"A Matter of Class"

by Mary Balogh, 2010, 190p, rating=3.5

Let me see, how do I put this without setting fire on my cheeks? Well, this did not tug my heart but certainly something else so hence an extra half a point in rating for that!! So if you want a quickie, read this book! blushing blushing blushing...

I don't think I can sum it up without spoiling it for you so the following is a summation from the front in-flap (btw, I must tell you that I guessed the ending!):

"From New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh comes a classic historical tale that sizzles with romance and unforgettable drama.

Reginal Mason is wealthy, refined, and by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by birth, a factor that pains him and his father, Bernard Mason, within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family. Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.

Though Bernard wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Bernard serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginal consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.

So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trial of a love story in which very little is as it seems."

***Now I need to take a cold shower! ;) ***