Leigh's review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews 
 3.75 STARS 
 Review copy provided for an honest review 
 This book was a dilemma for me to rate. 
 One the one hand, I found it sexy, steamy, and completely erotic. Geoffrey is staid and reserved in public, but dominant and craving control in the bedroom. Louisa is accepting of his dominance, and curious to fulfill his needs. The bedroom (and office!) scenes are tender and hot at the same time. I liked both the hero and heroine and rooted for them to get together, and found the story to be interesting and romantic. 
 But while I enjoyed this book and would recommend it as an entertaining read, I did have some issues that kept me from absolutely loving it. 
 Historical romances were my staple read when I started devouring this type of book. For years, I didn't touch anything taking place after 1900, so I was looking forward to getting back to my reading roots for a while and sinking into a period piece. However, I'm not exactly sure that this depicted the "period" correctly. The vernacular did not seem to be an accurate reflection of England during an earlier time, and references to anything historical were vague. I may be splitting hairs, but this was more of a romance taking place back in time, rather than a true historical romance that incorporated the grandeur and chivalry of the past. 
 There was also the issue I had with miscommunication. Parts of the story could have been resolved with a simple conversation and I always find myself getting anxious when I read situations where there was a manufactured conflict that could be easily resolved. Why is Louisa insisting on following bedroom advice from someone else when she can tell herself that it doesn't seem to be working?? Does a blindfold really change someone's appearance THAT much that you wouldn't recognize their body or voice when they are not wearing it?? 
 These items aside, Mastering the Marquess was a nice way to escape from the real world. I enjoyed getting lost in the romance of Louisa and Geoffrey and certainly being privy to what took place behind their closed doors. As this was my first exposure to Lavinia Kent, I am not sure whether she incorporates her characters in later books, but if so, I would certainly be interested in seeing Geoffrey's sister and the Earl of Duldon again, as I feel like there is more behind these characters that meets the eye.