Charity Church had attended university as Robert Selby, with the latter's blessing, and when he died two years ago, Charity assumed his identity until a suitable husband could be found for his sister Louisa, then Charity would disappear forever. Since she will not find a good match in their village, Charity and Louisa set off for London. Charity uses a little creativity to gain access to a ball held by Alistair de Lacey, Marquess of Pembroke, thus introduce Louisa to society. Alistair is instantly smitten with Robert, but he soon finds out Robert's true gender. Alistair is not a man to be messed with, and he sees in Robert/Charity the perfect solution to his own problem: Robert will help him to have the Ton accept Amelia, the daughter of his father's mistress.

Having read and loved Cat Sebastian's m/m novels before, I was intrigued by this most unusual premise. UNMASKED BY THE MARQUESS is not your typical female donning a man's disguise for some farfetched purpose. Here we have a person truly living as a member of the opposite sex. To be politically correct, I will from now on refer to Robert/Charity as Robin -- as it was later on the character's chosen name -- and using "they" as a pronoun, since it is the desired terminology. I must admit that I am not too familiar with how this all works, so please do excuse any sorry mistakes I might make hereon. And this is where I will probably put my foot in it: I wasn't entirely convinced that Robin needed to be male. It seemed to me that Robin had decided that it was simpler, a way to acquire an education in Regency England, and a more comfortable way of dressing, as opposed to a visceral need. I have really no idea, I might be completely off the mark, but that's how I perceived it.

Robin is a born charmer, they radiate light and joy, while Alistair is not the most likeable man. While he may be fluid in his relationships -- he is bisexual -- he is not the most flexible when it comes to people. I always seem to like to complicate things, but I couldn't help thinking about what would have happened had Alistair been only interested in men, but I digress. He just recently restored his estate to its former glory, and he must avoid scandal, and a relationship with Robin is socially dangerous. Their attraction cannot be denied, but there are more pitfalls than one dares imagine.

Cat Sebastian demonstrates her audaciousness in writing UNMASKED BY THE MARQUESS, with its unique premise and gender fluid characters, but I still wished for a little bit more. Maybe it was because I felt some details were missing, some pertaining to Robin's childhood and some about the "real" Robert. Or maybe it was the fact that Robin had not needed to bind their breasts when at university posing as Robert, but whose breasts ever so slightly increased in size when having sex with Alistair. Being flat-chested and having very small breasts are two entirely different things. Those are tiny things -- no pun intended -- but a touch distracting. I also thought that Robin, at the end, could have of their own volition, given Alistair the ultimate token of Robin's love and trust, given all that Alistair was risking. Still, it is the Cat Sebastian we love, with her lush and luminous prose, stellar dialogues, charismatic lead characters and wonderful secondary characters, and her unmistakable storytelling skills. I can hardly wait to see what Cat Sebastian has in store for us in her next installment of the new Regency Impostors series.

Book Summary

The one you love…

Robert Selby is determined to see his sister make an advantageous match. But he has two problems: the Selbys have no connections or money and Robert is really a housemaid named Charity Church. She’s enjoyed every minute of her masquerade over the past six years, but she knows her pretense is nearing an end. Charity needs to see her beloved friend married well and then Robert Selby will disappear…forever.

May not be who you think…

Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke, has spent years repairing the estate ruined by his wastrel father, and nothing is more important than protecting his fortune and name. He shouldn’t be so beguiled by the charming young man who shows up on his doorstep asking for favors. And he certainly shouldn’t be thinking of all the disreputable things he’d like to do to the impertinent scamp.

But is who you need…

When Charity’s true nature is revealed, Alistair knows he can’t marry a scandalous woman in breeches, and Charity isn’t about to lace herself into a corset and play a respectable miss. Can these stubborn souls learn to sacrifice what they’ve always wanted for a love that is more than they could have imagined?