Sugarbeat's Books

Just to be upfront about my bias for this book.....I loved this book, and I loved the character of Lizzie! She has way more balls than most young women of her time and I applaud her! Now that I have that off my chest, on with my description of this story!

Never Miss A Chance is the story of another member of the Kellington family. We met Edward in Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid. He is one of five members of the Kellington family with the eldest brother being the William, the Duke of Lynwood. William or Liam as his siblings call him, is often placed in the position of calling his siblings on the carpet for some misadvanture. Our story starts with Elizabeth being called to the duke’s study! It seems that she attended a political agitation gathering of ladies. She tries to brave it out, until Liam pulls out her treatise entitled: “Toward the Enlightenment of England: A Treatise for the Reformation of Property Rights, the Rights of Women in Marriage and Universal Suffrage.” Talk about busted! He then starts lecturing her on her possible social ostracism because she had her treatise published in the new paper using her real name. Lizzie is certain he is just blustering and exaggerating the effect her treatise will have. That night she finds out that Liam is correct. She is shunned by some and inappropriately approached by others. The brothers gather around trying to determine what to do. It seems that Marcus Redmond, the Marquess of Riverton already knows what will solve this problem. He will offer to marry Lizzie. He has been in love with her for years - admiring her from a distance. Always careful to be quite proper in her presence as he doesn’t want to lose his friendship with Liam and frankly, he’s afraid of the beating her would receive at the hands of the brothers! Let the games begin! Although Lizzie is shocked at the response to her treatise, she has no intention of backing down.

Liam is surprised when his best friend, Marcus, offers to marry Lizzie. At first he thinks that Marcus is just doing him a favor but time changes his opinion!

Like the first book in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed Never Miss a Chance. Lizzie is spunky, determined, and years ahead of her time. Even in the face of her determined brothers, she doesn’t back down from her ideals! She is one kick-ass heroine who goes after what she wants! Marcus is not what he appears to the average person. He does a great job of hiding his real self from the world. He has loved Lizzie for years. He describes her in the story with the following:

"She had the grace of a goddess, thought Marcus Redmond, Marquess of Riverton, and not for the first time. Lady Elizabeth Kellington, Lizzie to her friends and family, of which he was truly neither, was a goddess. Taller than most women, she still only came up to his chin. Black hair, vibrant green eyes, and the ability to light up a room with her smile, Lizzie Kellington was as close to perfect as anyone could be. Well, she was rather outspoken and tended to have some radical ideas, but Riverton had long suspected those were simply the somewhat unpleasant byproducts of a mind that was utterly brilliant for a woman. And, to be honest would stack up rather nicely against a man’s. Unfortunately, she was also his best friend’s sister. Which meant she was strictly off limits."

I think I like this book more than the first one in the series, mainly because I liked Lizzie so much. She simply forged ahead with her beliefs, damn the consequences. She had Marcus running to keep up at times! Although this was a regency romance, the relationship that was forged in this book was closer to an equalitarian relationship that was normal for that time. I liked the character of Marcus also. He didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. He calmly dealt with all the issues in his life with his serene, thoughtful manner. No one ever privy to his thoughts, except when he finally started to let Lizzie in.

An outstanding story with outstanding characters. I look forward to more from this author! Frankly, I’m looking forward to hearing Liam’s story.......