Phillippa Benning is society’s darling. Widowed at the age of seventeen, she has spent the past several seasons leading society, fueling the gossip mills, setting fashions, and making and breaking reputations. Her annual party, the Benning Ball, is the biggest event of the season, and all the members of the Ton clamor for an invitation. This year, she has something special planned. On her way to a romantic tryst, Phillippa has stumbled across the secret identity of the most famous of all English spies – the Blue Raven. She knows that if she can reveal his identity at her ball, it will be a brilliant social coup. She is floored, however, when she realizes that the Blue Raven is none other than the amiable and unassuming Mr. Marcus Worth.

Marcus has received information that leads him to believe that a dangerous French spy has infiltrated English society. In exchange for Phillippa’s guarantee to get him invited to all season’s soirees so that he can search for the miscreant, he agrees to allow her to unmask him at her ball at the end of the season. And so a partnership is born. Phillippa has a quick mind and a sharp eye, and soon she is helping Marcus in his search. She becomes so involved that she begins to fall in love with Marcus, and however ill-matched they may be, he reciprocates her feelings.

Although Marcus has brought Phillippa into his confidence, he has one secret that he has not shared with her. And this secret is one that will likely ruin him in her eyes. Being a spy is a dangerous job, however, and it won’t matter what Phillippa’s opinion of him is if Marcus cannot stay alive long enough for her to find out the truth.

Kate Noble’s Revealed is not your typical Regency romance. While it contains many of the usual elements – heiresses, English spies, danger and daring-do, and endless society galas – it applies these elements in a manner that is fresh and lively and utterly delightful. I thought I was burned out on Regency romances when I picked this book up, but just a few pages into it I was wholly captivated. This clever and well-written book made me laugh repeatedly throughout and even brought tears to my eyes a couple of times.

This story is driven by its characters, and they are wonderfully developed and completely unique – from the hero and heroine all the way down to the supporting roles. Phillippa Benning may be a calculating society princess, but she is clever, intelligent, and nobody’s fool. Marcus is not the dashing hero typical of this genre. He is a little unkempt and even a bit “geeky,” and readers will love him almost as soon as they are introduced to him.

Revealed will enchant lovers of the Regency novel, but I highly recommend it even for those who usually avoid this genre. Somehow, I think you’ll be hooked by this story as securely as I was.

Reviewed by: Whitney