Reviewed by Andrea Williamson
Publisher: Dorchester/Leisure Books
Release Date: February 24, 2009
4.25 stars

Daisy Drake has loved the thrill of adventure and the lure of treasure since she was a little girl and discovered a fortune in Spanish gold beneath the stones of Dragon Caern Castle, her home in Cornwall.  So naturally, when she learns that an ancient Roman treasure is the subject of a lecture at the Society of Antiquaries, where she has been denied membership numerous times based on her gender, she is determined to find out more.  As Daisy waits to sneak a peek at who is giving the lecture, she contemplates an ancient phallus-looking lamp and questions whether it is life-sized.  So engrossed in the piece, she doesn’t realize that someone overheard her one-sided ramblings until a gentleman answers her question!  Daisy immediately recognizes the half-Italian gentleman as Lucian Beaumont, Viscount Rutland, a childhood friend she was once infatuated with over a decade ago.  However, he doesn’t recognize her.

Lucian Beaumont needs money.  His father lost a fortune years ago in a bad investment scheme and the family’s finances have never recovered.  While excavating the land on his father’s estate (believed to belong to a Roman proconsul), Lucian finds a tablet which tells of a hidden Roman treasure.  Lucian comes to the Society of Antiquaries to petition for a partner to help finance an expedition to find the lost treasure.  None of the gentlemen take him seriously, but Daisy does.  She offers to help him, but Lucian declines when he realizes who she is.  You see, Lucian’s father blames Daisy’s uncle for the family’s financial scandal and therefore Lucian doesn’t want anything to do with a Drake.  That, of course, makes Daisy even more determined to figure out a way to help him.  And her answer comes in the guise of Blanche La Tour.  At her great-aunt’s masquerade party, Daisy, dressed as the infamous French courtesan, strikes a deal with Lucian, who is instantly in lust.  “Blanche” sends Daisy, who is well versed in all things Latin, to help Lucian during the day while Lucian continues to visit Blanche at night . . . which eventually gives Daisy mixed feelings.  She enjoys Lucian’s attentions but wishes she could receive them as herself.  She gets her wish the more they work together and the closer they come to finding the fortune.  But when someone else catches wind of the Roman treasure, will Lucian and Daisy be able to get to it first?

I knew from the moment that I read the first chapter of this book that I would really like it.  And I did!  Lucian and Daisy were both very likable characters who had many things in common (one thing in particular was a nice surprise!) which made them perfect for one another.  I was so glad that Lucian realized relatively quickly that Blanche and Daisy were one and the same and it was so funny to watch Daisy try to answer/dodge Lucian’s direct questions.  I laughed out loud several times.  This was my first Emily Bryan book and I’ve already ordered the previous connected book, Pleasuring the Pirate, which tells the story of Daisy’s uncle and aunt.  If you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted, sexy historical romp, then Vexing the Viscount is the book for you!