Review: "Dangerous Lover" by Lisa Marie Rice

Dangerous Lover by Lisa Marie Rice

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


LMR's books are one of my comfort reads. Is her writing "formulaic"? Yes, it is. But I happen to like her "formula" - especially her alpha heroes, who always fall hard and fast for their heroines - so I have yet to find a book by LMR that I didn't enjoy.

Dangerous Lover was no exception. It was hot, sexy and emotional. Even though Jack was basically obsessed with Caroline and his behavior at the beginning was borderline stalker-ish, I was OK with it. A guy like him would have freaked me out in RL, but he lives in Romancelandia and I can give him some leeway there, LOL. Seen through Jack's eyes, Caroline was the perfect, almost saintly heroine. Too good to be true but, again, it didn't bother me.

Now, the ending... WTF was that??? I'm kind of used to LMR's abrupt endings by now, but I thought this book took it way too far. Okay, there was an epilogue but, seriously, who cares about the darn diamonds? It was a given that Jack and Caroline would live HEA - after all, this as a romance book! - but I'd like to have seen at least some glimpse of it. That would have been a true and more satisfying epilogue.

Anyway, that was the only thing that bothered me. All things considered, this was still a very enjoyable read to me. :)



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Review: "Goddess of the Hunt" by Tessa Dare

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love finding new authors to add to my towering TBR/WL, and Tessa Dare is my latest addition. Goddess of the Hunt is her debut book, and what an excellent book it was!

Lucy Waltham has been in love with Sir Toby Aldridge, one of her older brother Henry's friends, since she was eleven years old - ah, what a precocious child she was! - but he's about to propose to another woman and she must take action before it's too late. So she sets a plan to seduce him and show him that she's the right woman for him, not this Miss Sophia Hathaway he seems smitten with. The problem is, Lucy's never even been kissed and everything she knows about the art of seduction is theoretical. She clearly needs to get some practice before putting her plan in motion, but who's going to be her "guinea pig"? Why, Jemmy is, of course!

Jeremy "Jemmy" Trescott, Earl of Kendall, has been friends with both Henry and Toby since their first year at Eton, and he's been visiting Waltham Manor each autumn since Cambridge. He's quite emotionally closed off because of his troubled relationship with his late parents, but Lucy has always been able to get past his armor. He's always tried to avoid her, regarding her as his "personal version of a biblical plague", and he knows disaster inevitably strikes when she's around. So when she knocks on his guest bedchamber door at Waltham Manor in the dead of the night, it can only mean disaster. He braces himself for the worst and...

"Then Lucy Waltham, the younger sister of his oldest friend, popped up on her toes and pressed her lips to his with such force, he stumbled against the doorjamb.

Good Lord. The girl was kissing him.

Well, he thought ironically, he’d been prepared for the worst. And of the many kisses Jeremy Trescott had experienced in his nine-and-twenty years, this was, undoubtedly, the worst."

After recovering from the shock, Jeremy demands an explanation for her outrageous behavior. When he learns about her crazy plan to seduce Toby, he bluntly tells her that Toby is all but engaged to Sophia and Lucy had better forget her silly crush on him. Obviously, Lucy refuses to listen to Jeremy so he has no other choice but to "distract" her from her plan. But this "diversion" gets complicated when the attraction between them escalates and they start falling in love with each other...

Oh my, I adored Jeremy! He was always there for Lucy, to protect her and to (figuratively) shake some sense into her whenever it was necessary. He was sensible, sensitive (against his will) and tortured enough to make me want to cuddle him. Not to mention wickedly sexy... Please lock me in the wardrobe with him and throw the key away! ;)

I really liked Lucy too, even though her single-minded pursuit of Toby in the beginning was a bit annoying. I wanted her to realize that Jeremy was the man for her sooner but, hey, better late than never. She made up for it when she came to her senses before marrying him, so it was all good in the end.

The chemistry between Jeremy and Lucy was fantastic, and there was no doubt in my mind that they belonged together. That's why I got a little frustrated right after they got married, as I didn't understand why they failed to communicate with each other. I understood Jeremy's fears and silence because he was a man used to isolate himself to avoid being hurt, but I couldn't understand Lucy's distance. After all, she was a woman who always went after what she wanted, and she most definitely wanted Jeremy! Anyway, that didn't last long and didn't really curb my overall enjoyment of this story. This was a great read, and I'm definitely going to pick up the next books in this trilogy.



