In Vanessa Kelly’s captivating series, three young women are descended from royalty—in the most improper way. But that doesn’t stop them from pursuing lives rich in adventure. . .Lia Kincaid, illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York, comes from a long line of notorious women. Raised by her grandmother, formerly mistress to the late Marquess of Lendale, she has little hope of a respectable … respectable marriage. But the new marquess, her childhood friend, Jack Easton, would make a very desirable protector . . . if he weren’t too honorable to take her to bed.
It’s bad enough being saddled with a title he never desired. Now Jack must resist the beautiful woman he desires far too much. Duty calls, and he is duty-bound to choose a wealthy bride. But then Lia makes another outrageous suggestion: asking Jack to devise some tests to find her the perfect paramour. Tests that involve flirting, kissing, and other pleasurable pursuits. Tests that, in a matter of weeks, could transform friendship into the ton’s greatest scandal, igniting a passion even duty can’t deny. . .
Praise for Vanessa Kelly’s Renegade Royals series“Will definitely resonate with fans of Mary Jo Putney and Joanne Bourne.” —Booklist
“Kelly combines diverting dialogue, delightful surprises and finely tuned pacing to make this a winner.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*
Jack, the new Marquess of Lendale is Lia Kincaid’s oldest and dearest friend. Lia is the granddaughter of the previous Marquess’ mistress and the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York. She lives with her grandmother in Bluebell Cottage on Jack’s estate, Stonefell.
Since the passing of his uncle, Jack has made some shocking discoveries, the main one being the ghastly state of the estates finances. He has no idea how he is going to be able to support the estate, let alone Lia and her grandmother. Jack has loved Lia for as long as he can remember, in a strictly platonic way, but seeing her again after so long, he begins to realize that Lia is no longer a little girl and is horrified by the lust he feels for her.
When Lia realizes that Jack is not in a position to support them any longer, she hatches a plan. She will move to London with her mother and become an actress – the only problem with her plan is that she can’t sing, dance or act. Her grandmother suggests that she become a courtesan and Jack is adamantly opposed to this plan – he assures Lia that he will always take care of them.
Lia loves Jack and doesn’t want to burden him, so she slips off to London without telling him. Lia knows that Jack will have to marry a rich woman to save the estate and knows that she and her grandmother will only cause him grief. When she arrives in London, she realizes her options are limited and being a courtesan might be the only thing she is qualified to do.
When Jack finally tracks her down, Lia learns that she has an extended family that she never knew about. Chloe, Dominick, Charles and Gillian all welcome Lia with open arms and tell her they will help her find a husband, by launching her into society. Again Jack is not happy with this plan, Lia is his responsibility and he wants her to go back to Stonefell.
Lia is still certain that she will have to become a courtesan and as much as she appreciates her new family, she continues to pursue her original plan and ends up needing to be rescued more than once. After one such rescue, Jack and Lia share a passionate encounter and Jack declares that they will marry. Lia knows that marrying Jack will ruin him and refuses – but they make a bargain, three weeks to either come to an agreement or Jack will help her find a protector.
What could possibly go wrong?
This is a wonderful addition to the Improper Princesses series! It is well written, flows nicely, has a lot of twists and turns, some laugh out loud moments, some tense moments and some very thought provoking scenes, it is not as steamy as most of the other books in the series, but the love scenes are on the warmer side. This is the second book in the series, but it could be read as a stand alone – however to truly appreciate Gillian’s role in this book, you should read the previous book, My Fair Princess.
Ms. Kelly is a wonderfully talented author and I absolutely loved this book! Lia, the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York and a notorious courtesan has lived at Stonefell, the country manor of the Marquess of Lendale, with her grandmother, the mistress of the late Marquess. From as long as she could remember, she has loved Jack Easton, the heir, but always knew that they were worlds apart. He needed to marry a proper wife. When Jack Easton inherited the title Marquess of Lendale, he counted Lia Kincaid as one of his dearest friends, but bad blood and humiliating actions has pitted his family against the Kincaid women. Can he overcome all of the objections to his growing love for Lia?
