“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 speak 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 reign. 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?”
I’ve said it before and I am sure I will say it many times
in the future: I love Tessa Dare. She is easily one of my favorite
authors. It is rare that I encounter an author who is so fun, so
readable, and so creative as Dare is. I enjoy each and every single one
of her books that I pick up, and I have a very, very hard time putting them
back down. This is one of Dare’s earliest books and, while I can tell
(because I’ve read so many of her books now), it doesn’t make the book any less
enjoyable. Her style has shifted a bit over the years and her characters
have become more well-rounded, but the common thread of fun, exciting, creative
plots remains.
I am thrilled this book is a series because I have really
enjoyed a lot of the characters; however, I’m a bit baffled by the fact that
I’ve found a couple sources that call the series “Toby and Isabel
Trilogy.” I have no idea who Isabel is after finishing this book, but I’m
sure she will come into play eventually. I have some suspicions, but I
don’t want to divulge them just yet. I also feel like there could even
have been a prequel! Henry, Lucy’s older brother, and his wife, Marianne,
seem to be very much in love. In fact, Jeremy even says his friends’
marriage is a love-match. They seem rather happily married because
Marianne keeps popping out little ones. I want to know more about them
and their story! Even though Henry rubs me the wrong way as a brother and
guardian, I am interested in his character as a man – especially because he
steps up in the latter half of the book. I hope Dare might consider
writing a prequel for Henry and Marianne, even though Marianne fell a little
bit flat in this book (of course, she didn’t exactly play a major role).
As with a few of her other books, I think Dare developed one
of her lead characters a little bit more than the other. In the case of
this book, I think Lucy was more developed than Jeremy. Jeremy had a much
better backstory, but his present-self (does that make sense?) was a bit
flatter than Lucy’s. She was all energy, life, and fire. Jeremy –
while I understand Dare was trying to make him into a cold, stoic, monolith of
a man, I felt as if I didn’t see nearly as much from his point of view; nor did
I quite feel satisfied with the shift into his realization that he did, indeed,
love Lucy.
Lucy’s pursuit of Toby was amusing. Her shenanigans –
while a little bit over the top – were funny. (I still find myself asking
where in the heck she got the book from which she learned her “seduction”
techniques.) I got a good sense of who Lucy was and Dare gave us
information on her upbringing, but I don’t feel as if her backstory was quite
as developed as Jeremy’s (as previously stated). Everyone told me how
they thought she felt about missing seasons in Town and not having her “coming
out,” but I don’t recall ever really knowing how Lucy felt about it.
Knowing what I do of her character, I think she may well have been fine with
it, happy to remain free in the country.
Jeremy’s character was developed rather differently. I
don’t think I got a decent sense of what he actually looked like until very
late in the book (much later than normal), which felt a bit strange. I
don’t recall even learning his eye color until quite a few chapters in the
book. This was a little bit strange for a book in this genre, which
relies so heavily upon its readers’ imaginations and ability to (for lack of a
better phrase) “be attracted to” its male leads. Thinking back on it, I
don’t think I got a good description of any of the male characters in this
book! How odd. I think this may have just been an oversight because
it is one of Dare’s earliest published works. She’s gotten much better
about this. It is because of this that Jeremy remained rather ambiguous
in my imagination for quite some time and it felt a bit odd. I did enjoy
his backstory very much. Dare has a knack for developing male leads who
have some powerful, unique backstories; this is something I always find
impressive and one of my favorite aspects of her work. Jeremy (by the
way, I adore his nicknames “Jem” and “Jemmy” enough where I have a newfound
love for the name and would consider it for one of my
as-yet-non-existent-future-children) was a decent character. I was
frustrated with the poor communication he and Lucy shared, but I suppose that
means that I genuinely cared about them and I was invested in them – always a
good sign. Bits and pieces of the story were a bit over the top, but I
didn’t mind this overmuch.
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