"Excellent Regency romance from new author."
Reviewed by Suan Wilson
Posted September 5, 2005
Romance Historical
Heiress Katherine Fleming chose her future husband with the
utmost care. After watching her parents' disastrous
marriage, in which her mother turns a blind eye to her
philandering husband, Katherine promises it will not happen
to her. Katherine believes she's found the perfect husband.
Fiancé Cole Mallory is a calm, placid man who will be her
friend and not an all-consuming love. At Katherine's
engagement party, Cole surprises her with the announcement
that his dead wife is alive. Stunned by the revelation,
Katherine finds herself embroiled in a scandal that could
ruin her. Black-sheep Dominic Mallory arrives at his older brother's
engagement party wishing he were anywhere but at the
ancestral home. Dominic's childhood was a nightmare. Locked
in a loveless marriage, Dominic's mother fell in love, and
the result of the secret affair was Dominic. His father
claimed him as a Mallory, but hated his existence, and his
mother couldn't bear to look upon him, as he was her fall
from grace. Following his father's lead, Cole despises
Dominic and makes his life as difficult as possible. The
real reason Dominic is home is to buy Lansing Square from
his brother. Knowing how much Dominic wants Lansing Square, Cole uses it
to blackmail him into marrying Katherine. It's the perfect
solution for Cole. He'll obtain Katherine's money from
Dominic and once again beat Dominic. What Cole doesn't
bargain for is the passion and the beginnings of a real
marriage between Dominic and Katherine. Jealousy eats away
at Cole, and he tries to sabotage their marriage. Debut author Jenna Petersen pens a vibrant romantic
tale filled with passion, betrayal and revenge. SCANDALOUS
teams with strong secondary characters, which gives the
story added vibrancy and depth. This tale belongs on
readers' keeper shelf.
SUMMARY
Katherine Fleming has lived her life without even a hint of
indiscretion. So she is devastated to discover the nobleman
she's engaged to has a secret he's kept from her: a wife!
Suddenly Katherine's enmeshed in a scandal that has the ton
buzzing -- and forced to accept a most unconventional
proposal from the notorious seducer Dominic Mallory, her
faithless fiancé's brother… and precisely the sort of rake
she has sworn to avoid! Charming and dangerously sensual, Dominic has desired the
stunning beauty from the first moment he spied her. Now,
with Katherine's reputation in tatters, it's the ideal
opportunity to bed her -- though it will take wedding vows
to do so. But can a rogue be reformed by the unleashed
passion of a normally reserved lady? And can a marriage
made for all the wrong reasons flame into the love match of
the season?
ExcerptThe man was so stubborn. Bullheaded. Even so, she felt a
nagging need to comfort him. Sadness was buried in his
stormy eyes, no matter how both of them pretended it
wasn’t. It only seemed to deepen the longer they stayed at
Lansing Square. Whether or not he admitted it, the house he
wanted so desperately to get rid of meant something to him.
And whatever “business” he had there had something to do
with his strange searching.What could he be looking for? She found herself bundling a second ball of packed snow
into her fist. She took aim at a tree branch a fair
distance away and let loose, pretending it was her
husband’s head as a target. It hit squarely and she
couldn’t help but smile. “You’ve a good arm. Perhaps you’d like to practice on a
better enemy.” Katherine spun around with a start to find Dominic crossing
the lawn toward her with arms outstretched as if offering
his broad, muscular chest as a mark. She blushed. She’d
been caught. Thank goodness he couldn’t read her thoughts. “You want me to throw a snowball at you?” she asked with a
giggle she couldn’t suppress. He gave her that half-grin that melted her every time. “The
birds are easy marks, my lady. And anyone could have hit
that tree branch. I am simply offering you a challenge.” Yes, he certainly did that. A challenge to her resolve. He stooped and scooped up a handful of wet snow. With
flourish, he rubbed a target on the breast of his dark
woolen greatcoat, then stood back. “There, now I’ve made it
even easier for you.” She couldn’t hold back another burst of laughter. “Just
remember you asked for this.” She wound up and was pleased when she hit him squarely in
the middle of the chest, despite his last-minute sidestep. He smiled. “Decent.” “Decent? I hit you full on!” she said in mock outrage
before she balled up another snowball and threw again. But he was just as quick and she found herself dodging as
much as throwing. His aim was as good as hers and more of
his missiles hit her than missed. As she straightened up
for one last throw, she was pleased to see his coat was
dotted with white marks. At the exact moment she let loose,
he stood up and the snowball connected squarely with his
face. She squealed in delight as he sputtered and wiped snow away
from his eyes. Eyes that came up to meet hers with
playfully murderous intent. “Oh, you liked that, did you?” he asked as he dug into his
pocket for a hopelessly damp handkerchief. “I-I’m s-so sorry,” she managed between giggles. “Hmmm. It doesn’t sound like it.” He grinned. “But you will
be.” With that, he dove toward her. She let out a small scream
as she scurried away. Laughing, she ran across the snow
with him hard on her heels. Just when she thought she would
escape, he jumped. They both went down on the soft snow in
a heap of red coat and laughter. “Now you’re going to get it,” Dominic chuckled as he
shifted his weight to pin her laughing, struggling
form. “Now you’re mine.” Something in his voice shifted and Katherine stopped
fidgeting to look up into stormy gray eyes. Eyes that
pulled her in bit by bit until laughter was forgotten,
snowball fights were forgotten, everything was forgotten
except how much she wanted him.
What do you think about this review?
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy