Reviewed by Kate Garrabrant
Publisher: Avon
Stars: 3.5

Thalia “Tally” Langley and her cousin Lady Philippa “Pippin” Knolles are off to yet another house party thrown by Tally’s newly married sister Felicity. Felicity wants both Tally and Pippin to find husbands who make her as happy as her own. However, these unmarried ladies have more pressing concerns than finding husbands, such as trying to get their play, Lady Persephone’s Perilous Affair published. But since Felicity won’t rest till she gets her way, Tally has no choice but to appease her sister.

When Thalia arrives on the Hollindrake estate she meets a very pitiful looking man. Her brother-in-law introduces the stranger as his cousin Milo Ryder. Milo Ryder is really Larken the spy. He is working for the Foreign Office in search of Thomas Dashwell, a pirate who has escaped from prison. Even though Dashwell is a pirate, he also worked for the Foreign Office by finding English agents who were in trouble and bringing them back to safety. It seems Dashwell may have had some help with his escape. Either a woman from the Order of the Black Lily, which is a network of women spies, or Pippin are responsible for helping Dashwell escape. Larkin is there to find out.

By accident, Tally is given the wrong trunk and since her own trunk is missing, she has no choice but to wear the gowns that are not her own. One is a seductive black gown that shows off Tally’s assets all too well. And when Larken sees her in the dress, he can hardly believe his eyes. Not only does she look breathtaking, but she is the vision of what one of the women from the Order of the Black Lily would look like. Now Larken is very suspicious of this Mayfair miss. He will keep a close eye on her, hoping she will lead him to Dashwell.

Tally doesn’t know what to do when it comes to Mr. Ryder. The words that come out of his mouth are horrendous, but in the moonlight, he makes her heart flitter and her body so very warm. It doesn’t take Tally long to figure out that Ryder is not whom he seems. She will have to keep him at a distance because another life is at sake.

Confessions of a Little Black Gown is an engaging historical romance that has a great deal of mystery with spies running all over the English countryside. It is great to see these skilled spies get the run around from a pair of ladies who are not naïve misses but smart women. Fans of Elizabeth’s past books know all too well about Tally and Pippin. These two are the very best of friends who look out for one another. Tally is the more independent of the two, while Pippin longs for a love with a man on the wrong side of the law.

It was great to see Tally so off kilter when it came to Larken. Tally may not necessarily want marriage, but she wants to experience a love much like her sister Felicity has with her husband and what Pippin has with Dashwell. When Larken enters the picture, she is so confused. Larken feels the same way as Tally because he can’t figure out who Tally really is. Is she just a woman with an excellent imagination or part of a world where danger is around every corner? Their interactions were very enjoyable, especially the scenes where they can’t deny their attraction for one another. The do have great chemistry together.

Confessions of a Little Black Gown could be read as a stand alone novel, but in order to better understand these characters and the history, you should definitely read Elizabeth’s backlist starting with This Rake of Mine and continue with Love Letters From a Duke. And for those who are big fans of Pippin and Dashwell, their story will be told in Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress, to be published in May.