I liked this. It used the fairy godmother gift from the beginning. I like that better than the last where she only got it at the end to save the hero. In this one the use of the gift is central to the action of the story. It was not as lighthearted as the first one which dropped my enjoyment just a bit. I liked both the hero and the heroine. The hero had PTSD and it was dealt with pretty well I thought. Continuing on with the series. ( )

1808, and the very wealthy Letitia Trentham has a gift, she can hear when a lie is spoken and consequently at the age of 27 has refused two hundred offers of marriage.
A Major Reid on hearing of this knack asks for her help in finding a traitor - Major Icarus Reid only just survived the Battle of Vimeiro in Portugal. He is alive for only one reason - to hunt for the person who betrayed him and his scouts to the French.
Enjoyed the story a lot, with a very easy writing style, and I really liked the characters.
(Received a free copy from the author)
( )

A tormented hero!

Icarus Reid is all the tormented hero that one could want. A battle scarred, dedicated officer searching for truth and justice. If you remember Icarus flew too close to the sun, his wings melted and he fell. Icarus Reid was certainly burnt--not by the sun (although he was an important satellite of General Wellesley), but by betrayal at the Battle of Vimeiro. A betrayal that caused incredible trauma for him. All Icarus lives for is to find the traitor.
Enter Letitia Trentham, an heiress who has the magical gift (yes true! compliments of a faerie godmother) of detecting when she is being lied to. Those who lie to her are perceived as a loud clanging bell. Unfortunately for Letty those clangers have been heard over the years by suitors seeking her fortune, not herself. Letty is becoming reconciled to a lonely life doing good works.
Somehow Icarus learns that Letty seems able to detect the truth from lies. Icarus wants Letty to assist him in his quest.
And here is where the story digresses from the norm. Letty agrees, which means as Larkin says the reader is taken, 'on a journey from the glittering ballrooms of the aristocracy to the dark underbelly of Regency England – with passion, danger, adventure, romance, and a little magic thrown into the mix.'
Letty joins Icarus in his search. Along with Letty the reader is treated to a 'darker, grittier side of the romance fence.'
Larkin refers to this writing as Regency Noir. That description certainly fits a number of Regency novels I've been reading over the past couple of years. I find the term apt.
There are some quite wonderful secondary characters that add to the story.
I rather enjoyed Letty and Icarus' story.

A NetGalley ARC ( )

Letitia's supernatural gift is the ability to tell when some one is lying. She has a large fortune and her gift is invaluable when she is receiving marriage proposals. Then the dying Icarus Reid asks her to help him work out who betrayed a military secret and somehow this leads to her travelling the country pretending to be his wife. (Unusually for an historical romance, the inns they stay at are always able to provide separate bedrooms!)

Really very good; an excellent plot that made sense and a cast of likeable characters. The whole brandy and valerian routine got a bit repetitive, but I thought the ending was great. ( )