Lord of Wicked Intentions

Lord of Wicked Intentions by Lorraine Heath L

Evelyn Chambers is the illegitimate, but much beloved, daughter of the Earl of Wortham and is entrusted to her brother, Geoffrey, when her father dies. But Geoffrey is in dire need of cash because of his gambling addiction and has no familial feelings toward the girl who made his own mother's life miserable and he decides to sell her off as a mistress to one of his friends. He invites Rafe Easton to the auction, never intending for him to bid on Evelyn, but Evelyn immediately catches Rafe's eye and he is determined to make Evelyn his own. Rafe is one of the lost Lords of Pembroke and as the youngest was left at a workhouse and has never gotten over his feelings of abandonment or inadequacy. He has worked his way up to own a prominent gambling establishment but he hasn't done so without making enemies. Evelyn is under the impression that Geoffrey had found her a husband and she is horrified when Rafe reveals to her that he intends to make her his mistress. She had always wanted respectability, a family, and children, and she knows that this will ruin her chances, but she also knows that she has no other choice and nowhere else to go.

Rafe intends to have a mutually beneficial arrangement and they agree that after their affair is over she will maintain the house as well as any items, including jewelry that he purchases and he decides to give her time to get used to him before consummating their relationship. Even though he had no plans for Evelyn to be anything more than a mistress he finds himself spending more time at his house, more time engaged in fun pursuits with her, than at his gambling hell. Evelyn knows that Rafe has a dark past and has a fear of becoming close to anyone, but the more she gets to know him she realizes that there is a good person underneath it all and wants their relationship to be more. Rafe cannot bring himself to admit that his feelings have changed and he risks losing Evelyn just as someone he thought gone from his life reappears and threatens him and all he holds dear. It is Evelyn who comes to his rescue and they both know that they want a long and happy life together; a life based on love.

The Lost Lords of Pembroke series have all featured a seriously tortured hero and a heroine who is almost too good (kind and understanding) to be true. Evelyn is naive in the beginning and I found her development so well written as she came to understand more about the world and more about her own past. I liked that she was a fighter and wanted the happy ending, but still faced reality without becoming bitter or overly proud. Rafe was incredibly hard and definitely projected an untouchable facade, but his cracks began to show early as he couldn't bring himself to abandon Evelyn. We learned more about his good deeds and about the bad things in life he has done (and of course how bad he feels about all of them) which make it clear that he is just waiting for the right woman to come along to help him work through his demons. Evelyn and Rafe work well together, but I found myself concerned that she was in a situation without any real choices and thus she wasn't truly free to make informed decisions. This gave her developing feelings for him a tinge of coercion (Stockholm syndrome a la Beauty and the Beast) and was more than a little icky for me.

Rafe and Evelyn did spend a lot of time together, going to his club, walking in the park, and discussing their pasts which was something they both needed to work through. A lot of this time was spent with just the two of them, which normally I liked, but because of the reasons stated above made me a little uneasy. Eventually other people began to play a part in their lives, namely his brothers and their wives and I was so happy that she was expanding her life beyond him that the character dropping didn't bother me here. There were a few sex scenes between them and they were all rather tame. Literally dropped in to the very end of the story was a big problem and it came out of nowhere, but was resolved rather quickly and really just served as the impetuous for both of them to realize and admit their feelings. Heath's writing is always fun and fast and easy to get through and this book was no exception.

Rating: An enjoyable book with great character development and an interesting relationship that held a few problems for me.

Lord of Temptation

Lord of Temptation by Lorraine Heath R

Lord Tristan Pembroke escapes the clutches of his uncle, who is determined to kill him and his brothers so he can claim the Dukedom, and while his brothers go separate ways, Tristan heads out to sea. Over the next decade he makes a learns the ocean and gains his own ship, going by the name Crimson Jack, and even when he goes back to London and enters society he does not feel like he is a part of that world. Lady Anne Hayworth is determined to make her way to her fiance's grave so that she can make peace with her fiance Walter who was killed in battle. Her father and four brothers do not agree with her plans so she is forced to find her own means of transportation and when she asks Captain Jack he decides to ensure that Anne has no choice but to choose his ship. When every other captain ha been bribed to turn her down, Anne comes back to Jack, who demands a kiss in return for passage. He wants the beautiful young woman, even while knowing they come from different worlds and have no future, and will do everything he can to seduce the beautiful young woman. During the journey, both of them discover much about the other, and Jack is the one to hold her while she cries at her dead fiance's grave.

On their last night together Anne decides to claim a bit of happiness for herself and gives into the passion she feels for Jack. Back in London, Anne finds herself swept up into the whirlwind of a London season, and with her family pressuring her to get married, she is being courted by her dead fiance's brother. Jack finds that he cannot bring himself to leave Anne and return to the sea, and he certainly cannot stand to see Anne courted by another man. The two engage in a secret affair, behind everyone's backs, but Anne knows that Jack is not one to settle down with a family and while she will never have the same passion with Lord Chetwyn, he offers her comfort and stability. The two promise that they will stay away from each other and Anne agrees to marry  but she cannot stay away from Jack and he is trying to use all of his powers of persuasion to convince her that Chetwyn is not for her. But both of them realize that life without the other isn't an option and both of them are willing to make changes to their expectations before discovering that as long as they are together, nothing is really a sacrifice as long as they can have a happily ever after.

