Review: The Boxing Baroness

The Boxing Baroness by Minerva Spencer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Marianne Simpson was educated at an exclusive ladies college, but when it came to getting a job she found that her uncle's circus closed all doors to her, so now she is one of the boxing belles in Farnham’s Fantastical Female Fayre. She is no stranger to gentlemen of the ton gawping at her in her immodest boxing attire (which her uncle isn't averse to dampening down to show off her curves), but she refuses to speak to St. John Powell, the Duke of Staunton, particularly when he mentions her ex, Baron Dominic Strickland who lied to her and staged a fake wedding just so that he could bed her.

But when Staunton buys up thousands of pounds of her uncle Barnabas's debt and offers her a choice between helping him and the circus facing ruin, Marianne has no choice.

Staunton has received word from Strickland, a former school friend, that his younger brother is not dead as previously believed, but is a prisoner in France and can be ransomed for £10,000 and a meeting with Marianne - he'll do anything to rescue his brother even if it means blackmailing a young woman.

Staunton and his two best friends go undercover with the circus as they trek through France on the way to the rendezvous, but as Napoleon escapes his prison on Elba passage becomes fraught with danger.

Romance, war, international intrigue, disguises, spies, and explosive secrets make this a captivating story, even if I did feel that Staunton became a bit of a pussycat at the end.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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