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Review: "Slightly Tempted" by Mary Balogh

Slightly Tempted by Mary Balogh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After being somewhat disappointed with Slightly Scandalous, the previous book in this series, I'm glad to say that things got back on track in this book. Slightly Tempted tells the story of Morgan Bedwyn, the youngest, most beautiful of the Bedwyn siblings, and the only one who had the fortune of not being afflicted by the famous, prominent Bedwyn nose.

Thirty-year-old Gervase Ashford, the Earl of Rosthorn, has been living in exile on the Continent for the last nine years after being banished from England by his own father due to a scandalous and humiliating affair involving the Duke of Bewcastle. If there's one person Gervase blames for his situation and hates with all his heart is Wulfric Bedwyn, the Duke of Bewcastle, and his bitterness and thirst for revenge gets the best of him when he meets Bewcastle's youngest sister, Lady Morgan Bedwyn, at a ball in Brussels. Ah, it looks like fate is finally smiling his way after all these years... Is there any better way to get even with Bewcastle than to involve young and innocent Morgan in a scandal and leave the duke to deal with the consequences?

Eighteen-year-old Morgan is in Brussels looking for a respite from her first Season in London, where she was bored to tears by the ton's brainless events (balls, assemblies, rides in the park, etc.) When she's invited to join one of her suitor's family to Brussels, she jumps at the chance of participating in a meaningful and most certainly historic event, the coming Battle of Waterloo. Bonaparte has escaped his prison in Elba and the threat of a new war against him is in everyone's minds. Unfortunately, the life of a lady in Brussels turns out to be the same as in London, and Morgan is annoyed to find herself attending the same brainless events where no one is willing to "worry her pretty little head" with talks about the iminent war. So when she's introduced to Gervase at one of these infernal balls, she's bored enough to give him the attention she wouldn't think of granting him in other circumstances.

Gervase's sole purpose in pursuiting Morgan is to have a quick (and very public) dalliance with her, so he sets out to charm and woo her. She isn't stupid and doesn't take him seriously - he's obviously a rake, not to mention much older than she is - but she decides to have some fun with his flirtation, all the while letting him know that nothing will come out of it. But as they spend time together and he gets to know her, he begins to like her and to question his plan to use her as a pawn in his revenge against Bewcastle. Then war erupts, chaos ensues, her brother Alleyne goes missing on the front line, and Morgan ends up alone in Brussels with no one to lean on but Gervase. He becomes her faithful friend while she waits to hear any news from Alleyne, helps and escorts her around the city - and thus compromises her reputation in the process, even though he isn't thinking of revenge anymore.

When Morgan is informed of Alleyne's death a few days later, there's no reason to stay in Brussels anymore and Gervase escorts her back to England. When he's confronted by Bewcastle right upon their arrival, all the hatred comes back and he can't help feeling some satisfaction with his enemy's "distress". It took nine years, but Gervase got back at Bewcastle. So why does he feel that it isn't over? And what will Morgan do when she finds out that he's used her? Will she ever forgive him?

I'm not a big fan of revenge-driven plots, mostly because the character who's seeking revenge usually ends up doing something nasty and unforgivable. Fortunately, Gervase didn't do anything to that extreme in this book and Ms. Balogh did a great job making me understand and even support his hatred for Wulf. I'm not saying I agree with what Gervase did to Morgan - because I don't - but even I hated Wulf at one point. Obviously, the conflict between the two men was resolved in the end - the HEA wouldn't be complete without that - but I can't say I was completely satisfied with its resolution. Gervase's beloved father died without knowing the truth, and there was no way to make amends to that. I can't say much more without revealing a big spoiler, but suffice it to say Gervase was too forgiving.

That was actually one of my problems with Morgan. She was the one who kept urging him to forget the past and forgive those who had hurt him, but she didn't suit her actions to her words. So it was good and right for him to forget and forgive, but she was allowed to keep nursing her grudge against him? That was a little hypocrit, wasn't it? I also thought that some of Morgan's lines were too mature for her age. I know, she wasn't a regular eighteen-year-old brainless woman and she wouldn't be a good match for thirty-year-old Gervase if she were, but her "philosophical" talk didn't ring true.

