“Pamela Darby needs a man – preferable a Highland brute with
more brawn than brains. Determined to
save her sister from selling her virtue, the resourceful beauty requires a
strapping specimen to pose as a duke’s long-lost heir. Pamela plans to collect the generous reward,
then send him on his way. Lucky for the
brazen beauty, the seductive, silver-eyed highwayman who just held up their
carriage could be her man…
“Connor Kincaid has given up on his dream of restoring his
clan’s honor. And now this plucky
Englishwoman is asking him to take part in a risky charade that could land them
both on the gallows. Never a man to
resist a challenge or the allure of a beautiful woman, Connor strikes the
devil’s bargain that could seal both their fates. The highwayman and the hellion journey to
London as both enemies and allies – a woman who has everything to gain and a
man who has nothing to lose…but his heart.”
Another little gem by Medeiros. I finished the first in this series the other
day and immediately began devouring this installment. It was a great follow-up to Some Like It Wicked. We hear so much about Connor in his sister,
Catriona’s, story, so it was nice to see what he’d been up to over the years. This one kept the same lightheartedness and
sense of humor that the first book did.
It doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet it deals with some very
serious topics. I think this is a
particularly difficult balance that not many authors can achieve. Some books by Lisa Kleypas, for example, lean
more toward serious than lighthearted.
Sure, they have lighthearted moments, but they don’t have the same way
of remaining fairly lighthearted throughout.
This is not to say that one shouldn’t take Medeiros seriously – her
writing is witty, well-crafted, and extremely well-planned – but she’s a much
quicker, relaxed read than other authors.
I can see why the first book in this series was marked as a “perfect
beach read!” It’s easy to fall into her
worlds and get absorbed in the characters.
She adds just enough historical accuracies to make the British history
nerd in me very happy. Simply stated, the books in this series made me smile.
I wasn’t sure how I would like Pamela in the very beginning
of the book. She seemed rather
self-deprecating and I don’t normally care for a female lead that is too over
the top in this regard. She ended up
rather likable. I thought she was witty,
brave, and intelligent. She was a good
foil for Connor because she had more than enough spunk to stand up to his gruff
and often sarcastic ways. Her
relationship with her mother and sister was complicated and really added to her
character. I did find Sophie pretty
annoying at times, but I think that’s just because she’s so young and
naïve. She can’t yet see past pretty
things and the facades people use. I can
definitely see the potential for Sophie to have her own book, especially after
her interactions with a certain secondary male character.
Connor was complicated and fun. His backstory was tragic, but he still
retained some sense of humor. For a
thief, I feel like he had a lot more honor than he let on. His drive was admirable and his charm was
irresistible. I found aspects of his
character to be rather moving, especially when we learn more about how his
parents died. He was rough around the
edges, but was surprisingly refined in some situations.
There was a very memorable secondary character in this
book:
He had a surprising amount of complexity for a secondary
character, perhaps because Medeiros chose to give us glimpses into his
mind. He would make an excellent male
lead as he moves on and tries to find his own place in the world.
There is a tremendous plot twist I never saw coming and I
applaud Medeiros for this. It’s not easy
to trick me and I was definitely caught off-guard by one tremendous
revelation. The book was rich with
eloquent descriptions, beautiful writing, and steamy tension and romance. It was exciting enough where I didn’t want to
stop reading, and yet I still enjoyed it as a relaxing read. I certainly do recommend it – especially if
you’ve read the first in this series.
It’s a fun, entertaining book and I enjoyed it a great deal.
