The Earl of Deveron

Sons of the Marquess #0.5

by Mary Kingswood

A traditional Regency story, drawing room rather than bedroom.

The Earl of Deveron is shocked when his father dies unexpectedly. Left alone to struggle with his new responsibilities, he is delighted when a childhood friend returns to his life to banish his loneliness. But Beatrice Mallory’s intentions are not entirely altruistic, and when she sets out to ensnare her old friend into marriage, he will need to dream up a very clever scheme to escape her wiles.

Book 0 of the Sons of the Marquess series, a prequel. A free novella available only to subscribers of the Mary Kingswood mailing list. Not available to purchase.

Author's note: this is NOT a romance, so although there is (naturally!) a satisfying resolution, there's no hero/heroine HEA.

Genres: Regency, Romance, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Historical Romance, Clean Romance, Fiction

123 pages, ebook

First published August 15, 2017

About the author

I live in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland with my husband. I like chocolate, whisky, my Kindle, massed pipe bands, long leisurely lunches, chocolate, going places in my campervan, eating pizza in Italy, summer nights that never get dark, wood fires in winter, chocolate, the view from the study window looking out over the Moray Firth and the Black Isle to the mountains beyond. And chocolate. I dislike driving on motorways, cooking, shopping, hospitals.

The lovely lady in my avatar is Archduchess Clementina of Austria (1798-1881), Princess of Salerno, painted around 1839.

NOTE: I read Regency romances as well as write them, and I review them all on my website, or you can find them right here on Goodreads on my real-name account at Pauline M. Ross.

Reviews

[Jeannine · Rating 5 out of 5]

January 2025: I'm reading this again because I recently finished the first series and had to see how Mary, Osbourne, and Daniel's story is continued in this second series. I didn't know their backstory until reading the first series and now I'm rooting for Mary and Daniel!

October 2024: This is a free download for newsletter subscribers.

Dev's back story is enlightening. He's sheltered, spoiled, and a bit dense! I don't know whether to laugh at him or feel sorry for him...but I'm so glad he found Connie. Of course, no I really want to read the series about Connie and her sisters, but I'm going to continue with the brothers for now.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Earl of Deveron is an air head. I enjoyed reading about his love match with Connie in the Daughters of Alamont Hall Book 3 but I think she really has the brains in that family. That being said, I look forward to reading the rest of the stories in the Sons of the Marquess series.

[Reader (Show me, don't tell me) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book in the series. An intro to the Marford brothers. Their father just died and Francis, the elder and new Marquess recounted the story of how he almost got trapped into marriage by his longtime friend.

[Tilde D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet novella that's a prequel to the Sons of the Marquess series. Goodnatured and naive hero contends with a neighbor scheming to trap him into marriage. Wonderful fun with many smiles and chuckles along the way.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved The Sons of the Marquess series, so I enjoyed going back and meeting some of these characters once again and better understanding the factors that shaped the marquess.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

The backstory of the cagy earl. Ha!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting backstory