FINAL DECISION: I enjoyed this book because the focus, besides the obvious romance, is on these two characters who are damaged and yet find in one another a reason to move beyond their fears.

THE STORY: Stephen Hornsby, Marquess of Clevedon, is determined to see everything he can before he goes blind. When he bids for a painting, he finds his competition is a beautiful widow, Lady Penelope. Stephen is determined to experience the beauty of seeing Penelope naked and in passion. Penelope has her own motives. She needs Stephen's help. She certainly isn't interested in becoming another conquest for the determined rake. She already was married to a man who betrayed and used her emotions and dreams against her. She will never get involved with another man and risk herself or her emotions.

OPINION: I admit to being a sucker for a damaged hero. Stephen struggles with his increasing blindness. It makes him question just about everything about himself. I liked his journey throughout the book as he discovers what is important about himself -- both in his own eyes and in those around him. Balancing his "weakness" with his strength as a hero was done skillfully demonstrating that any weakness that Stephen senses in himself doesn't overwhelm all the strengths he has. I especially loved that Penelope flat out tells him that he is strong enough to overcome his challenges.

Penelope is a woman of strength and determination. She has a horrible past, but she has not allowed it to make her cower in fear. Instead, she has built a life for herself and intends on doing what is right no matter the consequences.

The dynamic between Penelope and Stephen was interesting because the need for reassurance that each needs ebbs and flows with the events in the story. I liked that about the couple. They both don't want to trust, they both have fears and they both have to open themselves up to the possibility of being hurt.

The plot of the story about the death of Penelope's husband serves its purpose in the story. I wasn't particularly interested in the resolution, but it did push Stephen and Penelope into situations which challenged them individually and as a couple.

WORTH MENTIONING: For readers of ADDICTED TO THE DUKE, we get a nice little update on Alex and Hestia.

CONNECTED BOOKS: DRAWN TO THE MARQUESS is the second book in the Imperfect Lords series. This book has overlapping characters, but the romance is completely separate and can be read as standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to help prepare this review. I was not required to write a review and I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

This was a steamy historical romance. I absolutely loved Stephen and Penelope. They were so perfectly flawed and well characterized. I don't think that I've been this gripped by a historical romance in ages. I look forward to seeing more work by Brownwen Evans in the future.

Great book. Had me in tears. Had me laughing. Kept my interest throughout the book. I would read it again.

When I saw this story was written by Bronwen Evans, I expected it to be great...well it's BETTER than great. She has two wonderful people traveling life together in this story. Stephen is a handsome, loving man....literally loving women! Pen has suffered through a horrible marriage and is enjoying her freedom. The villain...a ruthless man wanting Pen's money! Mix this all up and you will not be able to put this story down. There is intrigue, romance, danger and so much love. Enjoy!

Two extremely attractive people with devastating personal secrets work at cross-purposes until they realize that the barriers they've put up are unnecessary and self-defeating.

Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clevedon has long been known to be a rake of some sort by the ton of London. He is now in a race against time because Stephen is losing his eyesight and has horrible thoughts of his father going through the same thing and taking his life. Lady Penelope was married to a man who was a terrible husband. He fell to his death in a drunken stupor and now Lady Penelope asks Stephen to help her because she is afraid that the death will be pinned on her. Stephen agrees under one condition, she must agree to be be wooed into his bed. Interesting characters and a unique story make this an enjoyable addition to historical romance.

Drawn to the Marquess by Bronwen Evans will be available September 4, 2018 from Random House Publishing Group-Loveswept. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clevedon, is going blind like his father. His vision is worsening and he’s on a mission to see beautiful and exquisite things so he can commit the images to memory. He meets Lady Penelope when they get in a bidding war over the same painting. He immediately decides he wants the lovely Lady Pen. She, however, is not as smitten. She is a widow who was once married to an abusive man. She finally has her freedom and she has no intention of committing herself to a man again. '

This was my first book by Bronwen Events. I loved it! It was really well written, had an interesting plot, and there was great character development. I liked the characters of Stephen and Pen and thought they had great chemistry. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romances.

Drawn to the Marquess is a unique book with a couple of old-fashioned problems that nonetheless provides proper spice and chemistry between our hero and heroine.

Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clevedon, is nothing more than means to an end for Lady Penelope Fisherton.  She is well aware of his rougish background and also that when he was younger he was a spy for the Crown during the anglo-Turkish wars.  This is the skill she hopes to tap into, and by way of connecting to him she hopes to buy an expensive painting he seeks to gain at a Sotheby’s auction.  Though that bargaining chip slips through her hands, she manages to beguile Stephen and enlist his help in proving her innocence in the matter of the death of her husband, the Earl of Rotham, with whom she had blackened her name by eloping eight years before at seventeen.

