When deception leads to desire . . .

When her stubborn sister runs off the night before her arranged marriage, Meg Lynton hardly hesitates before donning the wedding veil and walking down the aisle herself. It's the only way to save her family from sure destitution. By the time her wealthy groom discovers he has married the wrong sister, it will be too late to annul their vows. And too late for Meg to escape her wifely duty to a man reputed to be a devil in battle and the bedroom . . .

A bride is the last thing Nicholas Hartley, Duke of Temberlay, wants. Then he sees Meg and realizes that his wedding night will be a great pleasure indeed. But aside from the agreeable business of begetting an heir, Temberlay will never change his wicked ways for a wedding vow—until he discovers Meg's deception, and decides to teach the scheming beauty how to be a proper duchess, kiss by devastating kiss . . .

Review

Nicholas, Duke of Temberlay is the alpha male we all want. He’s determined, intelligent, and doesn’t like to be lied to. Meg Lynton is a strong woman that refuses to let her family suffer the curse of being poor, and she’s willing to do anything to save them; even marry a man who’s supposed to marry her sister.

Cornwell left my jaw hanging; at least that’s how I felt for most of this book. The hanging jaw was a mixture of awe and shock. This book is set around the Napoleonic Wars as far as time period. There’s a good bit of history factored into the story; including the battle of Waterloo.

First the awe: wonderful tension, witty banter and dialogue, and sensuality out the wazoo. Nicholas and Meg shine together. Their attraction runs deep and their little power plays are definitely some of my favorite parts of the story.

I loved Meg because she’s got gumption, and she doesn’t back down. While she may hesitate for a bit to work up a plan, she’s stubborn about getting what she wants. This is a woman who’s had to face some pretty gruesome circumstances, and has come through on top. Except when it comes to Nicholas, she doesn’t understand how he could want her at all or how to be the winner in their relationship.

Nicholas was a good hero. He’s definitely my kind of guy with his caveman, alpha male tendencies. I really enjoyed his charming manner and how it was followed up with his inability to say what he felt to Meg. This flaw causes some major conflict.

Favorite scene- when Nicholas discovers Meg wasn’t the one he was supposed to marry and confronts her about it. I honestly laughed out loud, to the dismay of my family around me.

“I—“She cleared the frog from her throat. “I was hoping to see you today, Your Grace. I need to speak to you.”

“Ah, so it’s back to ‘Your Grace’ this morning, is it? Not Nicholas? He slid an insolent gaze over her body. ”Why did you wish to see me? Do you wish to relive the delights of last night? I’ve a mind to do so myself.”

She felt hot blood fill her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze.

He came closer still. She could smell the wool of his coat, the slight tang of his horse, and the now-familiar scent of his skin. He leaned in and blew softly in her ear. She flinched in surprise.

“There’s just one thing I’d like to know,” he whispered.

“Yes?”

“When I come, and I feel inclined to cry out someone’s name, what in hell should I call you?”

Now the shock: jumping plot points, little or no resolution to big issues, and a bunch of questions still remained at the end of the story.

The locations of the story jump rather rapidly from London, to the countryside, back to London, and to France. With all this jumping around little gets resolved between the married couple. As soon as they are on the verge of accomplishing something one of them is already running off to face one another situation. The hero and heroine make some pretty farfetched and drastic decisions in attempt to give the other what they want or accomplish a goal.

Overall, my hopes were really high coming away from the Cornwall’s previous releases. This book was a good read, but the ending kind of killed it for me. I still enjoy Cornwall’s ability to create fun and unique characters, and hope for additional stories based around some of Nicholas and Meg’s other friends.

Reviewed by Landra

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