The Duplicitous Debutante by Becky Lower

She added in a lot of details about fencing which I thought were knowledgeable and again, added to the plot and characters. The author does a wonderful job with the historic facts and events which added to the story but didn’t distract from it. The setting and the little attention to the historic details all worked well for me. They were each such strong characters on their own that when they came together their chemistry was a force to be reckoned with.

I loved the chemistry between the Rosemary and Henry. There was a lot that worked for this novel for me. Though after reading this one, I think it would be fun to read the others in the series. I didn’t feel lost or like I was missing anything from the previous books. Though this book is part of a series, I thought it read fine as a stand alone. It’s already a stretch for Henry to marry a working class secretary, but when he finds out she has been deceiving him about her true position, it could cost them their love. Rosemary and Henry work closely together and soon fall in love but his family is very traditional and they are unlikely to accept her as a suitable wife for their son. Rosemary is totally captivated by his good looks and charm, and Henry likewise is intrigued by Rosemary who he thinks is the secretary for Mr. Elliott along with the other authors of the publishing company. Well the head of the publishing company sends his son, Henry Cooper, to meet this F.P. But it’s an age that frowns upon female writers and thus Rosemary writes as the gender generic, F.P. Rosemary has other ambitions which include writing the popular Harry Hawk dime novels. New York society in the 1850’s, expects women to find a good husband, set up a functional home, and of course….have children.īut Rosemary Fitzpatrick has other plans, the last thing she is interested in is entering society and beginning the great husband hunt!

The Duplicitous Debutante by Becky Lower