To Love a Thief

“A prince?” Alice was fascinated. “There’s never been a prince before.”

Because I’ve never seen a man quite like this before. “Yes, a very tall prince, with broad shoulders, and... thick straight dark brows like this.” Lily placed her fingers across her own fine brows. “And cheeks like... like this.” Lily sucked in her own cheeks to illustrate high slopes and elegant hollows. “And a bold nose. Rather saves him from being too pretty. And hair like fire.”

“His hair is on fire?” Alice was alarmed.

“No, goose. His hair is very dark, but it shines in the sun like...lit coal. His eyes are dark, and he has very fine clothes. And a firm grip,” she added, a touch resentfully.

She’d felt the change as physically as his fingers closed around her wrist; she’d felt in the very center of her, a shock of heat, like lamplight blooming.

Right before she’d kneed him in the cods.

Mrs. Plunkett handed Lily a long brush, a cake of white soap that smelled as if it had been carved from the floor of heaven, and two thick white cloths.

Lily had managed to coax a tremendously skeptical Alice into the copper tub. But when the water began to grow dark, Alice became convinced it was because her body was dissolving into it, turning the water into so much Alice soup.

and

All she lacked was a cigar and a snifter of brandy and a halo.

Is it just me or do those descriptive bits curl your toes?

As for the story itself, it's better than it ought to be. Gideon rather forcibly recruits Lily (who comes from fallen gentry) to masquerade as a possible love interest, so as to hook the competitive young daughter of a marquis, whom he hopes to win. He has this Master Plan, you see, to marry well and use the connections as a stepping stone to promote himself. Constance (the targeted damsel) likes to compete and win, so setting up a rival is a good way to win her from a better situated swain who is also wooing her. The plan goes awry in unexpected ways, and there are some pretty good twists as the characters learn a few things about themselves along the way.

The Kindle version probably could've benefited from another editorial pass, but I didn't care. My only real grouse was the resolution of one of the hero's primary conflicts, which was settled too easily and too much offstage. I'd almost bet the publisher insisted on a certain word count and Long had to cut much of a side story to make it work.

Imperfect it may be but this is the first story in awhile to win five stars from me. I'll be buying up the rest of Long's book list and I look forward to seeing if her work is consistently this good.