The Lie And The Lady Series: Winner Takes All #2 by Kate Noble
Published by Pocket Books on December 29, 2015
Genres: Adult Historical Romance
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
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John Turner was thinking only of winning a bet when he swapped identities with his friend, the Earl of Ashby. He didn’t wager on winning the fiery Countess of Churzy’s heart with his lies, or on falling for her in return.
Leticia, impoverished Countess of Churzy, was publicly humiliated when it came out that she had fallen for the man, not the master. She fled when she learned of his betrayal. But fate throws them together again, and some things are too intoxicating to be denied.
John is determined to regain her trust—and her love—this time as himself. Letty knows what choice she must make to survive, but if she turns her back on her dashing rogue – again – will she loose her chance at love forever?
The Lie and the Lady is my first Kate Noble book and I enjoyed reading this. I’ve discovered a new author to turn to for historical romances.
The Lie and the Lady is the second book in the Winner Takes All series. I did not read the first book, The Game and the Governess, but I was able to easily follow along with the story. Letty is the victim of the Lie from the first book so we see her fleeing the humiliation. She has travelled to Paris to start a new life which involves finding a new husband. But fate brings her face-to-face with the man who broke her heart, John Turner. John is the man behind the Lie and Letty is determined to not be fooled by him again. But no matter what they do their lives get intertwined and they work together to keep their secret past from being known. I liked that this was not a typical second chance at love romance. Letty and John both have their reasons for avoiding each other but it was interesting to see how their connection kept growing stronger. Added in are some suspicious characters and a mystery that I found really entertaining and kept me glued to the story. But my only problem with this story is that I thought in the beginning Letty wasn’t a likeable character. She’s an impoverished Countess so she was a snob to the people around her, especially to John. But she slowly comes around as a supportive and caring person so she won me over. I also really liked the supporting characters Margaret, Rhys, Helen and Sir Bart. I hope to see them in the next book.
The Lie and the Lady is a well-written story with the right mix of romance, comedy and mystery that made this a captivating read. Author Kate Noble’s details had me travelling in time and I look forward to reading more of her books.
I received this book as a member of the XOXperts, XOXO After Dark’s official street team, in exchange for an honest review. Visit XOXOAfterDark.com for the best in romance, urban fantasy and women’s fiction.
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About Kate Noble
Kate Noble is the national bestselling, RITA-nominated author of historical romances, including the acclaimed Blue Raven series and the Winner Takes All series. Her books have earned her numerous accolades, including comparisons to Jane Austen, which just makes her giddy.
In her other life as Kate Rorick, she is an Emmy-award winning writer of television and web series, having written for NBC, FOX, and TNT, as well as the international hit YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Kate lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son, and is hard at work on her next book.
I have to admit that the identity swap is one of my least favorite tropes but this sounds like it’s dealing with the aftermath of a swap and not the swap itself so I’m intrigued. I’ve been wanting to try Kate Noble as I’ve seen her all over the place lately. This looks like a good one start with.
I agree about the identity swap. It is overplayed in historical romances. But this was interesting since it was the aftermath and I didn’t read the first book but it was easy to follow. I liked her writing so now I want to read more from her. Thanks Katherine!