A Knave's Wager

A Knave's Wager by Loretta Chase

Lilith Davenant is known for her icy temper and for the beautiful niece's she has introduced to London society. Since her disastrous marriage and her husband's death Lilith has dedicated her life to making decent matches for her young charges. She blames Julian Wyndhurst, the Marquess of Brandon, for her husband's dissolute lifestyle and is furious to discover that he died leaving Julian a massive debt, putting her ability to host her nieces in jeopardy. On her way to London she encounters a traveler stranded on the side of the road and helps him to safety, only to discover that she has saved her nemesis. Julian finds the frigid widow quite the challenge but a rake like him has no chance with such a dragon of society. When he arrives in London it is to find that his cousin Roger has agreed to marry his French mistress, Esme, and the family believes it is his duty to get him out of the predicament. He visits Esme and agrees to a wager; if he can seduce Lilith in 8 weeks or less she will leave Roger alone and if he cannot then he will leave Esme and Roger alone.

Julian finds ways to be near Lilith and while at first it is an attempt to seduce her he begins to sense how special this woman is and how different she is than he had expected. And Lilith can't help but be charmed by Julian and discovers hidden depths to him that change her perspective of him. And for the first time in her life her body is awakening and desiring a man's touch while still remaining wary of trusting him completely. While Lilith and Julian are flirting, her niece and Roger are also forming a close attachment and he realizes he made a mistake by proposing to his mistress. Sensing that Julian and Lilith need a little shove, Cecily devises a plan to get the two of them alone, but Julian's conscience rears it's head. When Lilith discovers the truth about the wager she is crushed and it will take all of Julian's charm to convince her that he can make her happy.

There is no doubt that Chase is an immensely talented author who writes believable and likable characters who form relationships that draw the reader in from the beginning. Lilith was perfectly proud and flawed and vulnerable at the same time in a way that made the reader like her and root for her undoing, but not her downfall. Julian was the perfect man to help her discover happiness because he wanted her to maintain her own sense of self while unloosening enough to live a full life. He was undoubtedly a rake and while Chase did a wonderful job of redeeming him he kept enough of the bad boy persona to remain enticing. Both of them were secret do gooders and I liked that they had that in common and enjoyed reading about their time together, especially after Lilith had loosened up and allowed herself to be open with Julian.

The wager was obviously disconcerting to me but Julian was adequately remorseful about taking it and it was clear that his feelings for Lilith meant far more to him than winning a wager and he did ended up making the right decision about everything. Julian and Lilith had undeniable chemistry that burned up many of the pages, especially since it was left smoldering for so long, and Chase did a good job describing their eventual explosive coupling, but it could have been better. The best part of it was that it truly showed Lilith moving beyond her past and opening herself up to life and Julian was adequately appreciative of the trust she placed in him. I also liked the romance between Roger and Cecily; it was cute and short and they were also remarkably well suited for each other.

Rating: Chase has worked her magic again in this novella with very well developed characters who had a great relationship with each other.

Silk is for Seduction

Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase 728

Marcelline Noirot is the daughter of a penniless French aristocrat and an equally penniless English rose, whose financial state led them to a traveling life tricking their targets out of money. This left little time for Marcelline and her two sisters who have since become the most talented, if not the most popular, modistes in London. The Noirot sisters are determined to lure clients away from their nemesis, Mrs. Downes, especially Lady Clara, the presumed future Duchess of Clevedon. The Duke of Clevedon knows he is supposed to marry Lady Clara, but he has been enjoying his years of raising hell in Paris and the other big cities of Europe. Then one day he is entranced by Mrs. Noirot at the opera and even when she admits to him that she is only after him to win the patronage of his future wife, he cannot get her out of his mind. She spars with him, she gambles with him and he ends up losing and escorting her to the most popular ball of the Paris season, bringing their relationship into the public eye and gaining her quite a bit of notoriety.

Fearing that her new reputation will harm her business she rushes back to London, unaware that Clevedon is following her. On the journey back he takes care of her while she is seasick and then discovers that she has a daughter; a beautiful and charming daughter who quickly wins him over. But things in London become complicated because she is concerned with building up her dress shop and finding the spy who is selling information to her rival, and he wonders if he will ever be ready to propose to the woman he has always regarded as a sister. When Mrs. Downes efforts to drive them out of business turn potentially deadly, it is Clavedon who is there to save the day and it sets the ton off in a whirlwind and Marcelline knows she has to end things with him as soon as possible. But he has proved himself so capable and helpful that it is impossible for her to pretend that she doesn't love him. And Clevedon has finally realized what he wants out of life and he doesn't care if it flies in the face of society; the only question is if he can convince Marcelline that love is worth risking everything.

Marcelline was an awesome character and I liked her from the very beginning because she was strong and ambitious, but she cared so deeply for her family and harbored hidden hurts from her parents. I liked that she worked for a living and had pride in what she did, not shame, and that she was comfortable with her sexuality and desires. She went after what she wanted, and while she could have done it in a more muted, or kinder, fashion, it was impossible not to respect her actions. I felt like her fear of getting close to Clavedon was realistic and I understood her motives for everything she did clearly which shows that Chase is just great at completely immersing her readers in her characters. Clavedon was also amazing because he also had his own hidden hurts and his position in life had prevented him from ever really figuring out what he wanted to accomplish, or what his sense of purpose was and it was only with Marcelline's help that he was able to. He was so caring about Marcelline and her daughter and I loved when they all interacted together, almost as a family.