I especially loved all the witty banter between Lia and Jack. Although I did find Lia’s character a bit stubborn at times, she did have Jack’s best interests at heart. There were quite a few twists and turns in the story with a dash of intrigue thrown in. I also adored Gillian, Lia’s cousin. I’ll have to go read Gillian’s story in “My Fair Princess.” Fans of Regency romance will definitely enjoy this book!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Regency Royals were pretty prolific, with illegitimate children here there and everywhere. Sometimes they were acknowledged, but often not. Sometimes the mothers were from “decent”, others were not. Three Weeks With a Princess features an unacknowledged girl from a less than noble family. After all society expects if her grandmother and mother were courtesans then Liz must be one as well. However, Lia Kincaid is a sweet, naturally kind young lady who has always lived in the country with her grandmother who has a long time relationship with the Marquess of Lendale. Lia’s favorite times are when her best friend, Jack, the Marquess’ grandson visits, three weeks at a time.. As time passes, Jack inherits a financial mess and the responsibility for Liz and her grandmother. What will Jack do when Liz announces she needs to support herself and her grandmother by becoming a courtesan? Will they ever realize they need and live each other? What about Jack’s mother who hates all things Kincaid? Although I enjoyed this book, I liked some of the author’s previous offerings better. This is an enjoyable read, but Lia seemed just a little too naive and after like a ninny a good part of the time. However, one of best aspects of this book is the frequent appearance of Gillian (from My Fair Princess), now the Duchess of Leverton and Lia’s cousin. Gillian is one of my all time favorite book characters so more Gillian is good.
This is a wonderfully witty and charming tale. Both Lia and Jack grab your heart from the very beginning and just won’t let you go. You’ll weep at their sorrows and laugh at their joys.
Lia has three strikes against her from the moment she is born. Her mother is an infamous actress, her grandmother is an infamous courtesan and she is the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York. Her grandmother is the mistress of the late Marquess of Lendale and Lia and her grandmother live in Bluebell Cottage on his estate, Stonefell. She’s been raised in gentility, but she knows she’ll never find a man of quality to marry. She has lived on Stonefell since she was three years old and she loves it, the village and the tenants. She’s always taken an active interest in helping to look after the property. Her bright spot is Jack’s regular visits to the estate. They’ve been friends since she was a toddler.
Jack’s parents are in a contentious marriage. His father is a profligate womanizer who flaunts his paramours in front of his wife constantly. His mother has become a bitter woman and has a particular dislike for Lia’s grandmother. Jack looks forward to his visits to his uncle’s estate, Stonefell, for the peace and serenity and for the time he gets to spend with Lia.
When Jack’s uncle passes away, Jack becomes the new Marquess of Lendale and learns that the estate is nearly bankrupt. He also learns that his uncle didn’t make any provision in his will for either Lia or her grandmother. Jack has every intention of continuing to care for them, but he also has to find a way to turn the estate around. Not an easy task and he certainly doesn’t want to have to make a marriage of convenience to an heiress in order to rescue the estate.
Lia loves Jack and doesn’t want him to feel responsible for her and her grandmother. When she learns that there isn’t any provision for them in the old Marquess’ will and that Jack is almost broke, she decides to take off to London to be an actress – and if she can’t be an actress, she’ll be a courtesan. Jack takes off to London after her and is intent on returning her to the estate.
Lia leads Jack on a merry chase through London. She discovers she doesn’t have a career as an actress and she decides to learn to be a courtesan – she finds she’s not very good at figuring that out either. It is a good thing Jack likes to be the knight in shining armor because he has to come to the rescue quite often before they finally get their HEA.
A number of characters from the first book in the series have fairly prominent roles in this book and it was really nice to catch up with them. They are a loving, giving, lighthearted bunch and you’ll love them. You can read this as a stand-alone book, but knowing the background of the characters from the first book will make this one more enjoyable.
“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”