A review by prationality
A Lady's Deception by Jeanne Savery

4.0

When I first read this, a decade or so ago, I read it under the mistaken belief that it would be similar to a manga I adore called Basara. All I really read of the synopsis was 'Young girl masquerades as her late twin brother and gets into trouble'--which is Basara's plot at the most simple. So yes I was mighty surprised and learned the valuable lesson to read the blurb before you read the book to avoid such mishaps again.

Regardless this trope--a lady disguising herself as a guy--tickles me pink every time. Whether made seriously or made as a lark, almost invariably the lady in question gets into some situations that are simply outlandish. I especially love it when the hero suspects the lady and purposely makes her squirm to see if she breaks. Lucius is rather like that, pushing buttons to get to the truth.

Tacye (for the record she and her sister win for exotic names in Regency Romances, at least for this month) is capable, intelligent, quick-witted and has the inner strength to make the charade work. I fully believe if Lucius hadn't become a factor nothing would have gone wrong. Admittedly the time that Tacye spends a female in Lucius' company is far shorter then what she spends with as a guy, but Lucius caught on to the guise fairly quick. So while Tacye was falling in love with him, and wondering how to explain that she isn't a guy, he was wondering how to get her not to be a guy long enough for things not to get really scandalous!