Alexander Hallworth, the Marquess of Pembrooke, has little on his mind but having his revenge against a former friend who wronged Pembrooke's sister. He'll do anything to make sure that Lord Paul suffers for what he has done up to and including taking Lord Paul's fiancee as his wife. What Pembrooke isn't prepared for is how much he actually ends up caring for Lady Claire Cavensham. He knows that if she finds out the secrets of what he's done in the name of revenge he'll lose her, but telling her is easier said than done. 
 Lady Claire has suffered through society after having a number of cancelled weddings. Her "curse" has garnered her quite the reputation, and with the cancellation of her wedding to Lord Paul, Claire is ready for the renewed frenzy siting her curse as the culprit. When the Marquess of Pembrooke approaches her to marry in Lord Paul's stead, Claire can't readily refuse. The scandal another cancelled wedding would cause would be certain to keep Claire from ever having the family she so desperately desires. Plus, she's genuinely attracted to Pembrooke. Can he be the one to finally break the dreaded "curse"? 
 I thought that it was interesting how two people, who both start out not knowing one another that well and then genuinely grow to have affection for each other, could have so much muddled between them. How two people can, essentially, be headed to the same path yet go about getting their by very different means. Means which consist of secrets (whether well-intentioned or not) and misunderstandings. 
 So things between Alex and Claire are complicated to say the least and Alex mainly kept tangling himself further and further into his web of secrets and omissions. Not being able to tell Claire that he only wanted her, initially, in order to assuage his need for revenge, he digs a deeper and deeper hole for himself. But I liked watching him come to terms with his preconceived notions and assumptions and realize that maybe revenge is not the answer he was looking for after all. 
 Claire is not without her own secrets and those are ones she's held close to the chest since the death of her parents in a awful accident more than ten years ago. While her secrets may not be as detrimental to the relationship she hopes to have with Alex, there's still no place for them if she truly wants things to work out between herself and Alex. Also, keeping such things so close has prevented her from healing and moving forward. 
 I liked that both Claire and Alex had things to work through before they would be able to live happily ever after. It was this unique tangled mess that really made the book stand out for me. I think that this is a promising new series, and I can't wait to see who is featured next and what mess they'll find themselves in! I have a pretty good guess judging by the ending of this one. 
 *ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.