Book review -- 'A Beautiful Disguise'

 

  Another grand adventure has arrived, from the pen of the talented Roseanna M. White!

  At this point it's become a tradition for me, so I'll just say right off...  It's dang hard, especially with Roseanna's books, to write a review that doesn't give anything, even something small, away (NO spoilers here!).  So I just try instead to highlight a few things I liked briefly, and tell you just to GET THE BOOK and join me on the adventure! 

  Set in Edwardian London, this book takes a turn back towards Roseanna's past location settings.  And I am all the way here for it!

  While I've very much enjoyed the wartime novels Roseanna has focused on for a while -- the intrigue, the atmosphere of the eras, the complications of relationships of all types in wartime, the heightened threat of foreign enemies sneaking in to sabotage from outside -- it has been equally as fascinating to get back to a more society-drama setting for this new series (The Impostors).

  I was already predisposed to like the heroine of this story, Marigold Fairfax, as she's quite a costume-builder, and half of my own life is as a costumer by trade for both stage and film.  It's such fun to see bits of actual considerations I make in my job as a costumer, coming to light on the page.  Though I'm not in a type of espionage myself (fortunately...?), I too take into consideration things like what the trimmings on this gown or that hat will say to onlookers about who this person is, and so on.

  In addition, the aspect of Marigold and her brother Yates having past acrobatic and circus-related training is really interesting and a riot to watch unfold, combining with their fairly new work as private investigators.  What a fun angle this has proven to be! 

  Now, just like his rather secretive initial persona, I don't think I can say very much about the story's hero, Sir Merritt Livingstone, without his secrets leaking out...  So, suffice to say, I like him.  I actually really liked his suspicions about Marigold, for some reason; how she comes across much of the time vs. who she actually is and why.  Maybe it's just remarkably refreshing to see a character with good questions, not silly ones and suspicion for suspicion's sake that many an author often throw in to try to add drama to relationships.  (insert an eyeroll here...)  It's good to see a hero have a solid head on his shoulders, especially when it comes to the girl they're interested in, without taking it to the extreme of fake concerns for tension's sake.  (more eyerolls)

  But then, that's never Roseanna's style, and I appreciate it.  She takes the time and effort required to create plausible people, not caricatures or archetypes or silhouettes.  She creates worlds to put them in with life and dust and dirt and jokes and joy and complications.  And she creates scenarios and people I'm more than happy to climb aboard with and follow on any sort of adventure.  Just like this one, full of beautiful disguises.

  I'll wrap this up with a couple of quotes I love from this book:

'The truth isn't always pretty.  But I like to think it's always beautiful.'

'Maybe we'd all be wiser, maybe fewer people would be hurt, if we questioned 

more.  If we didn't think that closing our eyes to darkness meant 

it didn't exist.

As if by closing them, we didn't just create more darkness.'

Get your own copy HERE ---------->  purchase A Beautiful Disguise 

  Disclaimer: 

  I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publishers, and was not required to leave a positive review.  All views expressed are mine and mine alone. 

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About the Book ­

1909 Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father’s death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm marketed to the elite . . . to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society when they want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend’s father as a potential traitor.   Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the most elite guard, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they’re creating a new secret intelligence branch, he’s intent on showing his worth. He suspects a man of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries but needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.   Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend’s sake, and she’s more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can’t possibly be as noble as he seems.

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   About the Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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A Beautiful Disguise (The Impostors, book 1) available HERE