Couldn't finish. I don't like to disparage a person's work but the heroine in this book was infuriating. I only got a quarter of the way through and I could not put up with her extreme stupidity anymore. I even understand having an abusive parent that you still want to earn affection from but Gwen's behavior is extreme to the point of being ridiculous, in my opinion.

Welp - I think I'll chicken out on this one. After finishing and trying to decide what to write, I went back to read some of the less excited reviews, and I'll just say I agree more with them than with the 5-stars. The book started out at breakfast, but suddenly they're at a ball. Is it a breakfast ball? What happened to breakfast? Oh wait, now we're back at breakfast, but then walking outside at night at the ball. A breakfast ball, at night? And then there was the misuse of verbs and overuse of pet words. "Choosing to do this, he chose to do that." In the same sentence. And orbs and tides. And a heroine who overthinks to distraction. To. Distraction. If I was the DNF type, this would have raised it's hand to jump into that pile, but I always think that eventually the story will redeem itself... (not this time). Lots of author intrusion, lots of hammering a point home (I got it the first time), not enough show and too much tell. ( )

The book had a strong beginning. Gwen and Sebastian really "clicked" well and I enjoyed the "flirty" scenes. As the story progressed, I lost interest. I just can't recommend this one. Sorry.

Wonderful historical romance set in the victorian era. ( )

I think Dance with Deception is my first straight historical romance, if so it's an enjoyable introduction to the Victorian era. (And a fun change from my more commonly read Victorian tales, most notably those of the Lovecraft mythos.)

Gwendolyn MacAlistair's father is supposedly dying and she is being forced into an arranged marriage with his close friend and near constant companion, Kier. But since their re-introduction as adults Gwen can't rid herself of thoughts of Sebastian, a duke now, but like an older brother to her in childhood. But both Gwen and Sebastian find themselves unprepared for the manipulations of her father and Kier, and for the deep family secrets that are about to be revealed.

Dance with Deception has all the classic ingredients of successful romance. Sebastian is haunted by a loveless past. Gwen is a feisty woman in a time that doesn't appreciate her, being manipulated into a proper, dutiful marriage with a man who seems to have no redeeming qualities. The attraction between the two is sizzling and the drama is spot on and satisfying.

Being new to historical romance I can't say how it rates in period accuracy, but the details of the setting neither disrupt nor overwhelm the love story. Even though it's over four hundred pages I read this one pretty quickly and found it hard to put down. The best thing I can say about it is that it's quite the sensory novel, woven with tastes, smells and sounds that other authors sometimes forget. All in all Dance with Deception is a solid, if not enjoyable debut. ( )