A Necessary Deception by Laurie Alice Eakes

 Magnificent blend of a Regency romance and the intriguing mystery with plausible Christian themes!

A Necessary Deception by Laurie Alice Eakes
The Daughters of Bainbridge House #1
Revell, October 2011
Book is of my personal collection
Burton Book Review Rating: LOVED this! 4.5 stars

When young widow Lady Lydia Gale helps a French prisoner obtain parole, she never dreamed he would turn up in her parlor. But just as the London Season is getting under way, there he is, along with a few other questionable personages. While she should be focused on helping her headstrong younger sister prepare for her entrance at her debutante ba ll.Readers will enjoy being drawn into this world of elegance and intrigue, balls and masquerades. Author Laurie Alice Eakes whisks readers through the drawing rooms of London amid the sound of rustling gowns on this exciting quest to let the past stay in the past and let love guide the future.

A Necessary Deception is book one of the Daughters of Bainbridge series and I wanted to read this before I read book two, Flight of Fancy, which I will review for the Historical Novel Society. I am so glad I had this one to read, it was so much fun and a pleasurable read that I gulped down in a day or two. I had read one of the author's previous works as well, and her writing is smooth, flawless and captivating.

This novel features the eldest of the three Bainbridge sisters, Lydia, who is still wearing widow's weeds after three years. She is chaperoning her sisters in Regency London and finds herself smack in the middle of the political intrigues of the time as she helps a Frenchman out of the goodness of her heart. The man was an associate of her late husband's and she feels she owes him a debt even if her actions would portray her as a traitor to England. France and England seem to always be at odds, and the people of this book display their hatred for each other quite well. I loved the intrigues, and the blooming of romance between the two.

There was a lot going on in this inspirational romance, and the plot summary would be long indeed if I spelled it out for you. But let me cut that short by saying this is a great story for those who enjoy some Christian thoughts intermixed with their historical romances.. an entertaining Regency that has me tempted to rush right into book two which features another of the Bainbridge sisters. Laurie Alice Eakes is moving up on my fave authors list.

I do want to add that while some of the recent Christian Historical Fiction I have reviewed here have been light on the Christian factor, this one wrapped itself around it quite a bit. Even though I loved it and appreciated it, there are some readers who do not like the Christian nuances and if that describes yourself then you may not enjoy this read.