How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long

Title/Author: How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long (Pennyroyal Green #6)
Publisher/Date published: Avon Books, January 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "The Scandal Sheets call him Lord Ice.
Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest—in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond.
She's not afraid to play with fire...
But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone: this quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy façade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous: for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted."

So if you guys follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me doing all kinds of gushing about this novel already! When I started this book, it had been 3 weeks since the last time I felt really absorbed in a story and it was just all kinds of amazing! I went off-pile for this one because I'd been having some meh reads and had really enjoyed another book in this series before and I'm SO glad I did it!

From the first moment I felt a connection to Phoebe, the main character. She's a schoolteacher and as such not your typical romance novel character. She's smart and can hold her own and I appreciated that about her. Phoebe's going places even if she doesn't have a man to support her.

And then we have Julian, who is just a swoonworthy man and who made me want to whack him on the back of the head and give him a hug at the same time. He's got a HUGE sense of responsibility and was completely trustworthy and just basically a good guy. I mean, I love me some rakes, but a good guy wins my heart every time. And seriously, when he chased after Phoebe's cat when it slipped out the door onto the dangerous streets of London, looking all kinds of ridiculous, he earned himself a special place for all time. (Oh, and the cat is awesome too!)

But no matter how amazing they were in their own rights, together they blew me away! The chemistry was amazing and I had goosebumps all over. And the tension! It was FANTASTIC! Plus, brownie points for totally making me cry! It's been so long since a book brought me to tears, but this one did the trick and it was wonderful! These two actually have real conversations and real problems! And gosh, can I just say how much I was annoyed by the heroine's rival? Seriously, that girl turned out to be EVIL!

But mostly, what I meant to say was that I absolutely, completely LOVED this book! I think I've found myself a new auto-add historical romance author! If you like the genre, be sure to pick this one up :)

My rating: 5+ stars