Review: Moonlight Masquerade by Ruth Axtell

Moonlight Masquerade Author - Ruth Axtell 400 pages Time It Took for to Read - 3 Days Rating - 4.5 out of 5 Stars Would I Recommend to My Students: Not Really

Lady Celine Wexham seems the model British subject. French by birth but enjoying life in 1813 as a widowed English countess, she is in the unique position of being able to help those in need--or to spy for the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte. When Rees Phillips of the British Foreign Office is sent to pose as the countess's butler and discover where her true loyalties lie, he is confident he will uncover the truth. But the longer he is in her fashionable townhouse in London's West End, the more his staunch loyalty to the Crown begins to waver as he falls under Lady Wexham's spell. Will he find the proof he needs? And if she is a spy after all, will he do the right thing?

What I Loved...

The main character Rees. He was determined! I found myself wanting him to just have everything he ever wanted. Loved him!

The intrigue. I love spy movies, so this was right up my alley. LOVED the masquerade party.

What I Liked...

The Christian morals weren't pushed on me as a reader. It seemed genuine; I guess that is the best way to describe what I mean.

While Celine isn't my favorite heroine, I liked her well enough.

Other...

I wouldn't recommend this book to MY students simply because they don't prefer regency or what they consider "old-fashioned" (historical fiction of any kind) books. They love contemporary and dystopian books. I would recommend this to romance book lovers, historical fiction lovers and light spy enthusiasts.

I really wanted to like Celine more, but I just couldn't find that spark I was looking for. I did root for them to end up happy together but that was mainly because I liked Rees so much.

I would have liked to have seen Rees a little less gullible, but nevertheless, I really liked his character.

The ending was a little flat for me. My reaction was more of... "That's it." instead of "Awww!", BUT that could just be because I enjoyed the book and wanted more.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free copy of the eBook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My opinion is my own and I was not compensated for my review.