Genre:

Lady Alexandra Morley, an alluring widow, is desperate to devise a plan to reverse her fortunes. When fate lands her in the arms of Phineas "Finn" Burke, an attractive inventor, she despairs of ever getting what she needs...until they kiss.

Finn has always been impervious to the charms of the female species, intent only on perfecting his "horseless carriage" engine. He never dreamed he'd meet a woman like Alexandra, who is as stubborn as she is comely. Despite the brewing scandal, Finn longs to make Alexandra his wife, but he must first convince the maddening lady that their love is the only thing that matters.

Review

A Lady Never Lies is a brilliant and charming debut sure to delight any historical romance lover.

Lady Alexandra Morley has a problem. She is destitute, but can’t let anyone find out. Her reputation as one of the leading ladies of the ton wouldn’t survive if her secret were to get out. She has a plan, but it will take her, her sister and her cousin to Italy and the company of three men who may or may not be the answer to her prayers.

Finn Burke wants to hide himself away from distractions so that he can concentrate on building his horseless carriage engine. He finds the perfect place in Italy and convinces two of his closest friends to join him. He never imagined that he would be faced with the biggest distraction of his life – Lady Alexandra Morley.

A Lady Never Lies is full of comedic mishaps and interfering ghosts. At least, I think they are ghosts. There are two characters that can only be seen by some of the characters. The ladies staying at the Italian Castle can see a housekeeper named Moroini. The men of the castle can see a groundskeeper named Giacomo. Neither is seen by a member of the opposite sex. These two characters cause havoc trying to bring two characters together (Moroini) or keep them apart (Giacomo). They added so much to the story. I loved the way the characters interact with each other and the banter between them all. Lady Alex is especially witty and her banter with Finn is so full of sexual tension. Alex and Finn work together to perfect his engine, while she hides her secret and tries to convince him (and herself) that a relationship between them won’t work even as she falls in love with him.

One of my favorite things the author does in this book is allows others to talk about a character while that character is listening in. Both Finn and Alex get to hear the other defend and confess to feelings about the other. It adds something special to the story that they are both willing to admit to feelings to someone other than the person they are feeling them for. They are willing to make that declaration.

During the course of Alex and Finn’s romance there are two other romances taking place (Alex’s sister, Abigail and the Duke of Wallingford)(Lady Somerton and Lord Penhallow). The other two books in the trilogy – A Gentleman Never Tells and A Duke Never Yields – tell the stories that are happening at the same time. I can’t wait to find out what was happening between the other characters while Alex and Finn were falling in love.

Reviewed by Carrie

READERS COMMENTS