"A true gem of a Regency romance! Totally fascinating, fresh and suspenseful!"
Reviewed by Audrey Lawrence
Posted May 10, 2011
Romance Historical
With great courage and bravado, Lieutenant Greydon Quinn
and his good friend, Sanjay, Prince of Amjerat in India,
attempted to stop a Thugee band from robbing the Baaghh kaa
kkhuun, the Blood of the Tiger diamond, from its rightful
place in the temple. Badly outnumbered, they failed in their
mission, but
Greydon vowed he would do all that was possible to bring
the powerful and dangerous red diamond back for his
friend. With a brilliant insight for a strategy, Greydon
believed the best way to find the diamond was with the help
of the most successful jewel thief in England who had an
uncanny ability to distinguish true gems from fakes. While
his strategy worked, Greydon was totally floored to find
the Mayfair Thief was none other than the lovely Lady Viola
Preston! Left with no choice, either from her illicit career she had
to embark upon to keep her family from hungry after their
father's will did not protect them or from the fear of
going before a magistrate if Greydon turned her in, Lady
Viola agreed to help find the diamond. Prepared for the
worst, Viola was totally unprepared for the passion that
would flare between her and Greydon. While willing to share
kisses, Lady Viola wasn't prepared to tell him about her
special gifts. People are afraid of those who are
different and she wanted him to care about her. But, could
she stay with him after seeing the cruel and disturbing
vision of his past? Mia Marlowe has written a real gem of a Regency romance
that is totally fresh, fascinating, and suspenseful as
Viola, Greydon, and Prince Sanjay travel from London to
Europe in their quest to find the missing temple stone.
Drawing on the tensions and mutinous backlash against the
highhanded British for their treatment of India as a
backdrop, Marlowe skillfully builds the plot and suspense
while deftly entertaining the reader as Viola and Greydon
attempt to maneuver each other while coming to terms with
their own feelings. Sprinkled with dialogue that sparkles
like diamonds and passion as steamy as a jungle, you will
just want to read on long into the night to find out how
things transpire. This is intriguing regency with a small
paranormal twist that you will definitely not want to miss!
SUMMARY
London’s most talented criminal is about to be
fingered... Lady Viola Preston can relieve a gentleman of the studs at
his wrists without his being any the wiser and pick any lock
devised by man in less than a minute. But she’s careful to
wear gloves when she steals jewels. Because when Viola
touches a gemstone with her bare skin, it “speaks” to her,
sending disturbing visions—visions almost as unsettling as
the sight of the cool-eyed stranger who catches her red handed. Now Viola will only be stealing at Greydon Quinn’s behest.
And even more daunting than the violent history of the red
diamond he’s after is the prospect of a night in the
devastatingly handsome lieutenant’s arms. Touch has always
been Viola’s weakness, and the full body-to-body contact
Quinn has in mind is about to shatter her defenses and set
her senses reeling.
ExcerptWhen Lady Viola’s father died, his title
and income reverted to another branch of her family. Her
weasel of a cousin
refused to support Viola’s mother and soft-headed sister,
so she turned to
lifting jewels to keep their threadbare household together.
Greydon Quinn
wonders if Viola fully considered all her possibilities.
"You didn’t have to
resort to thievery to provide for your family, you know,"
Quinn said. "A woman
has other options. Marriage, for example."
"Not if her dowry has
disappeared in a blink." Lady Viola had been all ginger
sauce up to this point,
spicy but not the least sour. The sudden bitterness in her
tone surprised him.
"You’re undoubtedly
well-educated. You might have become a governess."
"How deliciously
lowering. The earl’s daughter takes a position tending a
baron’s brats." She
laughed mirthlessly. "The ton would have eaten that
for breakfast with a
spoon."
"There’s another choice
they’d consider more even more lowering, but some women
make it."
Quinn wondered, not for
the first time, about her level of sensual experience. She
was old to still be
unwed, probably in her mid-twenties, and hadn’t been under
a man’s protection
since her father died. When he insisted on sharing this
cabin onboard with her,
she had protested, but not with a virgin’s horror at the
scandal of it or with
demands that he marry in truth to protect her good name.
And she kissed like a woman
who knew what passion was.
"Are you suggesting I
sell myself, lieutenant?"
"As frank a woman as
you are, I’m certain you considered it." He moved closer
and realized she was
trembling a bit, but trying to control it. "You’d cut a
wide swath through the
demimonde. A gentleman with plump pockets would snap you up
in a heartbeat to
keep you—"
"As his own private
plaything," Viola finished for him.
"His cosseted,
protected, adored plaything. You could name your own terms.
What man wouldn’t
want you? You’re well-born . . . beautiful . . .
accomplished . . ." Without
conscious volition, Quinn found himself reaching to cup her
cheek. She didn’t
pull away. In fact, she inhaled a hitching breath when his
thumb feathered over
her skin. "Passionate."
"How could you know
that?" she whispered, her lips barely moving.
He bent to lower his
lips to within inches of hers. "A man just knows."
Then to his very great
surprise, she slipped her fingers under his lapels and
stood tiptoe. Eyes wide
open, she closed the distance between their mouths.
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