Review: ARC Less Than a Gentleman by Kerrelyn Sparks

Less Than a Gentleman (Historical #2) 

by Kerrelyn Sparks

Blurb:

Between searching for the missing Munro sisters and South Carolina being all but lost to the British, Captain Matthais Thomas has more important things to worry about than finding a bride. But his mother has other ideas. When Matthais finds a beautiful woman in his bed who claims to be his betrothed, he is suspicious of her identity…and determined to discover the truth.

Caroline Munro had few options. The British burned down her home, and now, traveling with her very pregnant sister, Caroline is pretending to be someone she’s not so they can have a safe place to rest. But she didn’t count on a matchmaking matron or her rogue of a son…and certainly never dreamed she would fall in love with a spy

Review:

I haven’t read any Historical from Kerrelyn Sparks until this one and it was a delight. This was a well and exciting read. I didn’t even know this was the second book or that there was a first Book! But I was sure happy because now I can read the first book about the elder sister and how her marriage came to be~ originally published as For Love or Country and republished as an Avon Impulse as The Forbidden Lady.

Captain Matthais Murry Thomas does not want to marry, ever! But his mother is a determined woman. She wants to find her only living son a bride, even if it means she has to order one. One evening while returning home from a nights mission against the British he stumbles upon a Lady in his bed. The only problem was she claimed to be his betroth, but he knows she’s a liar. So he plans to go undercover to confront the con lady and kick her and her family out of his family home. But an obstacle got in the way, he was falling for the red headed vixen! And she was the lady he promised to find and protect, a Miss Caroline Munro. But he himself has secrets too, he was also lying to the lady. She though him as a penniless butler, named Haversham, and he wants her to love him as him, not a wealthy son of a plantation with slaves. The bigger problem is, is he willing to fight for freedom and lose her due to the war or fight for freedom and for love?

Caroline Munro is a loose tongue. She speaks her mind and don’t follow orders is easily. Withe her father missing or dead on the battle field, she fears that her brother-in-law is also dead at sea. She’s doing her best to keep her head on straight and protect her very pregnant sister and her young nephew and niece from the war.  Taking shelter at Loblolly House under the disguise as the betroth of the son of the house, she is well safe from harm, for now. Until the so call butler of the house broke into her room. But all is well, he’s no danger to her or her family as she learned to trust him. But she doesn’t want to fall for the handsome and secretive butler no matter how much he pulls at her heart. She didn’t want to deal with heart ache once again, but he wasn’t a soldier so all is well, right?

This was a sweet romance! I loved how there was action, secrets, humor! I most definitely enjoyed the humor. Especially when Matt and Caroline are at the edges of becoming intimate. Both the characters are very likable and Matthais is just~ swoon worthy!  Though at time Caroline poked at my sides in irritation- mostly towards the end- I still adore her as a strong independent and intelligent woman.

This ARC was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.