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My Review

I’ve loved everything I’ve read thus far by Cat Sebastian, and this Regency romance is no exception to that rule. Women disguised as men is my catnip, but I was a tad hesitant to tag this in that category. I tagged it GLBTQIA+ because as far as I have words to describe people Pembroke strikes me as being bi and Charity/Robin as, at best guess, nonbinary (rather than a woman disguised as a man). I love seeing romances with diverse main characters, whether that diversity has to do with race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, religion, mental and physical ability… So hooray for diversity in romance!

Unmasked by the Marquess had a lot of the plot points I love about mistaken identity and women disguised as men romances: the necessity of misrepresenting oneself to a certain degree to someone else, building a relationship with that person, the turmoil over how and when to reveal the truth, and the fallout that necessarily ensues; awkward/funny bits when someone assumes something about the person because of their apparent gender; and especially in this novel the struggle to discover who you really are once concepts of gender norms are tipped on their heads (or dumped out the window all together). I love the personal growth and awakening Pembroke goes through throughout the course of the book. At one point he says Robin is like the coming of spring when he didn’t even realize it was winter, and he truly does blossom like a flower in spring. If she’s a robin, he’s a tulip – one of the purple ones so dark they look almost black until the sun hits them just right, and then they look like deep-hued jewels.

Robin is also a great character, filled with strength and conviction and determined to do what is right as she determines it by her own unique moral compass as best she can. She struggles so hard to find out who she really is, down to not even truly having her own name, and then tries so hard to be true to herself while still being strong for those she loves. The chemistry between Robin and Pembroke is amazing, and I love the way their relationship develops and blooms along with the apt spring metaphors. I also love love LOVE Pembroke’s description of her laugh as being like a pop of champagne. I can almost hear it, and I want to hang out with them, as well as with Amelia (whom I very much hope to see more of in future books in this series) at one of Mrs. Allenby’s salons. And isn’t that the hallmark of a great book? One that makes you wish you were a part of the story so you can be friends with all the characters you love.

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