A View to a Kissby Caroline Lindenreviewed by Valarie PelisseroFebruary 2009, 372 pages, Publisher: Avon, ISBN: 0061706353 Back Cover Blurb: It was a most coveted invitation - a glittering ball attended by all the important people of the ton. But Mariah, a ravishing beauty thought by all to be the catch of the season, never expected to find true love amid the shadows. The mysterious man she meets there ignites a passion within her she never thought possible. When he starts a clandestine midnight courtship in her bedroom, Mariah is scandalized - and enthralled.
Harry Sinclair is a man of secrets who would to anything to protect those in his charge. But when he lays eyes on the stunning Mariah, duty and desire collide. Though every man in London lusts for her, he knows the fiery attraction between them is unparalleled. But in a world where trust can turn to treason and scandal can topple the throne, Harry and Mariah will fight a perilous fight for their precious love - and their lives.
It was a simple assignment, in fact it was so simple that spy Harry Sinclair could have performed his part with his eyes closed, but then he would have missed seeing the beautiful Lady Mariah Dunmore, only child of the Earl of Doncaster. She is so far above a commoner like Harry, as he is continually reminded by his colleagues, and Harry is at the Doncaster ball to thwart an assassination, not flirt with an earl's daughter.
Disguised as the aged Lord Wroth, Harry watches Mariah, but cannot approach her, not as himself, nor as Lord Wroth as his suit would never be considered. But when he accidentally meets Mariah on a darkened balcony, he can be himself in the darkness. However, one conversation is not enough for either of them, and Mariah begs him to meet her again. She never imagines that Harry will climb through her bedroom window in the dark of night, and so their courtship begins.
I loved watching Mariah and Harry's courtship and how they fell in love. It is easy to think you are in love with someone based solely on their looks, but often times a pleasing countenance doesn't always match what is inside the heart, but when the visual element is taken away all that's left is character. I thought that Ms. Linden did an excellent job of showing the progression of their romance and the believability of their falling in love under the cover of darkness. Harry and Mariah never touched, they never kissed, but they did talk...they talked about their pasts and their hopes for the future. Even though Harry never believed that he was good enough for an earl's daughter and that Mariah could never be his, through all of those late night conversations, I completely believed in their happily ever after, despite his pessimism.
A View to a Kiss wasn't all happiness and sunshine, there was an undercurrent running through it, that led to Harry's assignment and his appearance at the Doncaster ball, which was balanced nicely with the romance. Someone is targeting high-level members of Parliament, and it is up to Harry and his colleagues to intercept any violence. During the day Harry works as one lord's secretary, while at night he dons the persona of Lord Wroth and attends the same social rounds as that lord, while his fellow spies keep an eye on the other two targets. After his duties are done though, Harry cannot keep himself away from Mariah and those stolen moments are the balm he needs to soothe his soul. For Mariah these stolen moments give her hope that there is one man among the ton who is not boring, and can capture her heart. She likes to believe that she is evolved enough that Harry's looks do not matter, but that doesn't stop her from picturing his face, or from trying to find him in every man she meets. Mariah manages to discover her mystery man about halfway through the book when she meets Lord Wroth in the light of day and recognizes his voice even through his disguise, and I laughed at her father's reaction when she insists on receiving Lord Wroth as a caller, after spurning younger suitors.
A View to a Kiss is the second story (Seduced at Midnight, Jacquie D'Alessandro) I have read this year where an aristocratic lady finds her soulmate in a working man, and is willing to give up everything for him. Both stories were executed in two completely different ways, yet both were highly satisfying. The epilogue here satisfied my curiosity to see how things worked out, my only complaint is that there is a cheat at the end of this story, which brought my grade down just a notch, but other than that A View to a Kiss is a keeper and Caroline Linden just keeps getting better.
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