Sabrina Jeffries - Married to the Viscount

This is the fifth and last book in the Swanlea Spinsters series. Even though there is no mention of Swanlea or any of those spinsters in this book … it is a spinoff of the original characters. And I liked it a lot.



One kiss... Abigail Mercer was breathless with anticipation at being reunited with Spencer Law, whom she met once and later married by proxy. But now the dashing Viscount Ravenswood denies all knowledge of their union! Far too many witnesses have made it impossible for the secretive Spencer to reject his "bride" without causing a scandal. So he has proposed a marriage in-name-only until they can locate his mysteriously absent younger brother - who is responsible for everything! - and untangle this messy affair. Abigail is incensed, irate...and irresistibly attracted to this handsome, infuriating man who hides his smoldering passion behind a proper exterior. So the lady will agree to his terms on one condition: Spencer must seal their bargain with a kiss. But he finds that one deep, lingering, unforgettable kiss isn't nearly enough. And keeping his hands off his pretty wife is going to be much harder than he thought...



As usual, a very fast reading book. I love the humor, the strong characters, and how Sabrina Jeffries gives a not original story line an original twist and a joy to read.
I was curious which woman would get Spencer, Viscount Ravenswood, on his knees. He was pretty arrogant in the previous books. But of course he did not propose himself, his brother set him up by forging his signature and letters. Spencer never wanted to get married, he was so sure he was not capable of siring children. And every woman wants children of his own …

He doesn’t believe Abby, when she tells him she would love adopted children every bit as much as her own. He himself and his brothers were not enough for his stepmother after all. But he didn’t have all the facts, didn’t know how his father treated her. No wonder she ran off with an Italian count when Spencer was at boarding school. All those years he modeled other woman after his stepmother.

There is the secondary storyline of the potion Abby made in America, the thing that brought her in contact with Nathanial and Spencer in the first place. Sold in America as a Mead for indigestion, lady Brumley (the Galleon of Gossip) tells Abby she’d better sell it as perfume instead! And she helps her launch the brand new Heaven’s Scent at her own breakfast party. So no Nat has run of with her dowry, leaving Abby penniless and dependent on Spencer, she has funds of her own. And that makes Spencer furious! He doesn’t want her to leave him, and he doesn’t trust her to stay his wife when she doesn’t have to. But love can make people do stupid things, and he almost destroys Abby’s love for him with his foolish actions.

A good story, and I am curious about the next trilogy, which I will probably start tomorrow.