Their relationship was a little rocky in my opinion, with seduction taking the form of "sparing" and them teasing each other, which I am not really a big fan of. I felt like they didn't spend enough time actually talking and getting to know each other, but I also believed that there was genuine love and emotion between them. They both had so much respect and trust in the other that they worked incredibly well together. There was some sex between them, not a lot, and, in keeping with both of their confidence in their desires, it was really hot and loving all at the same time. I loved reading about how Clavedon matured and how he came to realize that he wanted a different life then the one that had been prewritten for him. I also liked reading from different points of view, from the rival Mrs. Downes, to Lady Clara, who was especially fun and well written and I loved her. The rival dressmaker plot was interesting and important without being overwhelming and worked really well in the story. My biggest problem was the incredibly well spoken 6 year-old who was like no child I know and seemed incredibly unrealistic.

Rating: A very fun book with two incredible characters that worked so well together. The side plots and characters were interesting and I really enjoyed reading this book.

Last Night's Scandal

Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase 906

Miss Olivia Wingate-Carsington has maintained a written communication with Peregrine Dalmay, the Earl of Lisle for the last several years. He has been in Egypt exploring underground tombs and mummies and generally staying away from his crazy parents. Apparently Olivia led him on merry adventures back when they were younger but they were never really more than great friends. When Lisle returns from Egypt for a visit he is shocked to discover that Olivia has turned into quite the gorgeous heart breaker who has already broken off several engagements. He is even more upset when his parents threaten to cut him off financially if he does not stay in England and go to their drafty castle in Scotland. The people there are refusing to work there as they believe it is haunted and Lisle does not see how he can get out of going and then, of course, Olivia takes it into her head to come up with a "Plan."

She leads his parents to believe there is a relationship between them and they agree to have her escort their son to Scotland where she will help him bring the castle up to snuff quickly so that he can return to Egypt. The journey up is fraught with peril as the more time they spend together the harder it is for them to deny their immense attraction for the other. Once at the castle in Scotland Lisle is forced to admit that Olivia is far more a grown woman than the girl he remembers as she effortlessly take charge and brings order to the chaos. Added to this are their two "chaperones"- two extremely raunch elderly ladies who speak their mind. They know that there is no ghost, but he refuses to believe her when she claims that someone is using a "ghost" as a distraction so that they can look for treasure on the property. Together they must solve the mystery and discover that they can have all the adventures they want with each other.

The first thing I thought when reading this book was how immature Olivia was and this started at the beginning with her heavily capitalized and underlined, not to mention exaggerated, letters to Lisle. This makes sense as she was young but she continues to seem very young throughout the book even as she was bringing order to the castle and brightening up Lisle's life. I guess this makes sense as Lisle was also much younger than most romance novel heroes at only 24 and he also seemed rather immature. There were ridiculous fights between the two of them where she resorted to name calling and he acting like a 20 year-old man. I figured out by the end that Olivia had had feelings for Lisle for many years but it wasn't explitly stated and was really hidden. I prefer it when these things are made clear so that we can understand some of her motives, but I did like that it didn't lead to moping and angst on her part. She really was trying help him and make his life better and that was romantic.

His feelings were rather sudden at the end and the final scene where they declare their love is beautiful. The sex between them was rather sparse and was decent if not spectacular. The side plot about the ghost and the treasure was very well done and, although it wasn't really a mystery as we knew who the bad guys were, I really enjoyed it and thought it was a strong element in the story. Much was made throughout the book about his parents and how they only thought about themselves and were generally weird. It kind of made Lisle and Olivia look rather mean for picking on his parents when it seemed like they were only looking out for what they thought was their son's best interest. However I did find the two elderly chaperones highly annoying and off putting and I wanted to slap them numerous times. They literally could not talk about anything but sex or men.

Rating: The characters were decent but not really my cup of tea but Chase always writes interesting books that I enjoy reading.

Don't Tempt Me

Don't Tempt Me by Loretta Chase

Zoe Lexham was kidnapped when she was 12 years-old while her parents were traveling around Egypt and spent the next 12 years as the pampered 2nd wife of the favorite son of Ushri Pasha. She learned how to run a household of eunuchs and woman, how to navigate the dangerous female back stabbings in the harem and how best to please a man. Zoe was Karim's favorite toy and he showered her with jewels but he was impotent so Zoe is virginal. When Karim and his father die Zoe takes the opportunity to run away and claim the life she was meant to live. Once in England she find that the harem didn't prepare her at all for the life of an English lady. She can't stop from saying and doing things that would scandalize the proper members of the ton such as openly talking about her breasts or throwing herself under a falling carriage to rescue a boy. Lucien de Gray, Duke of Marchmont, has regarded Lord Lexham as a father figure- ever since his own parents, and then his older brother, died. He takes it into his head to repay Lexham by using his influence to bring Zoe out into society.

