LOVER OF BOOKS

A Deceptive Alliance by Sydney Blackburn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was pleasantly surprised by this book by Sydney Blackburn. It was a lovely mix of m/m romance, fantasy, and action.

Kel, Lord Lindere, and his twin sister, the lady Isabel, are wards of their uncle, the king of Karleed. Fraternal twins, they look far too similar and have traded places often, so Isabel could taste the freedom of being 'male' and so that Kel could flirt with handsome men at balls. They were as close as could be, but had always known they would have to make advantageous 'state' matches. So when Isabel is betrothed to Darin, Prince of Pervayne, third son of the ruler, she seemed resigned... until she wasn't and ran away to avoid the marriage.

Kel has no choice but to impersonate his sister until his cousin, the crown prince, locates his errant sibiling. So he dresses in her wedding dress, says her vows in the proxy wedding, and then heads off with the entourage to meet 'her' new husband. The plan is that Kel will play Isabel, his cousin will look for his sister and then race to meet the slow moving caravan so that Kel and Isabel can trade places in the dead of the night with no one the wiser. Except we wouldn't have a story if that happened.

So Kel is forced to spend weeks impersonating his sister and during the voyage falls hopelessly for the servant that Prince Darin has sent to protect his princess. At least the voluminous skirts he's forced to wear as part of his disguise cover Kel's reaction to the servant. But where the heck is his sister, and will he escape this debacle with his heart still in tact?

But what if the servant known as Dare was more than meets the eye? And what if Kel didn't have to hide behind Isabel's skirts and makeup... what would happen then?

This was a lovely, happy read that left me with all the happy feelz. I definitely recommend this book.

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