A review by cakt1991
The Best Marquess by Nicola Davidson

4.5

 A while ago, I read the first book in Nicola Davidson’s Wickedly Wed series, and loved it. I’ve since bought both follow-up books, but have not had time to read them. However, I was looking for books with “wicked” words in the title for an August readathon, and while The Best Marquess did not qualify (series title doesn’t count), I had the urge to read it upon taking a closer look at the premise. As expected, upon reading, I found it to be a perfect balance of super-sweet and super-sexy, in the way only a Nicola Davidson book can be. 

Pippa and Finn are both wonderful characters, who I really resonated with. Pippa is a spinster whose grandmother is trying to push her to marry against her wishes. While it would have been expected for her to long for marriage, I love how she defies the stereotype by finding all the romance and passion she craves through romance novels, and coming to the conclusion that marriage, especially among the ton, could not compare. Finn is a fellow romance novel enthusiast, and more than that he also runs a sex toy company called Bliss. But beyond  that, Finn is truly a man of honor, unlike many of the men of the ton, including his own hypocrite father, who refused to acknowledge his illegitimate daughter. 

The bond between these two is super-sweet from the beginning, with their fairly stable foundation as friends being a great precursor to them becoming more. Their mutual passion for romances inform their desires as they consummate their relationship. This foundation is shaken somewhat due to society rumors about his reputation that he has not bothered to correct, even to her, until she confronts him about it, but while there were a few tense scenes as a result, the issue ended up being resolved through them communicating. And despite this minor miscommunication, I did like that the story was written in a way to allow them to be each other’s first and only sexual partner in a believable way, while still maintaining a sex-positive message overall. 

While Lillian and Gabriel from the first book are mentioned, they’re very much side characters off living their marital bliss for the most part. This book mainly sets the stage for the next book as Georgiana’s romance, with her being caught up in scandal at the end that was foreshadowed throughout this book. However, Pippa’s brother Xavier is a delight who I’d love to read more about, and I particularly hope Davidson has plans for Finn’s sister Abby, as if anyone deserves an HEA, she does, given all she’s been through. 

I really enjoyed this one, and considering the way this one ended, I’m even more excited to get to the next book soon! I’d strongly recommend this if you’re interested in an erotic historical romance.