To Spark a Match
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
"Turano takes readers on a lighthearted romp through matchmaking season . . . . This is a delight."--Publishers Weekly on A Match in the Making
After five unsuccessful Seasons on the marriage mart, Miss Adelaide Duveen has resigned herself to the notion that she's destined to remain a spinster forever--a rather dismal prospect, but one that will allow her to concentrate on her darling cats and books. However, when she inadvertently stumbles upon Mr. Gideon Abbott engaged in a clandestine activity during a dinner party, Adelaide finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue that resembles the plots in the spy novels she devours.
Former intelligence agent Gideon Abbott feels responsible for Adelaide after society threatens to banish her because of the distraction she caused to save his investigation. Hoping to return the favor, he turns to a good friend--and one of high society's leaders--to take Adelaide in hand and turn her fashionable. When danger surrounds them and Adelaide finds herself a target of the criminals in Gideon's case, the spark of love between them threatens to be quenched for good--along with their lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Turano (A Match in the Making) captivates with a historical romance that finds its quirky heroine caught between a secret investigation and matchmaking season in 19th-century New York. Accident-prone Adelaide Duveen ("I'm the lady who suffers mayhem on a frequent basis") spends her time devouring spy novels and rescuing stray cats instead of seeking a rich husband. At 23, she's on the verge of accepting her "fate as a confirmed spinster." After suffering a wardrobe malfunction at a dreary high-society dinner party, she bumps into handsome Gideon Abbott lurking in the house's library. When Gideon admits he's working undercover to investigate the potentially dangerous admirer of an enigmatic opera singer; Adelaide offers to help. Gideon's not sure he wants her involved, however, and he convinces his elegant friend Camilla to reintroduce Adelaide to high society. As Camilla works to transform the "mad cat lady" into a "diamond of the first water," it remains to be seen whether Adelaide will be the hit of the season or if she'll find her way into trouble first—especially as Gideon's case reveals itself to be thornier than it seems on the surface. Turano charms with her offbeat characters, and she has a knack for funny, flirty dialogue (Adelaide: "Discretion is my middle name." Gideon: "Your middle name is Winifred, after your maternal grandmother") that keeps the plot ticking along. Turano's fans will find this irresistible.
