Ratings9
Average rating3.3
"Ever the bold adventuress, Lucy Waltham has decided to go hunting for a husband. But first she needs some target practice. So she turns to her brother's best friend, Jeremy Trescott, the Earl of Kendall, to hone her seductive wiles on him before setting her sights on another man. But her practice kisses spark a smoldering passion--one that could send all her plans up in smoke. Jeremy has an influential title, a vast fortune, and a painful past full of long-buried secrets. He keeps a safe distance from his own emotions, but to distract Lucy from her reckless scheming he must give his passions free rein. Their sensual battle of wills is as maddening as it is delicious, but the longer he succeeds in managing the headstrong temptress, the closer Jeremy comes to losing control. When scandal breaks, can he bring himself to abandon Lucy to her ruin? Or will he risk his heart, and claim her for his own?"--p. [4] of cover.
Reviews with the most likes.
Lucy is a fiesty heroine if ever there was one, and it was a true delight watching her attempts to get under the Hero Jeremy's skin. She did a damn good job of it too, in more ways than one. The poor man was tortured by the flesh-and-blood Lucy during the day and by lustful dreams of her at night. The warbdrobe scene...oh my god. HOT.
Leaving this unrated because I'm not sure how I feel.
There's stuff to like here. Dare writes well, and this is evident even in her debut. However, the romance was a bit melodramatic at times there was a love quadrangle at one point . For the first half of the book, the heroine behaves in a very spoiled manner with no regard for anyone else. Then in the latter half of the book, the hero wants to wrap the heroine in gossamer silk for her own good . In this particular story, there was some childhood trauma that led to the hero's actions, but even with this background, I didn't enjoy the trope any more than I have in the past. I think if this trope were employed less, then in instances like this where it is explained by the hero's history (although not excused, I still think the hero needs to realise during the course of the book that such behaviour is harmful and in the end not very loving), I would find it a bit more palatable. However, every other alpha romance hero feels the need to protect the heroine for her own good. I don't know why love has to be equated with excessive protection to the point of being suffocating.