As for the plot, I really liked the first half of the story that takes place in Brussels. There was action, some suspense (whatever happened to Alleyne?), and interesting encounters between Gervase and Morgan. That was when Ms. Balogh showed how they fell in love with each other, even though neither was aware of it then. When the story moved to England, it became more predictable and less thrilling, but it was still enjoyable. The fake bethrotal made its appearance in this series again - I really hope it doesn't show up in the next books! - and so did the Bedwyn family. The sad note in that gathering was Alleyne's absence, since he was (presumed) dead, and that rendered a wonderful little scene with Wulf that brought tears to my eyes:

"She did not knock on the door. She opened it quietly, intending to creep inside without drawing attention to herself.

He was standing before the empty hearth, staring into the fireplace, his back to her. His shoulders were shaking. One of his hands was balled into a fist on the mantelpiece above his head. He was sobbing, choking on the sounds as Aidan had done days before.

Morgan gazed in horror for a few paralyzed moments.

Then she closed the door even more quietly than she had opened it and fled upstairs to her room.

If Wulf was weeping, the end of the world seemed near indeed."

Oh boy, Wulf definitely doesn't have ice in his veins like his enemies like to say. I can't wait to read his book!

Overall, Slightly Tempted was a very good read. Not the best in the series, but totally worth the reading. It's Balogh, what else can I say? :)



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Review: "Love is Blind" by Lynsay Sands

Love Is Blind by Lynsay Sands

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was my first book by Lynsay Sands and it was really good. My sister loves her books and had urged me to read one of them for ages, but I only caved in yesterday. Now I'm wondering why I didn't pay attention to her sooner.

Lady Clarissa Crambray is extremely nearsighted and "blind as a bat" without her spectacles, but her stepmother Lydia has forbidden her to wear them - in fact, she has broken them and thrown them away to prevent Clarissa from disobeying her. Lydia is trying to get Clarissa married off this Season and believes no gentleman will look at Clarissa twice if she's wearing those ugly spectacles, but this silly "scheme" isn't really working. Without being able to see anything but blurry colors and shapes, Clarissa has one graceless accident after another and is soon nicknamed "Clumsy Clarissa" by the ton. Clarissa is a pretty and wealthy lady, but her "clumsiness" has sent most of her suitors away. Nonetheless, Lydia still refuses to allow Clarissa to wear spectacles, arguing that "being clumsy is better than being ugly". Okay, if she says so...

Adrian Montfort, the Earl of Mowbray, is back to London after a ten-year self-imposed exile in the country, where he's been "hiding" from the ton since he came back wounded and scarred from the Peninsular War. He's very self-conscious about the scar he has on his face and doesn't believe any woman will have him as husband because of it - silly, silly man! -, but he knows it's time he did his duty and found a wife, so here he is in London, enduring the Season and the marriage market. He meets Clarissa in one of the ton's balls and, lucky for him, she can't see his face, his scar, or anything else for that matter...

Even though Clarissa's "blindness" is very attractive to Adrian, he quickly grows to like her for who she is and enjoys spending time with her. She also appreciates his company and the way she doesn't feel clumsy around him. But as they start falling in love with each other, doubt arises. She can't remain spectacles-less forever, can she? Adrian is sure she's going to run away screaming when she finally sees his "horrible" scar, while Clarissa is afraid he's going to be disgusted by the sight of her in her "ugly" spectacles. So each tries to buy time in his/her own way - Adrian delaying the purchase of new spectacles for her and Clarissa hiding the fact that she's already purchased them - while working to make the other fall in love. After all, love is blind.

In the meantime, it looks like there's someone out there trying to harm Clarissa. When she's almost killed in a suspicious "accident", Adrian hires an "investigator" to find out who's after her. Considering Lydia's dislike of her stepdaughter, she's Adrian's prime (and favorite) suspect, but is she that evil? And is the killer really after Clarissa, or is he/she indirectly after Adrian?

This was a charming and funny story that kept me captivated right from the start. When Clarissa set one of her suitor's wig on fire in the opening scene, I couldn't help laughing out loud - which immediately prompted my sister to say, "Ha! What have I been telling you all these years?" Anyway, my sister's teasing aside, I knew then that this was going to be a humorous read and I got myself ready to enjoy it. There were several funny moments in this book, but my favorite were the ones regarding Clarissa's wedding night, her "pie" and Adrian's "truncheon". "Her mind was filled with the image of the truncheon smashing into the pie, and the red juice spilling out." LOL, what a way to explain what happens on the wedding night to an innocent woman!

