I think this is the most subtle of the trilogy, as well as our heroine Lily. But there is so much fire behind it! so many secrets! also less graphic traumatic moments on page than previous books had ( )

This felt kind of 'run of the mill', and I wasn't entirely sold on a fair amount of it. A lot of events happened because they were convenient for the story rather than because they were likely or believable. The heroine comes into the story already 'loving the hero from afar', but he's hardly aware of her at all, and I'm just not sure that that can be more than an infatuation really. They can't actually know each other that well. The hero was largely an ass, though I suppose he grew on me some by the end. He gives her some definite reasons *not* to like him though, and not all that many *to* like him for most of the book, so when she just can't help still 'love' the cad despite everything, it makes her seem a little weak willed, rather than romantic. He had a deep hole to dig his way out of and I'm not sure he ever impressed me enough to make up for that completely. A large chunk of the book he is selfish and bossy and possessive, and like I said, just doesn't have all that much off-setting those qualities. He recklessly endangers her life right off the bat, and takes very little responsibility for it (he even thinks she should then be grateful to him for stopping the thing he got her into in the first place!). He's rude to her, he's always grabbing her by the arm, one time he really crossed a line with me by using a physical threat to her person (punching the wall near her head!) which is a major black mark in my book, and he threatens to blackmail her!... lol. He's just not all that much of a prize really). The heroine's skills really fluctuated, sometimes she seemed wholly unsuited to her work, and I would think, 'well, she's a volunteer, she hasn't necessarily been well trained', and then other times she's practically James Bond, lol. Despite all these complaints I didn't hate it and was willing to see where the story went, so it wasn't quite below 3 stars. ( )

I should have written this review two days ago...oh well.

Lily is a courtesan...but not really. She is a spy for the Crown and she has also been thought by the Countess of Sinclair to sort of be a courtesan. Her reputation is forever in the gutter but at least her body is clean. She knows she can be charming, but she also know she is not as pretty as the two other famous courtesans (previous books). Also she has been in love with Andrew for ages.

Andrew is the son of a duke. A duke who wants Lily. He also just lost his duchess. So Andrew is not happy, but who can blame him. Sure he is a bit mad at Lily at times then but again, who can blame him?

These two had great chemistry. She has once pined for him, he had pined for her friend. Now they argue and you know I love a good banter.

There is also the mystery part when Lily needs to find out if the Duke is a traitor. So it will get a bit suspenseful in the end, and of course these two will argue and get a bit passionate too. ( )

SAPPHIRES ARE AN EARL’S BEST FRIEND by Shana Galen is a interesting Regency Historical Romance. #3 in “Jewels of the Ton” series, but can be read as a stand alone. See, “When You Give a Duke a Diamond” and “If You Give a Rake a Ruby”.

Meet, Andrew Booth-Payne, Earl of Darlington and Lily Dawson, named the Countess of Charm by the Prince Regent.

Fast paced and filled with romance and passion. Lily if on a mission. With secrets, deception and romance you can’t go wrong with this witty, romantic tale. You gotta love these lovely ladies, and their strong gentlemen. I love Ms. Galen’s tales of wit, passion and romance. Another must read anyone who enjoys tales of passion, which is not just about sex, but a family,friendship and relationships. A must read!

Ms. Galen, pulls the reader into her stories with flare of humor and lots of emotion. Received for an honest review.

RATING: 4.5

HEAT RATING: MILD

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, courtesy of My Book Addiction and More ( )

I've been looking forward to this book every since I finished the last book in this series. I've enjoyed each book about these so-called courtesans and hate to see the end of them. I'm curious about Flynn and would love to see him get a book or even a novella. I've wondered how Lily would deal with her feelings for Andrew since reading about them in Juliet's book and now I know. She loved him and protected him (or tried to anyhow) and let him see the real woman under thee infamous persona she'd been living with for so long. Andrew finally came around and realized his feelings for Juliet were nowhere near his feelings for Lily. The poor guy had so much on his plate and adding intrigue just pushed him to become the sort of man that deserved the love of Lily. I recommend this series to everyone who loves the historical romance genre and stories where not everything is as it seems.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. ( )