The Marquis of Fenton is humiliated when his longtime fiance runs out on him at the church and takes up residence at a scandalous gambling hall working as a hostess. He hires his cousin, Keating Blackwood, to bring her back to him and offers him 10,000 pounds, and as Keating is in desperate need of funds he agrees. Lady Camilla Pryce took one look at Fenton and realized that if he'd never even said hello in all the years they'd been engaged, their marriage was doomed. She enjoys the freedom of working at the Tantalus club and the friendships she is making. When Keating shows up at the club it stirs quite a scandal as he had previously admitted to killing his lover's husband, earning himself the nickname "Bloody Blackwood." Camilla finds herself drawn to Keating anyway, especially since he admits that he is trying to get her back with Fenton and does not lie about his motives.
Camilla agrees to go along with Keating and allows him to escort her around town and as they get to know each other they discover they have a lot in common. They both have ruined reputations and for each of them the other is the only one who understands their motivations and why they have done what they have. Keating trusts her with his deepest secret; that he had a child with his former lover and he has been supporting her for years and he needs the promised money from Fenton to support his son. Camilla knows what she must to do to help the man she has fallen in love with and agrees to the marry Fenton and give up the chance of something more- give up the chance for love. But luckily their friends are determined for neither of them to settle and they make their own discoveries that make a happily ever after possible for Keating and Camilla.
I loved both Keating and Camilla because they were both noble, and scared, and full of hope and passion that had been tamped down by society but together they were able to be true to themselves and be happy. Camilla was wonderful and so real and I felt like every emotion she was feeling was so true and I was rooting for her the entire time. Keating was great as the reformed rake who had made the hard decisions and was willing to live with the consequences of his actions. They were able to heal each other's hurts and become better, happier people with each other and I really liked reading about each moment they spent together and luckily there was quite a lot. It made their relationship seem so strong and based on a really strong connection. Because of their noble-ness there was not very much sex but there was some but it was not exactly hot.
There was a lot of talk about Keating's past in this novel, and with good reason, but it got to be a little too much for me and I got tired of both of them being so willing to sacrifice their own happiness in order to save the other. A little of that is good but what they were doing just came across as ridiculous and of course, everything was wrapped up a little too conveniently in that department for my taste. I really enjoyed reading about Camilla's relationship with her family because she had to deal with so much from them and learn how to be independent. I thought there was a decent presence from previous characters and the next novel was set up very nicely. The writing was, as always, fast and fun and very enjoyable.
Rating: A fun book with two very lovable characters who could be a little too self-sacrificing for my taste, but overall had a very strong connection.
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