Review: To Wager the Marquis of Wolverstone by Bronwen Evans

Print Length:150 pages

Published: April 28, 2012

From Goodreads.com: They Say Revenge is Sweet… 

Marcus Danvers, the Marquis of Wolverstone, is renowned for his cynical demeanor. It's rumored that long ago, a beautiful woman broke his heart. Now he lives life for pleasure. He’s the consummate, handsome rake. If anyone tries to get too close—let’s just say his bark is as bad as his bite. That is, until the beautiful, as she is deceitful, Contessa Orsini re-enters his life with a wager he cannot resist. When he wins, he’ll have Sabine exactly where he wants her—in his bed and at his mercy. 

Forced to return to England and avenge her father’s death, Sabine knows the one person who can help her is the only man she has ever loved—Marcus. The man who hates her with as much passion as he once loved her. But Marcus doesn’t know that by winning the wager he’ll also be getting his revenge. For there are some secrets best left buried…

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

I've read other stories by Ms. Evans that were a lot better written than this one. I felt that this story was over the top in the drama department. I couldn't find it in myself to really like either of the characters - Sabine kept too many secrets for too long - and Marcus definitely only had one thing on his mind (bedding Sabine) - both of these things were a definite turn off for me as a reader. Even with a long-standing history between them, I couldn't buy that they were interested in each other for anything other than sex. 

Honestly, I think if this were written as full length novel and NOT a novella, it would have been better as the author would have had more time to explore the characters as well as the situation as a whole, and it would not have had the rushed feeling that novellas often do. 

Overall, this isn't a bad story by any means, however if this is the first time you are reading something by this author - I would recommend skipping it in favor of first reading one of her full-length novels. 

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To Wager the Marquis of Wolverstone is available from Amazon.com