Rotham had seduced her in order to get his hands on her land and inheritance and proceeded to treat her poorly throughout their marriage, and has continued to make her life inconvenient by dying under suspicious circumstances.  He has left her everything in his will, which buries her under a cloud of suspicion, especially in the eye of her late husband’s brother.  The gossip about her has been vicious, and Penelope has avoided London for the last few years, but as soon as her name is cleared, she plans on living happily as an independent widow and never to seek out society again.  She is also determined to never again to marry and allow a man to have power over her. So… why should Stephen make her feel differently?

Stephen fights so hard to obtain the painting because he a connoisseur of beauty, and as such, is immediately drawn to Penelope’s loveliness. He is going blind due to a hereditary condition, and is therefore determined to experience every joyful, beautiful sight he can before he loses his sight in middle age, as his father had done before him.  Not wishing to pass the condition through his bloodline, he has decided to remain single and not to father any children.

Stephen asks but one thing of Penelope in return for his help in discovering the truth about Rotham’s death - that she allow him to try to seduce her.  She agrees to this, but only if the seduction is on her terms. Stephen begins to delve into the mystery surrounding her husband’s death, all the while seducing her with the beauty of art and tempting words.  But Penelope remains unbending.  The two of them will need to surmount many obstacles, self-made and not, before reaching for their happy ending.

Stephen is amusingly arch and droll, and the author is quite serious about how his blindness has affected who he is.  She has clearly done a lot of research into the degenerative condition (most likely macular degeneration) that will cause Stephen’s blindness and skillfully puts it into an historical context.  The blind characters (and another main character, Jonathan, has a stutter that is treated with respect) come across like real people instead of moral lessons for the hero and heroine to follow.

Penelope’s bitterness, her suppressed eroticism, and her directness are all delights as well; she does not bend and she does not break, and that’s wonderful to see in a heroine.  She has become a proud steward of her lands and has a life that is full.

Our hero and heroine have a steamy and intense romantic bond that is mature and gripping.  Any romance that feels like a real, true, actual interaction that might happen between two people is a beautiful narrative victory.  This book triumphs that way.

There is one fly in the ointment.  Stephen’s insistence on seducing Penelope in trade for his help is a little bit slimy, no matter how the author tries to couch it as a battle of equals.  As Penelope herself points out, this is no game, and her life is hanging in the balance; there is no room for sex games when you’re trying to avoid swinging from a noose.  I know – it’s a romance novel, and we have to get the sex and romance into the tale somehow, yet it could have been handled more deftly, especially when he continues to focus on pleasure while more serious matters are afoot.  And yes, Penelope is yet another Widow-Who’s-Never-Had-An-Orgasm, a cliché I continue to be tired of.  These aren’t enormous flaws’; the quality of the romance ultimately subsumes them, and it’s nice to see a man who’s solely focused on the woman he’s attracted to pursuing her with fervor, but a slightly slower pacing in the build-up might have been prudent.

The writing is fun, the mystery is excellent and appropriately twisty (note: mention is made of childhood sexual assault, which may trouble some readers), and there are many endearing minor characters, but my favorites were definitely Dororthea, Stephen’s younger sister, and her loving husband.   Evans has an excellent eye for the power and beauty of art, and that translates well to the text.   There are some info-dumpy moments which could have been omitted, but which ultimately didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the read.

Overall, Drawn to the Marquess is a great romance with memorable characters.  It’s a lovely midsummer read for a moonlit night.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

4.5 stars - This is a love story about two physically beautiful people, both of whom have tortured souls. He's on the brink of an unfathomable personal loss. She survived a hellish marriage and is finally reclaiming her power, safe in her widowhood, when life-altering accusations threaten to pull the rug out from under her. The story is as much about self-discovery through perseverance as it is about finding and, being brave enough to, claim the love and life you deserve.

It’s classic Bronwen Evans and it's darn near perfect.

I received an ARC of this book, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I received an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really nice, it had some of the usual clichés but it was nice to see a hero with an affliction who is able to overcome without a miraculous healing and still make peace with himself. The heroine was very likable too. Recommended

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book on NetGalley. I have read many of Bronwen Evans's books and I believe this one is her best thus far. This is a story of two damage individuals that heal one another and find true love. Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clevedon, is losing his eyesight so he desires to find and view as much beauty as he can before he goes completely blind. In his quest for beauty, he meets Lady Penelope Fisherton, a beautiful young widow that has suffered at the hands of her deceased husband. She is concerned her brother-in-law is trying to blame her for her husband's death and she comes to the Marquees for help. This story is a mystery about two people determined to find out what really happened to Penelope's husband while they build a relationship. They both bring insecurities and concerns to the relationship and must work to overcome the challenges they face.

Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clevedon, is on borrowed time. He is afflicted with the same eye disease as his father. He may go blind soon, and he needs to see everything beautiful and precious before he sees nothing. He’s also determined never to fall in love and marry because his children may inherit his eye issues. Lady Penelope has survived a disastrous marriage to a scoundrel. But, now she’s a suspect in his alleged murder. She asks Stephen to help her clear her name. She wants to live life in freedom without a man tying her down. But, Stephen wants to show her that there is pleasure to be found in the opposite sex. Can he be close to Penelope without losing his heart? Can Penelope risk her independence to find out what she’s missing in her life?
This was a great installment to Ms. Evans’ historical series. It’s full of romance, suspense, and a message that makes the whole story more fulfilling. The couple in this story are risking everything they hold dear to be with each other. Both of them are living without any hope for the future. When they open their hearts, hope creeps in. The suspense enhanced the romance and kept me on the edge of my seat until the ending. I can’t wait to read the next Imperfect Lords romance. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Book review: Drawn to the Marquess by Bronwen Evans
I love love love Regency Romance. Go ahead, judge me, I don't care. These books are light hearted and hella fun. I'm a sucker for the Ton and a happy ending. Bonus points if Beau Brummel is mentioned. Extra extra points if they have to get approval to Waltz.

This book, Drawn to the Marquess, is a little misleading. It is a historical, and made a passing mention of the ton. The heroine was ostracized by society and is reclusive. She ropes the handsome Marquess into helping her prove her innocence in the death of her husband, who we learn is just the absolute worst. Most of the book takes place in the country away from the ton. She wasn't so much drawn to the marquess as she was trying to trick him into working for him. I'm not so sure the title fits. The story itself started out pretty slow, then picked up speed. I'd rate it 4 out of 5. I was entertained, but would not read again.

A historical romance featuring a strong heroine and hero both of whom have high intelligence and are driven to succeed. Although they appear to be polor opposite in their wants necessity brings them together to mutually achieve their desiref outcomes. He awakens her suppressed desires while investigating her husband's death. She awakens his desire for mutual love and a family.

I have rated this book 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

A damaged English Lord and a strong female to help him see a new look on life. Not a new story line, but fun to read non the less. Would recommend to readers of historical English romance or who want just that bit more in their romances.

Who is Lord Rotham, and why is she stalking this poor man in order to "defeat" him?

I'm guessing she's not a blushing virgin.

Why is he so convinced the doctors were right about the blindness being hereditary?

Seems like a lot of money to waste on a painting you don't even like, just to get a man's attention.

He's been caught spying on people having sex before? Ew.

She figures out he has poor eyesight and wants to use it against him? Ugh.

She does seem to take very good care of the villagers. And introducing him to Travis was genius.

You're a gross houseguest, Stewart.

OMG!! I totally love this book! Drawn To The Marquess is an amazing read by Bronwen Evans. Ms. Evans has delivered this historical romance junkie's fix for the week with this well-written book. Penelope needs help to prove she didn't murder her degenerate husband. Stephen is the man she's picked to do the job. Their story is filled with drama, sizzle, bits of humor, action and suspense. I loved this book from start to finish and look forward to my next Bronwen Evans book. Drawn To The Marquess is book 2 of the Imperfect Lords Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! Disabilities aren't seen too often in historical romance, and I like seeing how characters from a different time period deal with them. I think Stephen and Penelope were perfect for each other. I also liked the mystery aspect. It's always fun when a novel has a solid plot outside the romance.

Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clevedon was at Sotheby’s to buy a painting. So was Lady Penelope Fisherton.. Both wanted the painting for different reasons. He, because it is a beautiful sunrise, she because she wanted something to offer him to help her prove that she didn't kill her scoundrel of a husband. Since he won, she had nothing to offer. She knows he worked as a spy in the war and thinks that he can help her. He is agreeable to helping her if she will give him a chance to seduce her. They are attracted to each other, maybe even in love but they both have secrets. She finds out that he is losing his eyesight. He will never marry because she wants children and he refuses to pass on his disability to a child of his. Her secrets are what her husband was doing to cause his death. He deserved to die, but did Lady Penelope kill him? Can she convince Lord Clevedon that she didn't kill her husband? What other secrets does she have and will they destroy their relationship? Great read with some of today's news headlines. I loved the book. It is a great read with suspense and love. Can love conquer everything? You need to read this book to find out. I received this book from Net Galley and Random House Publishing for an honest review and no other compensation otherwise.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.

This historical romance is full of the details of seduction. The language is frank. The Marquess is losing his eyesight and wants to experience life fully before he is blind. The heroine is a widow accused of killing her husband and makes a deal with the Marquess to help clear her name--in exchange for a chance at seduction.

The investigation has a main lead that they chase repeatedly. Secrets are uncovered that are revolting. The main characters each have a strong reason not to marry the other.

I eagerly read till the end, yet never really loved the characters.

Adult content, voyeurism, Biblical profanity, child sex trafficking