Adrian and Clarissa were very likable characters, and I really rooted for their HEA. Their interactions were sometimes sweet and sometimes hilarious, and they had great chemistry together. Aidan was caring, sensitive, and I loved the small things he did for her (like reading to her and arranging a private picnic for her) to compensate for the restraints imposed by her temporary "blindness", but he could have given up on the idea of delaying the purchase of new spectacles for her a bit sooner that he did. That was selfish of him, and he lost some points with me for that. As for Clarissa, she was adorable but too naive and soft-hearted. Normally, that wouldn't be necessarily a flaw, but it ended up being one due to a particular event that I can't reveal here. Suffice it to say that I wasn't happy with the way she dealt with the situation.

As for the secondary plot, the mystery regarding the attempts on Clarissa's life, it was interesting but the culprit and his/her motive were easy to guess. As I wasn't reading this book to get my "romantic suspense fix", I wasn't bothered by that. The romance was well written and Adrian and Clarissa made me smile and sigh, so I was more than happy with this book. I will definitely read more books by Ms. Sands!



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Review: "Instant Attraction" by Jill Shalvis

Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first book in the trilogy about the Wilder brothers - T.J., Stone and Cameron -, Instant Attraction was an enjoyable and easy read.

Cameron Wilder is the youngest of the Wilder brothers, a former Snowboarding Olympics and X-Games champion who "lost it all" when an accident ended his career one year ago. Used to the adventurous life and the adulation that came with his fame, he's having a hard time dealing with his current situation and doesn't know what to do with his life anymore. After spending the last year wandering around the world and trying to "find himself", he's finally back home in the Sierras - but he's still pretty much wallowing in his private pity party.

Katie Kramer is also struggling with a traumatic accident - she was the sole survivor of a bridge collapse that killed thirty other people - but the way she chooses to deal with it is completely different from Cam's. While he's basically decided to shut himself to the world and hide from life, she's decided to live it to the fullest. So she quits her boring job at LA, gets into her brand-new used car, hits the freeway and, eight hours later, finds herself in the wild Sierras, where she ends up taking a temporary job at the Wilder Adventures, a local outdoor adventure and expedition compay owned by the Wilder brothers. Is there any better way to start her new adventurous life? :)

Cam and Katie are instantly attracted to each other but, unlike what's become a standard in recent releases, they don't jump into bed right away. Neither wants anything permanent - Katie's only staying in the Sierras for a month before leaving for her next "adventure" and Cam, well, he doesn't know what he wants - so they take their time trying to figure out how to deal with their feelings. They slowly fall in love with each other but don't realize it right away. Katie convinces herself that she doesn't want more than a nice fling with Cam, but he really cares for her and he's afraid he'll hurt her in the end. So they dance around each other...

Overall, I really liked this book. Cam and Katie's interactions were funny and sweet, their relationship was romantic - as much as they had the hots for each other, I never felt that lust was their main focus - and the story had a nice pace.

There were a couple of times when I wanted to smack Cam in the head - enough with the self-depreciation already! - but I cut him some slack because I believed he really loved Katie, he just didn't know how to deal with his feelings. To be fair, he'd never learned how to, because that family of his wasn't the best example to follow when it came to communicating with each other. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the Wilder clan - Cam, Stone, T.J., their aunt Annie and her husband Nick - but communication wasn't their forte.

On the bright side, Annie was just adorable. Like Cam, she was also emotionally damaged but her positive attitude towards life was engaging. She wasn't perfect either, and I thought it was very realistic to have her refusing to talk about her accident and, at the same time, "forcing" Cam to talk about his. It's human nature: sometimes it's easier to focus on other people's issues than to look inside oneself.

While Cam and Katie's romance and emotional healing was central to the story, there was also a secondary romance involving Cam's aunt Annie and her estranged husband Nick that provided some funny moments. I loved her aprons - you could always guess her mood by the saying that was printed on them - but her stubborness made me want to shake some sense into her. Hmm, smack Cam in the head, shake Annie... I sense a theme here. Maybe the Wilder family had a knack for pushing my emotional buttons, LOL. Not enough to annoy me, though. In fact, I can't wait to read Cam's brother's stories.



