This was a rollercoaster of romance and surprise I read in one sitting.

In the first scene, a lovely woman is brutally murdered, with at least one witness looking on….

Then we get a card game at a County Ball, in which the heroine is gambled away….

Orphaned Vanessa has been raised with her aunt, but when the old woman dies, she falls into the clutches of her half-brother, bluff and roistering country squire Gerald, who has drunk and gambled away his own fortune, and now stakes her as a bride as a bet in a card game.

Clifford Stone smells a rat–he thinks all the men at the table are in on the scheme to marry her for her fortune and share the wealth amongst all their dissipated cronies. The question is, how debauched are they, and who is the murderer from the start of the book.

This whodunnit runs through the course of the book, which becomes a race against the clock before the criminal/s claim even more victims.

The pair are powerless alone, but once they are together, they work as a team to bring the culprits to justice.

After she is gambled, Vanessa refuses to marry Clifford despite the scandal, until he finds her nearly dead in the road one night.

As she gets to know him, she understands that things are definitely not all they should be in the region. Gerald has blamed Clifford for all the dire events, but family loyalty starts to dwindle the more she gets to know Clifford, and the more they fall in love.

They share a real passion for one another that gets harder and harder to restrain as the novel goes on. We get witty and interesting dialogue, and watch the couple fall in love and get engaged, soon to be married, with eager anticipation through the book.

It all changes when a widow and her daughters is attacked, and a friend, Martin Jerome, disappears with his new wife. Vanessa’s nightmares start to take on a very real quality.

But does she dare risk the love she has for Clifford in order to seek the truth about what she thinks she knows or remembers? She fears that uncovering all she knows will make her lose Clifford forever.

Clifford has no less of a struggle to hold on to the woman he loves, for a dead body is found on his land. Whoever is framing him is damning him in Vanessa’s eyes, and could leave her helpless in the sea of enemies. Even her own relatives try to lock her in a madhouse for being “The Mad Mistress.” And since everyone is only after her for her money–how can he ever prove he is different?

But through it all, the love they share helps them overcome the worst obstacles. This is an excellent romance in the true sense, hero and heroine fall in love and work for their happily ever after. This also has some really scary Gothic elements, some nasty villains, and a brilliant passion between the characters that keeps the whole book moving at a lively pace.

I loved Clifford, he really makes a lot of sacrifices for Vanessa, and the love scenes are perfect for the book and the Regency period, and contrast well with the savage selfishness of the villains in the book. He is sexy without being a standard Regency rake, kind without being too religious or preachy. He is a true gentleman and Vanessa a worthy heroine for him.

This is a great start to a really well written sensual Regency series (though not too spicy in these first 3 books of the series compared to what you will find on the shelved these days). Thomas the Duke and Jonathan Deveril the next two Rakehells to meet their matches. Two thumbs up, and a cheer for these great characters. Long live real romance.

The Fire of the Heart Series: A beautiful and compelling pair of novels

In The Fire’s Center, we are introduced to Riona Connolly, desperate for work so she can support her family. Thanks to a chance meeting, she is shown the full horrors of the famine and fever raging in Ireland. Far from being repelled by what she learns of the state of her homeland, she is moved by so much suffering and is thrilled at the chance to work at Dr. Lucien Woulfe’s clinic, even if it is in the poorest slum in Dublin.

Some of his friends and family look down on her as being a peasant, but Lucien can see things that others can’t: her courage, intelligence, selfless devotion to others, and her beauty and passion. Draw to her like a moth to a flame, he is scorched by desire, and terrified that he is falling in love.

His last relationship to the faithless Antoinette ended when she married his brother. This is a minor inconvenience to the scheming woman as she plots to win Lucien back as her lover.

Riona, far from being overawed by Dublin’s upper-class, finds them vain, selfish, and debauched. As Antoinette moves against her, and the evil Dr. O’Carroll blackens her name, Riona knows that she and Lucien can never be happy together with so many people trying to pull them apart and so many social differences seemingly standing between them.

She is appalled when all the love they have shared seems to mean nothing to Lucien, who prefers to believe lies about her rather than admit his true feelings. Determined to carve out a good life for herself through hard work and medical studies. she makes the hear-rending decision to leave Lucien and return to her family in Donegal.

In The Unquenchable Fire, the famine continues to rage, but so do the passions of this emotionally intense couple. Only when Riona is gone does Lucien come to recognize her true worth. But circumstances have gone completely out of control, and he nearly loses everything he has cared about before he sees at last what a wonderful gift of love they share.

Lucien and Riona seek to carve out a place for each other in their lives and cope with the devastating consequences of Antoinette’s scheming. This is a beautiful novel, with two compelling characters and a set of events which propel them toward growth, understanding and love.

We are not just following a moving romance and passionately sensual love affair, but the march of history, in this exceptional work by this remarkably talented author.

A mesmerizing romance

Riona Connolly is determined to help her impoverished family by going to Dublin to look for her missing father and find work. A chance meeting with Dr. Lucien Woulfe changes the course of her life forever.

Lucien is willing to see her as more than just a poor woman, recognizing her intelligence and courage. Asking her to become his nurse and assess the needs of the poor may not be the right thing to do in the eyes of stuffy Victorian society, but as the Famine rages, Lucien decides propriety be damned.

Riona is thrilled at the opportunity to help others and study with such a fine doctor, but her interest in her employer goes from professional to personal as they spend more and more time together. Soon the passion simmering between them bursts into a full conflagration.

Lucien, shocked at the depth of his love for Riona and need for her, tries to pretend that none of it ever happened. Riona, hurt but also determined to make something of her life with or without Lucien’s help, forges a career for herself despite the limited opportunities for women, and especially women of her class and religion, in 1840s Ireland.

