Pablo is Isabella D’Angelo’s half brother. Pablo tells Isabella that he is sending her away to a convent. Isabella does not want to become a nun, so she devises a plan to run away to her Uncle’s place in Rome. Along the way a mercenary rides up upon her. He tries to rape and kill her. Isabella survives. However, she knows Pablo is trying to have her murdered. Isabella decides it is too dangerous to travel alone, so instead she dresses up as a boy and calls herself Sandro. While at the inn, Isabella bumps into Marco Galeazza along with his friend Georgio. She finds out they are traveling to Rome. She asks to accompany them. Marco accepts but only if she is willing to come along as his body servant. Will Isabella make it safely to her Uncle’s or is she in more trouble than she bargained for?

Mistress of Deception was better than I expected. Kathleen Coddington is an amazing story teller. Both Isabella and Marco were two strong but equal partners to each other. Isabella’s determination to not give up when the times seemed tough was great. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Marco seemed to be very handsome as well as a gentleman. Mistress of Deception had adventure, deception, intrigue, romance and a whole lot of goodness. I can’t wait for the next Kathleen Coddington book to come out. For anyone who loves a good-quality novel than you need to pick up a copy of Mistress of Deception.

Reviewed by: Cheryl