This book continued the Lost Lords of Pembrook series admirably and had the same feel as the last one with the tortured hero and a very likable heroine. I really liked Anne because she was determined and capable without coming across as headstrong or naive. She knew what was expected of her from her family and she accepted it but still went about fulfilling her obligations in a way that did not seem like she was 'giving in' and still remained true to herself. Jack was incredibly tortured and dark, not fitting in to either world he straddled and unable to find a place where he belonged. I understood his dilemma, but still felt  unimpressed with his feelings and his inability to make nice, as if he was purposely setting out to be difficult. I quickly became bored by reading about his horrible life and how he straddled two worlds, partly because it was so similar to what I read in the previous book in the series about his old twin brother. I did like that we had a lot of character development from him throughout the book as he fell in love with Anne and made some changes in his life in order to have her in his life. He was a fun and lively hero who changed for the better with the help of a good woman, and I liked that.

There were a lot of interactions between Anne and Jack and I could really feel how these fell in love and every scene between them built into the story. There were fun and happy scenes where he attempted to seduce her, there were heart wrenching scenes where he comforted at her fiance's grave, and there were passionate scenes. There was a really deep emotional relationship between them and Heath did an oustanding job portraying this. There was a lot of sex between them and it was fairly hot, spread throughout the book, and really contributed to their developing relationship. I did have an issue with how many times Anne promised herself she would stay away from Jack, after realizing that they had no future together, and then reneged on her vow. It made her seem weak and it happened so many times that it quickly got tiresome. I also enjoyed how Heath did not make Chetwyn a villain, or anyone a villain for that matter, because it really was just a story of two people finding love and working through their differences to find happiness together. As usual, Heath's style is fun and fast while still delving into tough emotional issues.

Rating: A very enjoyable book, with a very strong relationship between the characters, but I had some issues with the heroes emotional trauma.

She Tempts the Duke

She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath

When the Duke of Keswick dies, his brother, Robert, imprisons his 3 young sons in the dungeon, ostensibly for their protection, but young Sebastian, Tristan, and Rafe know that there is something fishy going on. When their friend, Mary Wynn-Jones, overhears Uncle David talking about murder she frees the boys and they disappear into the forest leaving whispers and a haunting mystery that takes the ton by storm. Sebastian vows that one day he would return and claim his birthright with the help of his brothers. Sebastian joins the army and works his way up to become a way hero, even if he is scarred on one side of his face, while his twin Tristan becomes a naval captain and the youngest, Rafe, becomes a prominent figure in the London underground, running a prosperous gambling hall and brothel. Uncle Robert is horrified when the 3 return to claim their birthright, but Mary is overjoyed to find that her three childhood friends are alright after years with no word from them. Mary is now engaged to Lord Fitzwilliam but that doesn't stop her from sticking up for Sebastian when the ton turn on him.

She is determined to stick by Sebastian's side no matter what everyone says about him and even when it becomes obvious that someone is after Sebastian's life. Her fiance is not pleased by her actions and her own family discourages her because they want to see her married off but she will not back down. One night when Sebastian is attacked and wounded she moves into his family house and her reputation is at risk when her fiance politely calls of the wedding. Sebastian knows it is up to his family to make things right but he worries that he is not good enough for her with his scares, his dark past, and the fact that someone out there is trying to kill him. None of that matters to Mary as all the feelings she had for Sebastian when they were younger come to the surface and she realizes that her childhood crush has become so much more. Their marriage brings hope to both of them even while they know they must find Sebastian's uncle and determine if he is the man who is behind the attacks. Together they will overcome their fears about themselves and find a life together.

I was intrigued by the idea of childhood sweethearts who reconnect later in life after going through a bunch of ups and downs. In that regard this book did not disappoint at all as I felt like there was a really strong connection between Sebastian and Mary that was kindled when they were teenagers and blazed when they became adults. The years of separation really served to nurture their feelings and it was clear that it was always lurking just below the surface and there was a specific moment when Sebastian realized that it was a connection to Mary that had kept him going through all those years, that made their relationship so satisfying to read about. I cannot put my figure precisely on how Heath pulled it off because it was so subtly done, but I really felt like these two belonged together and that they truly had been destined to be together which I don't normally feel. As with most Heath books there was some sex, it was romantically written and meshed well with the story and the development of the relationship but it was not super sexy or hot.

Heath sets herself apart as an author because she took Mary, a character with do-gooder and other assorted traits that would normally drive me nuts, and turned me into a woman I really admired and was motivated to "root" for. She stuck by Sebastian through everything, including some situations that she knew would lead to her being ruined, and helped him when needed, supported him, and loved him. Sebastian was a little too tortured for me and while I felt like his feelings were justified because of his life, I just never really go for people who's angst and worry and torment borders on self-pity, especially when it is such an important part of his character. Sebastian's obsession with regaining hi ancestral home alienated Mary and I enjoyed the angst and turmoil that sprang from that desire interfering with his relationship with Mary. I was glad it didn't become the focal point of the book and that the hunt for finding Lord David and bringing him to justice was an important part of the book but did not take over the book.

Rating: Heath shows herself to be a very skilled writer with a romance I could not resist and a heroine I loved, but a hero was just a little too pained for me.