Setting: Regency
Summary:
A reclusive widow known for her scientific scholarship, Lady Ciara Sheffield is shadowed by rumors that she poisoned her husband . . . A rakehell rogue notorious for his devil-may-care antics, Lucas Bingham, the Earl of Hadley is not accused of murdering anything—save for the rules of Polite Society. The only thing they have in common is seeing their names featured in the lurid gossip columns of London’s newspapers.
Until an ancient manuscript draws them together.
Ciara needs a titled fiancé to quell the slanderous speculations which may send her to the gallows. Lucas needs brilliant scholar to help his elderly uncle decipher the secrets of the mysterious manuscript. So when her friends urge her to accept the earl’s proposal of a temporary alliance, Ciara decides that she had no choice but to make a deal with the Devil.
And so begins a seductive dance of sinful pleasures and hidden desires as the two of them waltz through the mansions of Mayfair. Lies, intrigue, treachery, sex. They find themselves facing slanderous whispers, unscrupulous relatives—not to speak of their own simmering passions, which quickly ignite into dangerous flames. It’s a potent mix and the result may be explosive—and perhaps deadly—if they don’t watch their step.
Review:
Sexy, sweet, romantic, witty and hilarious, this is one book not to be missed! It was a great and refreshing change from all the usual sex-obsessed romance novels. I appreciated the fact that the hero and the heroine didn’t feel the need to jump into bed right away which afforded the reader (me!) to enjoy great witty banter and hot sexual tension. 😛
Both the hero and heroine were awesome lovable characters. I liked Ciara right away, mainly because she was so easy to relate to, dealing with horrible rumors. She was also a strong character, who was willing to do whatever it took to protect her son. I liked how she didn’t succumb right away to the charms of the devilish Lord Hadley, like other heroines seemed to do. It fit well with her rational, serious, focused-on-her-work persona and was a nice change. Sometimes I find myself rolling my eyes at how quickly heroines who say they will never fall for the charms of Mr so-and-so end up in bed with him not too long after.
I knew Lord Hadley, despite all the rumors to the contrary, was a an good man almost right away. We hear about his exploits in the paper Ciara reads at the beginning of the book but later when we first meet him, we see that Hadley is a man who is already wondering at his shallow existence, proving that there is more to him than meets the eye. I loved how the author gradually revealed the deeper layers of the man until I along with the heroine was totally in love with him!
This story was also the perfect opposites attract story. Being a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice, the whole we’re-opposites-and-that-means-we-can-teach-each other-things is completely up my alley. Relationships are about learning new things from your partner while staying true to yourself.
The charcters were complete opposites at first but then gradually we can see how perfect they are for each other.
The pacing of the romance was perfect and I loved watching them fall in love before anything too scandalous happened 😉
Another great thing about this book was the conversations. I loved how witty they were and laughed more than once at the cleverness of the dialogue. Very Austen-esque.
The extra characters were wonderful and really fleshed out. I could completely imagine them saying what they said and acting how they did. The scenes were touching and realistic and I absolutely loved the scenes with Ciara’s son and Lord Hadley.
The only thing that may have kept it a bit down for me was that it wasn’t very adventurous in terms of plot. It was a great fresh telling of the opposites attract story and I suppose this is my veteran romance reader self talking but I would have preferred if the story had happened on more of a larger scale.
I still can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Sensuality Level: Warm (Few love scenes but GREAT tension and chemistry)
Verdict: Very witty and romantic-This is one for the hopeless romantic in all of us! Buy it for a great, feel-good read 🙂
Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars
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Historical Romance Addicts 