The Deception

Baron #3

by Catherine Coulter

The complete revamping of Catherine Coulter's 1983 Signet Regency, An Intimate Deception, led to this: a full-bodied historical romance with a new beginning and a new ending.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Regency, Regency Romance

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Lauren]

Read: 6/14/26
Setting: 1815 England/Wales, France
Trope: spy, kidnapping, fake governess/secret identity

Plot: While in France, Evangeline and her French father are kidnapped by Bonapartist. They demand Evangeline spy for them or they will kill her father. So Eve is forced to play the part of a poor widow who has arrived to beg from her late cousin by marriage's family. She convinces the Duke into hiring her as a tutor for his 5 year old son. Meanwhile, Eve's part of the mission is to help French spies land on England's shores, but soon the villians demand she spy on Richard as well. This is something that gets harder the more time she spends with the virile man. Soon the couple fall in love, but can she trust him with her secret? When an innocent dies as a warning, Eve knows she has no choice, but to obey them or they'll kill 5 year old Edmond next

***
This is a hard book for me to judge because I'm not a fan of the secret identity trope, especially when it last the whole book. Why does Eve naively assumes the villains will simply let her father and her go after they are no longer useful to them? I guess there wouldn't be much of a story if the h was smart and asked for help. Still, this trope didn't irrate me as much as I thought it would have. This story ended up being pretty entertaining thanks to the MC's witty banter. I liked watching this pair fall in love. Oh and Richard never cheats on the h. It's a CC miracle! My biggest complaint was that the epilogue could have been way better! We don't even get a reunion between Eve and her beleaguered father.

Conclusion: this was a huge improvement compared to the last book, The Offer. That said, even though I didn't love this book, i still found it a riveting tale

[gottalottie]

her glorious breasts were basically a side character, unfortunately, her brain failed to make an appearance

[Elizabeth]

Made it to page 110. This book was incredibly difficult to read, with characters often reacting to things that the reader never sees happen. The hero is a lecher and - I'm guessing - that the heroine's problems would be easily solved if she only confided in him.

[Amarilli 73]

3,75 - Non ho letto i precedenti della serie (credo pure inediti da noi), però il terzo volume è amabile e discreto.

L'ambientazione è sempre a cavallo delle guerre napoleoniche, con i francesi che complottano per liberare Napoleone dalla prigionia dell'Elba e nel frattempo cercano di inserire spie all'interno degli apparati inglesi a Londra.
La giovane Eve de Beauchamps è vissuta a lungo in Inghilterra, ma ha fatto ritorno con il padre francese in patria per ricominciare una nuova vita. Viene però rapita e costretta, sotto ricatto, a lavorare come spia francese, entrando nelle grazie di un ricco e lontano parente, il Duca di Portsmouth.

Così la nostra diciannovenne si finge vedova e bisognosa di protezione, ottenendo di essere assunta come istitutrice del bimbo del duca (che è a sua volta vedovo).
Da cosa nasce cosa e il piano riesce: lui viene oltremodo distratto dalla grazie della "cugina", lei riesce a spacciare messaggi e scambiare informazioni con grande facilità.
In effetti, il gioco si blocca solamente perché Eve ha comunque una coscienza e non intende raggirare persone a cui si è affezionata.

Non mi sono annoiata: la prima parte è vivace e ho trovato pure divertente constatare come una ragazza riesca a farla sotto il naso a un duca tutto altezzosità e sicurezza.
Il bimbo è adorabile e anche la madre di lui (impicciona e bramosa di vederlo risposato) ci mette lo zampino. La seconda parte è meno credibile, con i nemici che cadono in trappola come macchiette, però lo promuovo per la trama comunque diversa e originale.

[Lisa Stel]

I didn't think this book was very well written. The dialogue was shallow. The Duke was not a likable character. And the heroine could have confessed was going on much sooner. I was very disappointed

[Caroline]

Exceptionally bad. It reads like the author is new to English and is fluent, but sadly, still missing subtle nuances. The barbs that are supposed to be witty are nonsensical, the pacing is off, the romance is flat.

[Bona Caballero]

La dama es como titularon aquí The Deception, la reescritura que hizo en 1998 Catherine Coulter de su novela corta «An Intimate deception» (1983). Básicamente es una de esas novelas pseudohistóricas de la Regencia con personajes atractivos y una intrigante trama de espionaje. Richard Clarendon, duque de Portsmouth, se sentirá atraído por la misteriosa francesa Evangeline de Beauchamps, ignorando que es una espía. El argumento y los personajes me parecen lo mejor del libro. Evangeline se enfrenta a problemas reales, sufre ciertos dilemas y acaba teniendo mejor voluntad que acierto. Richard es tu arrogante aristócrata estándar; eso sí, con sentido del humor y amor por los suyos. Flojea más en la ambientación. Es de esas novelas que te hacen pensar que los personajes son estadounidenses del siglo XX disfrazados, con su informalidad en el trato, las confianzas inauditas con extraños y un gran desparpajo sexual, incluso en sus primeras relaciones. En fin, nada que ver con los Regencia tradicional o una Georgette Heyer. De todas formas, se deja leer con agrado y no creo que te arrepientas si le das una oportunidad.

