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.
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