It doesn't take Marchmont long to realize he has his hands full trying to make her ready for society, but first he needs to tackle the rampant stories regarded "The Harem Girl." It doesn't help in the least that he has immense difficultly keeping his hands off the very provocative Zoe whom he quickly discovers adheres to the motto "proper on the top and wicked on the bottom." He finally achieves what everyone else regarded as impossible and Zoe is very successfully presented to the queen but it proves too much for him and he finally marries her a mere 30 days after their first meeting. For the first time in his adult life Lucien finds himself caring for someone beside himself and wanting to make someone else happy. He is forced to begin taking on responsibilities, instead of foisting them off on his servants as Zoe comes in and shakes up his household. When Zoe discovers that things are not as tranquil as they appear it causes an uproar that puts her in danger of her life and tempts Marchmont into taking away the freedom Zoe risked her life for back in Egypt.

I liked the idea that the two had been destined for each other since childhood and would have ended up together, albeit as much much much diferent people, as they were both connected and drawn to each other at a young age. This is also tied in with the idea that it was only after Zoe disappeared that his life became so boring or at least uninspiring. At least his progression is realistic as his life changes so dramatically when Zoe re-enters it and when she moves into his house and it just makes sense that he too would change. However Zoe is a different story; she kicks at him, she throws things at him, she runs away from him, she punches him repeatedly while he kisses her (despite the fact that she even admits she likes it- something that drives me NUTS!)- basically does things we all learn not to do long before we're 12 and something she definitely would have learned in the world of the harem. It just made her seem childish and very easily got on my nerves. The chemistry between them was hot enough, but far from spectacular and the book was missing the passion of most Chase books.

The book's plot had enormous potential and certainly led to some funny scenes involving Zoe's overly proper and very prudish sister's, but I feel as though the very fact that Zoe was a virgin was kind of a letdown. If she'd wanted a truly scandalous former Harem Girl, surely a little prior action would have been required. (See Bold Destiny by Jane Feather) My favorite scene was one involving Marchmont and Zoe being discovered in a very compromising position by Zoe's sister Priscilla and Zoe's maid who use an umbrella to beat the two off each other. There was very little, if any angst, in the novel, but it did not feel as though the book was lacking because of that. The lacking came from other sources; the lack of sparkle in the dialogue, the not so well written steamy scenes, Zoe's childishness, Marchmont's inability to rouse any sympathy, and a villain and a murder plot that seemed as if they had just been thrown in there to take up the requisite 370-ish pages.

Rating: By far my least favorite of all Chase's novels (I've read 4) that lacked all the of the wonderful things one would expect from her books. All in all, unspectacular but still somewhat satisfying.

Lord of Scoundrels

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

This was my first Loretta Chase and let me just say that she really is as great a writer as everyone has said. In what is an admittedly cliched romance novel tick Jessica Trent first takes an "interest" in Sebastian Ballister, Marquess of Dain, because of his unfortunate ability to influence her brother to gamble, drink, and whore to excess. There is no crazy plot twist, no spy brigade, no murder plots, or any other such nonsense most authors throw into their books to take up space, because Ms. Chase is so talented at writing actual interactions between her characters- something I find remarkably refreshing.

Unfortunately much of the good stuff can be considered "spoilers" so I will attempt to make it invisible, most likely unsuccessfully. Please forgive me. Jessica is compromised at a ball, and both parties involved blame each other and Ms. Trent gets her revenge by SHOOTING him! I was absolutely poleaxed. I believe I reread that section several times before I fully understood what had occurred. So the two are married, after some great lawyer action, and things go swimmingly until... Sebastian's illegitimate child enters the picture. Not surprisingly Jane is all for the bastard joining in the party, but Dain isn't having any of it.

This book deserves five hearts purely based on the quality of the conversations, the interactions, etc... between the main characters. I was absolutely blown away. Jessica was at times a tad too likable for me, especially regarding a certain indiscretion, but she more than makes up for it with witty banter and... other actions. Like most romance novel heroes it is often difficult to determine precisely why the heroine falls in love with him, but Lord Dain is certainly at least minimally more likable then most of them. My one complaint might be that the book makes a very big deal about how much smaller Jessica is then the "cows" Daine usually sleeps with. This is explained away as his fear of sleeping with a small woman because of his own size. And of course at the end he realizes how much more enjoyable it is to sleep with a skinny short woman.

There is a rather confusing side plot involving minor characters attempting to steal, or trick each other into stealing, a certain painting which detracts more from the story than it adds but it does create a fun little incident at the end. The sex scenes were certainly steamy enough if too few. Ms. Chase is basically phenomenal worth words. Whether describing emotions or the attraction the characters feel toward each other she does it in new ways that aren't repetitive as many romance writers are when it comes to such important details that are often too hastily thrown together. She manages to turn an interesting, if somewhat overused, plot point into an amazing reason to throw two of my favorite romance characters ever together. And reading about their journey to Love together was a pleasure.

Final Rating