Lucien soon realizes that he has underestimated Riona and the genuine love they shared. Can he win her back before it’s too late?

This is a mesmerizing novel of love, loss, suffering and redemption, with a spirited hero and heroine center-stage, drawing the reader into a remarkably well-drawn world. Passionately intense, this a book you will savor every word of, and remember long after you have finished it.

This couple grabs us from the moment we see them meet, and never let go until the final sentence. I will try to give an honest review without giving any spoilers so you can really enjoy this book as much as I did.

Sarah Deveril is a quiet spinster happy to look after her brother Jonathan at the vicarage, until he gets married. Left alone while he goes on honeymoon, she is looking forward to a quiet summer until a handsome, scarred and blind stranger appears on her doorstep claiming that HE is Jonathan.

At first she thinks it is a typical Rakehell prank, but they too are all away for the summer in Ireland. Taking pity on the man, she calls him Alexander, and takes him in as her cousin to stop tongues wagging.

As they live together in confined quarters and she helps him with many personal chores due to his blindness, the sensual spark between them bursts into a bonfire with the most catastrophic consequences for a woman in her position.

But scandal is the least of her worries, for since Alexander knows nothing of his past, he has no idea if he was a hero or villain during the Peninsular war against Napoleon, and is almost too terrified to find out.

Sarah’s own terror about this is nothing, however, compared to her fears as she becomes increasingly convinced that someone is trying to kill the man she has grown to love.

Elegant Bath and the quiet vicarage suddenly become dark, sinister places, and it is only through the whole village taking the remarkable Alexander under their wing that they even have a hope of staying safe and finding out the truth about his real identity before it’s too late.

Alexander is a terrific hero, and them a well matched, passionate couple who have to deal with some very real issues as they fall in love. Sensual and even erotic, this is a really special romance you will treasure.

This was a really excellent romance on a number of levels. I don’t want to give too many spoilers, so if any of these comments seem vague, that is why.

I was very surprised by this novel and really loved it. I thought it was going to be a traditional Regency, a bit comedy of manners, and what Society thinks of the couple, avoidance of scandal, and so on.

But the heroine Pamela coming of age, falling in love, and taking action to win her heart’s desire is center stage. It is great to watch her ‘grow up’ and the couple to grow in love.

She goes from the queen of purposeless and vain pursuits to a real heroine in the truest sense, very brave, and worthy of the noble Jonathan Deveril in every way.

Jonathan, a vicar, (priest of the Anglican church), is not a total stuffed shirt, but part of the glamorous Rakehells’ set. But nor is he a hypocrite.

Jonathan is a rarity, a hero in a Regency who is NOT a rake, or a nobleman. But he is a noble man, and his reasons for holding back from offering for the lovely Pamela are totally believable given the time period and his situation in life, and as we see, who he is, as he grows before our eyes.

The eerie Gothic quality as Jonathan’s dark secrets are revealed, and their enemies start to circle around them, really kept me turning the pages.

They are fearful that if he does declare for her, all their mercenary schemes will be for nothing. Just when you think you’ve figured out what’s going on, well, the author and the characters surprise you again with even more depth, and sensuality.

Once Pamela trusts to love, and listens to her heart, not what the Town says, she is on the road to a wonderful relationship with her beloved. Once she helps Jonathan resolve his issues, the barriers between them drop and their passionate desires are finally fulfilled.

The ending really surprised me, but was terrific and perfect for the book.
Though it does not have the number of really spicy love scenes in it compared with the later books I have read by this author, it is still very sexy and suited to the characters (a vicar and debutante), who are so vivid I feel like I know them.

Jonathan and Pamela move heaven and earth to be together, and the happily ever after ending is just perfect. Once again the Rakehells are in fine form, supporting but not taking over the book, even though we hope we get to see more of them soon!

A great way to pass several hours devouring this delectable and thrilling Regency romance novel.

If ever a couple were meant to be together, it is the Duke, Thomas, and Charlotte. His motives in rescuing her to save her from the rake who ruined his sister are admirable, but his longing for her can’t be denied forever.

Charlotte wants to spit defiance at the man she is sure is no more than a fortune hunter who will make her miserable in matrimony. Why then does her heart whisper that perhaps she has truly met her match at last?

I loved the villains-each chilling in their own way. Charlotte’s so called friends are truly horrid, but get their just desserts.

I really enjoyed seeing Charlotte grow from lovesick schoolgirl for totally the wrong man, to a mature woman who can be a real wife, and sister to young Elizabeth, Thomas’ sister, who also has huge potential.

I love the secondary characters, Jonathan and Clifford. Thomas is wonderful, sexy, dashing but without being a total rake. While this may not have as many hot love scenes as the later novels in this series, the writer is able to deliver a wonderfully paced romance and suspense novel you will remember long after you have finished reading it.

I liked this romance a lot because of the suspense and the chemistry of the couple. It can’t be denied, even though Vanessa has every reason to mistrust Clifford due to all the lies that her half-brother Gerald tells about him.

This is a great Regency romance of the old school, not a lot of love scenes, but the ones that are there are great and really suit the characters. They are lively, fun, intelligent people, and fall in love with their hearts even when their heads are telling them the opposite.

I loved the Duke in this book, and Jonathan is very flamboyant and shows a lot of promise. The later books in the series, like the Matchless Miss, or Guardian of the Heart, are very hot, and getting hotter if my reading pile is anything to go by.

If you like a Regency with lashings of suspense and sexual tension, and mysteries to solve, you should enjoy this novel, and this series.