Laurie Benson  An Unexpected Countess

Who knew that looking for a diamond could lead to love.

I loved this book from start to finish it made laugh at certain parts and also made me cry.   That is a sign for me that Laurie understands her characters and her readers.

In the beginning Hart and Sarah are on top of a very wet rooftop but for entirely different reasons, Hart is leaving Lady Hemlford's residence, and Sarah is breaking into a vacant house.  At this point Hart and Sarah are not aware that they are both looking for The Sancy Diamond. 

Hart Has a lot of issues mainly he won't get close in relationships preferring married women to single women and that stems from when he was seven his mother fell from a cliff on their estate and was killed on the rocks below and when he ten his maternal grandmother died so he feels that if he gets too close then those people will be taken from him.  

 Sarah Is trying to help her family from being blackmailed from an unknown source and doesn't want her parents finding out that her brother Alexander was in the Navy died during the war, that he might have done something illegal. (As you will find out its someone Sarah knows).  Sarah also likes buying shoes even to the extent of sacrificing a brand new pair for her friend Katrina. 

Lord Blackwood Is Hart's father and not a very nice one, lets put it this way he won't win any prizes for father of the year.  When Hart's mother died his father didn't want anything to do with him, he completely ignored him and whenever Hart became close to people then his father would take them away from him.

  Including Hart's Fiancee Caroline who had an affair with his father and then when the affair was finished she was found dead at the bottom of the stairs and Hart suspected that Caroline could have been pregnant with his father's child.

Lord Blackwood tries to show some interest in Sarah, but what Lord Blackwood wasn't prepared for is that Sarah is nothing like Caroline and that Hart told his father in no uncertain terms to stay away from Sarah.  Which is where Hart finds out about his parentage which Lord Blackwood takes great delight in telling Hart.  (From this point I won't say anything more).

Both Hart and Sarah have a mutual friends The Duke and Duchess of Lyonsdale Julian and Katrina.  Katrina is occasionally helping Sarah look for the diamond and Julian is Harts best friend and he treats Julian like the brother he never had, and Julian helps Hart with the complex relationship with his father.

From this point I won't go into too much detail but please look out for Lady Everill and her bracelet, and also the Prince Regent. 

I loved the twists and turns of the book.  I can highly recommend this book a must read.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is released on June 1st and can be purchased at.

Amazon.co.uk