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A Dangerous Engagement

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Member Reviews

Meet Felicity Mayson, friend to Julia and Leorah (heroines of Dickerson’s first two books in the Spies of London series), one of five daughters, and without a large dowry. Which in Regency London, equaled a sentence of spinsterhood or marrying someone equally impoverished.

When Lady Blackstone, a distant relative, invites Felicity to her country estate mid-way through the London Season, Felicity reluctantly agrees to go, even though she doesn’t know her hostess well. Anything beats getting snubbed during the social season. Her aunt Agnes Appleby agrees to accompany her, and Felicity heads to the country for a welcome reprieve.

Things seem strange when she arrives at the house party. Too many men, and Lady Blackstone seems overly determined to match her up with Mr. Ratley. In fact, in what seems like a whirlwind romance (Mr. Ratley doesn’t mind her tiny dowry), Felicity finds herself engaged.

It doesn’t take long to figure out that she may have engaged herself to a man involved in a nefarious plot against king and country. She wonders who she can trust in a house full of treason. And then Philip McDowell shows up and Felicity falls further into danger. She doesn’t know how far her fiancé and Lady Blackstone will go to ensure her cooperation. And she questions her feelings for the mysterious Philip.

Without a doubt, her dangerous engagement threatens the lives of those she loves, and her tumultuous feelings for Philip confuse the situation even further.

Dickerson does a beautiful job of drawing the reader in to the life of Regency England during a time of political and social turmoil. Neither the heroine nor the hero have a silver spoon—which allows them to question the status quo and analyze society during that era.

Teenage girls will love this series

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When most people think of Regency novels, they likely think of sedate, conversation-rich books like Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion. Well, throw is spies, revolutionaries, and murder and a Regency novel suddenly gets much more exciting! (NOTE: I am in no way bashing Jane Austen's books–I adore them. :))
I absolutely loved the first two books in this series, and this book did not let me down! In fact, the suspense was so intense that I could barely put this book down once I started it.
I loved getting to know Felicity better (since we only met her a few times in the previous books). She is in many ways the most unlikely of heroines, which in many ways makes her the most astounding of heroines. And of course Philip is a perfect hero (though he has a few flaws too–can't make your hero TOO perfect).
I absolutely loved reading this book and can't wait to see what Melanie writes next!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Felicity's father is a successful merchant but with 13 children he is unable to have a very large dowry which really turns off the mother's of eligible young men. She is invited to visit Lady Blackstone who was once an aunt by marriage. All is not as it seems by the invitation. Aunt Agnes goes with her to chaperon. Felicity realizes at once there are few women and mostly men at the house party. The other women are married to some of the men. As soon as Felicity and Aunt Agnes are in the door she is introduced to a young man Lady Blackstone is pushing to make an engagement for Felicity. Not having had any offers she answers 'yes' when Mr. Ratley asks her. Then Mr. Merrick shows up and he seems different than the others. Much is going on here, like taking over the government. What can Felicity do?

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You ever want a light and happy regency mystery? Look no further. Here you have one. Following the theme of spies and regency romance, this light and happy tale leads you down paths of intrigue. And it might have you questioning why on earth parents of that time period thought that sending your child off to stay with a unknown relative was a good idea.

I loved the whole big family idea/them that was in this one as being one of 11, I totally related to it!
Melanie Dickerson triumphs again with a great read!

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A Dangerous Engagement ( The Regency Spies Of London #3 )
By: Melanie Dickerson
A Dangerous Engagement is book three and the last installment in The Regency Spies of London Series. I have really enjoyed this series , but I believe this one is my favorite. Even though this is part of a series it can be read as a stand-a-long with out any problems. Dickerson did not disappoint. This is a very suspenseful story and it will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to read faster to see what is going to happen next. The story and the characters are well developed. This is Felicity Mayson’s story. After Felicity is spured again because of her dowry she gets an invitation from Last Blackstone to come to her Country Home. Why would she get an invite from an aunt she does not know? There she meet a wealthy Oliver. Things move along really fast for Felicity. Things don't add up and are not what they seem to be. What will she do ?
I was given a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley, but was not told that I had to give a positive review.

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This is the third of the Regency Spies of London but can be read as a stand alone. Felicity has been invited to her aunt by marriage Lady Blackstone for a time at her estate. She is has no fortune as well. While there she is introduced to Mister Ratley who is so shady I couldn't believe anything that was coming out of his mouth. She believes she may be in love with him due to his hasty proposal. I thought a little too soon since they had only met a within the week. Remember Mister Ratley being shady? Well he and Lady Blackstone are into nefarious activities to overthrow the government. While at the gathering comes Mister Merrick aka Mister McDowell. He works for the crown to infiltrate the activities of the party. She finds out and has no one to turn to. She does find an ally in Mister Merrick and they begin working together while fake being engaged to Mister Ratley. It was a little concerning how everything was going to turn out cause it could go either way. Not my favorite of the series, but Melanie Dickerson continues to be one of my go to authors. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. 3.5 stars.

