the Duke. It didn’t take away from the story, just left me curious is all. I was pretty drawn into the story for almost all of it, there isn’t really a dull moment. It’s interesting and I loved the characters and the relationships. The hero and heroine were fantastic, I really enjoyed them and connected with them emotionally. I laughed and I cried. All in all, a fun, witty, and enjoyable read.
Rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) This is the second book in this series and just as enjoyable as the first one. I guess you can read it as a standalone since the author does a fairly good job of explaining who is who, but you will get so much more from the story if you read the first book to know how everything came to be and you will not regret it since I loved that story too. In this book we have Samantha who is going by Miranda and is working as a governess for Heathcliffe and working with his new ward Iris. I liked Iris she was spunky and as Samantha kept thinking reminder her so much of Lila (first book). When Heathcliffe finds out who she really is he is upset since he is really attracted to her and already kissed her and was planning to do so much more, but now knowing who she is changes everything since he is not thinking of marriage, he has been there and regretted it and now does not see himself as worthy of Sam. The story was fun my friends so grab a copy and Enjoy! Loved reading of Lila and Lucas, and can’t wait for the next one with Iris.