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Review: "Slightly Scandalous" by Mary Balogh

Slightly Scandalous by Mary Balogh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


As someone who had been quite happy hating Freyja Bedwyn since meeting her in A Summer to Remember, I have no qualms admitting that I wasn't very thrilled about reading her book. At the same time, I couldn't help feeling some kind of morbid anxiety about it, as I wondered if Ms. Balogh would be able to redeem "lovely" Freyja. So, it was with some trepidation that I started reading Slightly Scandalous...

As the story opens, Freyja has left Lindsey Hall, her older brother Wulf's estate, and is on her way to Bath just to avoid being in the neighborhood during the birth of her former beau Kit Butler's first child. Even though that was not the impression I had when I read A Summer to Remember, it looks like Freyja was truly in love with Kit back then and she hasn't quite recovered from it, so she can't stand being near and pretend to be happy while watching Kit and his beloved wife Lauren burst in joy with the arrival of their love child. Bitter much? Ha, haughty Freyja fancies herself above that! Riiiight... Anyway, I digress. Let's get back to the story...

During her journey to Bath, Freyja has to spend the night at a rather shabby inn. While she's fighting the lumpy mattress for sleep, a disheveled man bursts into her room, hides in her wardrobe and asks her to cover for him. How dare he?!? Freyja isn't willing to harbor a "criminal", but when his pursuers treat her with less than the respect she deserves, she lifts her regal chin and orders them to leave her room without giving away the man hidden in her wardrobe. But then, the man has the nerve to kiss her and Freyja, being Freyja, punches him in the nose - Strike One! - and forces him out the window. Naturally, Freyja and her unexpected visitor are to cross paths again, as he's none other than Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, and he's also on his way to Bath, where he's to spend some time with his grandmother.

One of the first things that Freyja does when she meets Joshua in Bath is confront him about another misconduct of his and punch him in the nose - Strike Two! And she does this in public, for everyone in Bath to see! But as it turns out, Joshua's innocent of what she's accused him of, and he doesn't hesitate to mockingly put her in her place. Strangely enough, Joshua and Freyja end up striking some kind of friendship - Bath must be a very boring place! - where he enjoys teasing and winking at her and she finds pleasure in threatening to punch him in the nose. Again!... I'm making fun here, but Joshua and Freyja's relationship does work and their progression is quite believable.

When Joshua's aunt comes to Bath and starts stirring trouble, trying to get him to marry her eldest daughter Constance, he asks Freyja to enter into a fake betrothal with him to thwart his aunt's plan. Bored with life in Bath and willing to have some fun, she agrees. But what starts as a temporary diversion to fool Joshua's aunt gets more and more complicated, and they can't find an easy way out of it. So what does this mean? Should they turn their fake betrothal into a real one?

As everyone is tired of hearing, I really disliked Freyja in A Summer to Remember and none of the previous books in this Slightly series have changed my mind about her. She was too haughty, spoiled and truly unlikable! The way she talked, walked and acted, lifting her chin and punching the nose of every poor male who had the misfortune of crossing her path, everything in her annoyed me. There's a difference between being feisty and being downright rude! BUT - and it pains me to say it - I couldn't keep hating her after reading this book. I still don't like her and I haven't excused her behavior, but now I understand why she was so awfully nasty towards Kit and his beloved Lauren. Plus, Lauren has forgiven her so who am I to hold a grudge? While I was reading this book, I got the feeling that Ms. Balogh had worked hard trying to redeem Freyja and, to be fair, Freyja did show some redeeming qualities but, at the end of the day, she was still haughty and spoiled Freyja - as she was supposed to be since she didn't have a personality-change surgery - and she wasn't the kind of heroine I love. I've learned to tolerate her, though. :)

As for Joshua, he seemed to be a bit silly and air-headed at first, which wasn't a bad thing considering Freyja's character - I mean, no stuffy and serious man would have been able to tackle her and survive, LOL. He had to be that way to get past her initial defenses, both emotional and physical, but he grated on my nerves with his frequent winking. Halfway through the story, I was on the verge of asking Freyja to punch him in the nose if he "depressed one eyelid in that slow wink of his" one more time! Anyway, I was glad to see that there was more to him than what he presented to the world, and he was a caring, protective and honorable man. I even felt a bit sorry for him the first time he made love with Freyja, because I think she was just using him to forget Kit. I do believe she fell in love with him later, but that first time didn't feel right to me.