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I found the book mostly uninspiring. I just felt that the suspense components related to the conspiracy were rather dull although I guess I just have really high standards rooted in regency paranormal type things written by MJ Putney. Nobody turned into a unicorn here.

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Melanie Dickerson is able to switch genres effortlessly with her regency suspense books. I enjoyed this very much.

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This is the third and final installment in The Regency Spies series by Melanie Dickerson. I really enjoyed the first two so I was looking forward to this one. A Dangerous Engagement turned out to be very exciting but was probably my least favorite of the three. This story is around Felicity, who is from a large modest family. She has not been having the best experiences with suitors since she does not have much in the way of a dowry. Oddly enough, she gets invited to a house party during the season by a distant Aunt who wishes to introduce her to a gentleman. Thus begins her adventure. She goes through a whirlwind courtship with Mr. Rately and finds herself engaged to the man. However, things at the house party don't seem quite right and she finds herself in the midst of an attempted revolution. The overall story is well written and it was very much a thriller. It manages to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next. The relationship between Felicity and Phillip was secondary/minor to the story.

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While Melanie Dickerson is one of my favorite authors, A Dangerous Engagement is probably my least favorite of all of her books. The reason being that I did not like the main character, Felicity. She was very needy and I don't like that in a character. I did enjoy the historical research that went into the story. I wasn't really aware of the plots against the Crown in Regency times. Other than Felicity this was an enjoyable book and I would not hesitate to read more of Melanie's books!

From Amazon;

Just as merchant’s daughter Felicity Mayson is spurned once again because of her meager dowry, she receives an unexpected invitation to Lady Blackstone’s country home. Being introduced to the wealthy Oliver Ratley is an admitted delight, as is his rather heedless yet inviting proposal of marriage. Only when another of Lady Blackstone’s handsome guests catches Felicity’s attention does she realize that nothing is what it seems at Doverton Hall.

Government agent Philip McDowell is infiltrating a group of cutthroat revolutionaries led by none other than Lady Blackstone and Ratley. Their devious plot is to overthrow the monarchy, and their unwitting pawn is Felicity. Now Philip needs Felicity’s help in discovering the rebels’ secrets—by asking her to maintain cover as Ratley’s innocent bride-to-be.

Philip is duty bound. Felicity is game. Together they’re risking their lives—and gambling their hearts—to undo a traitorous conspiracy before their dangerous masquerade is exposed.

About the author:


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Biography
Melanie Dickerson is the New York Times bestselling author whose two favorite time periods are Medieval, which she has combined with her love of fairy tales, and Regency England, which stems from her love of Jane Austen. She is a 2-time Christy Award finalist, a 2-time Maggie Award winner, winner of The National Reader's Choice Award for 2010's Best First Book, and winner of the 2012 Carol Award in Young Adult fiction. She earned her bachelor's degree in special education from The University of Alabama and has taught children with special needs in Georgia and Tennessee, and English to adults in Germany and Ukraine. Now she spends her time writing, hanging out on Facebook, and being with her husband, two daughters, and two guinea pigs near Huntsville, Alabama.

I was given this book by Netgalley.com for review purposes. All thoughts are my own.

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The final installment in this series doesn't disappoint. Felicity never could imagine what intrigue and danger await her when she goes to stay with a distant aunt. Felicity is the youngest daughter in a large family and believes that her lack of a dowery will means she want find love. In fact it causes her to make a rash decision that may cost her not only her freedom but her life!
Phillip is also the younger son who is not going to inherit a title or wealth and is looking to make a name for himself. He has been sent by the War Department to investigate a possible rebellion against the Crown.
Phillip not only the the rebels but the that Felicity has been caught up in place in peril due to her aunt's matchmaking scheme.
Join Felicity and Phillip as the work together to thwart the rebellion against the Crown and possibly find love in the process.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Gallery and the author. This review is my honest opinion of the book as I Felicity never could imagine what intrigue and danger await her when she goes to stay with a distant aunt. Felicity is the youngest daughter in a large family and believes that her lack of a dowery will means she want find love. In fact it causes her to make a rash decision that may cost her not only her freedom but her life!
Phillip is also the younger son who is not going to inherit a title or wealth and is looking to make a name for himself. He has been sent by the War Department to investigate a possible rebellion against the Crown.
Phillip not only the the rebels but the that Felicity has been caught up in place in peril due to her aunt's matchmaking scheme.
Join Felicity and Phillip as the work together to thwart the rebellion against the Crown and possibly find love in the process.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Gallery and the author. This review is my honest opinion of the book and I was not required to leave a review.

Was this review helpful?