[N.W. Moors]

This is a re-write of a much earlier book and definitely not my favorite of the series. Evangeline is blackmailed into posing as an impecunious relative of Richard, Duke of Portsmouth. She's to spy on him for the French but doesn't really have the guile to act as a sophisticated widow.
This story dragged a bit. I was never really engaged with their romance and the spying parts were a bit over the top.

[S Walker]

Couldn’t enjoy the story, secret identity not my trope. I just felt frustrated until the truth came out and this didn’t happen until the end. For Catherine Courier sedate not steamy, H/H had their banter, sometimes funny, sometimes stupid. No loss if you skip this one.

[Susan Ross]

I would have given this book 4 stars if Evangaline had told the duke her dilemma earlier in the story. It was driving me crazy that she wouldn't tell him the truth. Clearly he was capable of handling the issue.

The duke was a bit of a bully.

[Lara]

Upon rereading, far more head-hopping than I remembered. Plot is "Falling in love with the nanny." The new parts are sort of easy to recognize, because there's a bit of uneven-ness to the way Coulter wrote in 1983 versus the new bits written to expand the story in 1998.

[Silvia Letture caldi abbracci]

Romanzo rosa dalla bella trama storica. Ma a renderlo notevole è la traduzione di Anna Montanari che usa un lessico impeccabile e incredibilmente variegato. Rendendo le descrizioni di abiti, vestiti e comportamenti un continuo piacere per la mente

[Heshckhjk]

The story never quite took off for me and it was a shame because it had good elements to work on.

[Lena]

I liked the plot and characters but writing, the conversation was convoluted and didin't flow well. It needs a good editor.

[Mei Yeow]

Meh.
She’s written better.
Skipped big bits and still don’t think I missed much.
Ending was a throwaway.

[Bookish]

DNF

[Mónica]

Novela romántica que no aporta nada.

[Katherine Pierce]

The book starts very interesting from the very beginning and the action develops from the first pages. It is so until the very unexpected end.

[Sandy Smith]

This has a good plot; however, this was the kindle version and conversation paragraphs ran together making it hard to follow the conversation.

[Karen Darling]

Not my type of romance novel.

[Lynne Tull]

Well, "The Offer", was tedious for the first half. Now, I can say "The Deception" was tedious for the second half. As much as I liked all of the characters in this series, their stories seemed to drag on and on. This was a rewrite of the its first publication. I found it lacking...for one thing, nothing more about the cat races which is touted on the back cover. Also,Charles' story from "The Offer" was left hanging. Ms. Coulter's website doesn't give any information about the stories and how they are connected. So, if Charles' story shows up in another book, I do not know. Read this series you might have a completely different take on it.

[M.A. Levi]

"The Deception" is a perfect title to this wonderful story. The plot kept you flipping through the pages,wondering when she'll spill her sceret to Her Duke. All the "Good" Characters were wonderful, and the "Bad" Characters (the villans) just as beautifuly written. It was fusturating to say the least, but what a Great Read. This book is a branch off the other books "The Offer" and "The wild Baron". Oh and the best Part about her books.. Within all the Violence and deceving, True love Conqures all... gotta love happy endings.

[Diane Wachter]

The Deception, Baron Series Bk 3, Catherine Coulter, HB-B @ 2001, 11/03. When Bonaparte sympathisers capture her father, Evangeline deBeauChamps must befriend and spy on her dead English cousin's widower husband, get him to take her in as nanny to his young son, so that she can help spy's land on British soil. To insure that she does this, the kidnappers threaten to kill her father, and the young boy. Disappointing and far-fetched.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon]

One of the first romance novels I read without having to sneak them from my mother! A cousin let me borrow this one and it was good. I didn't realize how much of a flavor of the Scarlet Pimpernel it had until much later in my life after reading the Baroness' work.

Interesting plot, nice sexual tension with a good 'release', and a decent historical fiction romance.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme]

Ah, during my historical years. Ms. Coulter is a favourite of mine for historical romances. I've read pretty much every single book of hers. They all sort of blend together with the same formula. Damsel in distress is saved by white knight. White Knight's heart is moved by the love of a woman. Romantic and sweet.

[Sarah]

I'm not a fan of stories that revolve around faux moral dilemmas: "can I do this evil thing in order to save a loved one's life?" (See also The Hunger Games) Dying for a friend is the ultimate expression of love; sinning for a friend is sick and twisted, just as wrong as sinning for any other reason.

[ElizabethRose]

This was my favorite book of the series. I loved all the suspense and spies. The duke of course is amazing and quite funny. I loved the banter between him and Evangeline. Of course little Edmund was adorable and I wish Catherine Coulter had a book about Drew and Felecia cause that would be hilarious

[Lady of the Lake]

I like Catherine Coulter and her brand of humor that she gives to her characters. Which may or may not seem appropriate for people of that time in history. But having first "heard" a CC book read wonderfully by Ann Flosnic I have come to enjoy her type of character very much.

[Dawn]

Light reading romance with the best plot of the series. The conversation did not fit the times in the book, but the characters were likable. English versus French intrigue to bring Napoleon back to power. Predictable ending.

[Ruth]

good.