As for the plot, it wasn't the most original one and I'm starting to wonder if all the books in this series have the same theme, as in marriage/betrothal of convenience. As much as I love Ms. Balogh's writing, I don't think it's good to have all the books in the series with the same basic plot.

All in all, this was a slightly better than average read to me, but I don't think it would be fair to place it in the same level as Slightly Wicked, which I liked better and has earned 4 stars from me, so I'm giving it 3 stars.



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Review: "Vexing the Viscount" by Emily Bryan

Vexing the Viscount by Emily Bryan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Having read - and not particularly liked - Pleasuring the Pirate a few days ago, I decided to lower my expectations about its sequel Vexing the Viscount. My reasoning was, if I didn't expect a masterpiece, anything from the same level of the previous book would be nice. Well, I'm sorry to say that not even my low expectations were met...

Daisy Drake was introduced in Pleasuring the Pirate as one of Gabriel Drake's nieces. Vexing the Viscount is her story. As the story opens, she's "admiring" an ancient lamp (shaped like a penis) on display at the Society of Antiquaries when she runs into Lucian Beaumont, Viscount Rutland, who's there to give a lecture about an ancient piece he's discovered that can lead to the recovery of a long lost Roman treasure. Lucian is almost in dire straits and needs to find this Roman treasure in order to restore his family's fortune and secure his future, but he doesn't have the money to afford the search. Daisy's interested in joining and funding his treasure hunt but, unfortunately, Lucian's father hates Daisy's uncle - and therefore all her family - so any association between Lucian and Daisy is (supposedly) impossible.

Bored and annoyed by Lucian's refusal to allow her to join his treasure hunt, Daisy decides to masquerade as a courtesan named Blanche and attend one of her great-aunt's parties. Lucian is invited to the same party, thanks to Daisy's great-aunt's doing, and he's instantly smitten with "Blanche". When Daisy realizes that he hasn't recognized her, she harbors the "perfect" plan to join the coveted treasure hunt: as "Blanche", she offers to fund his project, knowing he has no reason to refuse. And so he accepts, only to find out later that "Blanche" wants Daisy to act as "her" agent and work with him. Naturally, Lucian and Daisy working close together makes them fall in love with each other in short time. But wait, what about "Blanche"? Part of "her" agreement with Lucian includes lovemaking lessons, i.e., he wants her to teach him how to please a woman. Remember, he's a virgin and she's supposed to be a courtesan. But she's also a virgin, so what can she teach him??? *rolls eyeballs* Thankfully, it doesn't take long before Lucian guesses who's behind "Blanche"'s mask, this silliness is over, and they can concentrate on the treasure hunt. But there's more behind this treasure hunt that meets the eye... Is the treasure really valuable? Is it worth dying for?

This was a very strange story, with a mix of romance, humor and mystery, that didn't work for me. Lucian and Daisy were likable, but their romance didn't move me and I was actually more interested in following their treasure hunt than in watching their sexcapades. I "blame" Ms. Bryan's writing for that, because Lucian and Daisy's love scenes, from flirting and kissing to foreplay and lovemaking, just left me cold. I don't know what the problem is exactly, but there's something about Ms. Bryan's writing that doesn't work for me. Lucian and Daisy's interactions were sometimes funny, but never romantic or sexy in my eyes. The story was filled with sexual innuendos and phallic symbolism - based on what was found in Lucian's archeological dig, Romans were obsessed with sex -, but that didn't make it hot or enjoyable to read.

Lucian's character wasn't that well-drawn either. He was viewed by the ton as a reclusive rake, but he was actually still a virgin. Huh? How did he acquire such a "bad" reputation if he didn't have the money to attend the ton's social events, play cards for money, take mistresses, or even court (and slightly compromise) young ladies? It didn't make sense. As for Daisy, don't get me started on the whole acting-like-a-courtesan charade. Only a virgin could buy that act, LOL.

I know several readers enjoyed this book, but I'm sorry to say I'm not one of them. This was only my second book by Ms. Bryan and, considering both books failed to win me, I doubt I'll ever read another book by her.



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