An Heir of Uncertainly by Alyssa Everett

Historical Romance/Mystery

From Goodreads:

"Yorkshire, 1820

Lina, Lady Radbourne, thought being a countess would rescue her from poverty. Unfortunately, her young groom failed to plan for the future, and his drunken accident left her widowed and pregnant. Now Colonel Winstead Vaughan—Win—will inherit her late husband’s fortune…unless she gives birth to a boy. Win is her natural enemy, so why can’t she stop thinking about him?

Win is stunned to learn he stands to inherit a vast fortune. He’s even more surprised to find himself falling for the beautiful, spirited Lady Radbourne, who is the one woman who stands in the way of a life he’d only imagined.

When someone tries to poison Lady Radbourne, suspicion falls on Win. There’s a clever killer in their midst, and if Win doesn’t solve the mystery fast, Lina may perish. He needs to win her trust, but how can he prove it’s she he wants, and not the fortune?"

I have been an Alyssa Everett fan since her first book so when I saw An Heir of Uncertainly I immediately requested it from Netgalley.  It went to the top of my TBR pile.

I love the situations Everett puts her characters in.  This one is not uncommon but how she uses it is.  The current title holder dies and there is no apparent heir.  A very distant cousin is told he is the new titleholder but when he arrives it turns out the widow is pregnant.

All of that sets up the plot.  Someone is trying to kill both the widow and the cousin.  The plot revolves around the murder attempts and the growing attraction between Lina, the widow, and Win, the cousin.

Lina, Lady Radbourne is the widow and she is a wonderful character.  She is very strong and has worked hard to overcome her background and take care of her sister.  Winstead Vaughn, Win, had a very bad marriage.  Now he is a widower and that background affects everything he does.  Like Lina he is a wonderful character.  The structure of the story allows both of their characters to grow and change.  There are other well developed secondary characters; Lina’s sister Cassie, Win’s brother Freddie , Dr. Strickland and several others who add depth to the story.

I have to admit I was very surprised by who was trying to kill Win and Lina.  It kept me guessing right up to the end.  An Heir of Uncertainly has a great plot, wonderful characters and an interesting journey to an HEA.   I liked how the title fit into the plot of the story.  Pick this up and spend a few hours with Win and Lina.

Carina Press published An Heir of Uncertainly by Alyssa Everett in 2014.