"Mark of Distinction" by Jessica Dotta

The delightful and much awaited sequel to the intriguing story of Miss Julia Elliston, or Mrs. Macy, or Miss Pierson, “Mark of Distinction” creates a little more of a developed character out of Julia. She doesn’t understand politics at all, and her father is trying to pass her off as the daughter of his deceased wife, since she has started to create a public spectacle after escaping Mr. Chance Macy, although she feels awkward living the lie. In this novel, she steps into a distinction as the Emerald Heiress since she inherited an emerald mine from her father, which also distinguishes her as Lord Pierson’s daughter. Edward is still aggrieved at her and also heartbroken, as she married Chance Macy believing he was going to protect her from her mother’s murderer – when in fact, Chance Macy WAS her mother’s murderer. And she greatly misses her mother, of course, and their simple life. I definitely enjoyed this one better than the first one, and can't wait for the third one. This is a wonderful story, full of intrigue and mystery set in the grand British past among the nobility of society, about a girl struggling to find security in a very unsecure world.