Her heart longs for justice, but her body clamors for sin.

Once the darling of high society, Mazie Chetwyn knows firsthand how quickly the rich and powerful turn their backs on the less fortunate. Orphaned, penniless and determined to defy their ruthless whims, she joins forces with a local highwayman who steals from the rich to give to the poor.

Then the pawn broker snitches, and Mazie is captured by the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. A man who is far too handsome, far too observant…and surely as corrupt as his father once was.

Sensible, rule-driven Trent Carthwick, twelfth Earl of Radford, is certain the threat of the gallows will prompt the villagers’ beloved Angel of Kindness to reveal the highwayman’s identity. But his bewitching captive volunteers nothing—except a sultry, bewildering kiss.

And so the games begin. Trent feints, Mazie parries. He threatens, she pretends nonchalance. He cajoles, she rebuffs. Thwarted at every turn, Trent probes deep into her one vulnerability—her past. There he finds the leverage he needs and a searing truth that challenges all he believes about right and wrong. 

Review

For Trent Carthwick, Earl of Radford, justice and the rules of law have always come before emotions. He’s steadfast in his duty to parliament, and believes in truth and honor above all. So the presence of a highwayman running rampant through his village and preying on friends of his father is the last thing he wants to malign his character. The one person who can reveal the highwayman is a prisoner… err, guest in his home.  Although it will take more than threats to loosen the lips of this beguiling beauty, Mazie Chetwyn, and Trent’s finding it hard not to fall into a trap.

Leigh Lavalle’s debut is delicious! There’s something to be said for a story of a woman on the run and an Earl crossing paths. Although, Mazie isn’t everything she appears to be and neither is Trent. From the get go, I was submerged in a story that had me turning the page’s with an urge to know more. The most captivating part is the emotions that plague and tie Trent and Mazie together. They’re both trying to protect something, and neither of them can see a solution that comes out in their favor. Add in a growing attraction, that they can’t expel, and it’s plain to see disaster sits on the horizon.

Trent is arrogant, and devoted to the rules. He’s determined to get his way—regardless of the cost, except what way that is he isn’t sure, as every turn and twist in discovering the highwayman opens the floodgates to problems he didn’t know he had. Mazie is running from previous abandonment, and desires to be free of anyone’s control. She refuses to yield to Trent’s requests for her honesty, hoping instead to lead him on a merry chase while she plots her escape. 

As the days tick away Trent discovers more about Mazie, bringing a wave of additional attraction and sympathy to this wayward woman. Mazie on the other hand is shocked to discover that each assumption she has towards Trent is somewhat unfounded, though her hesitations toward disclosure remain. As the blurb describes it’s a constant battle of passion, wit, and deflecting the truth from one another as Mazie and Trent play out their dangerous dance.

My one caveat to this story is completely personal; the villains didn’t get their just reward! Oh, not that the villains weren’t evil. They were, despicably so. I just felt they didn’t receive the punishment they deserved. It made me angry to see Trent, a man so influenced by justice, refusing to exact more of a punishment. If it was possible, I’m not sure, but it would’ve been nice.

I will say Lavalle kept me on my toes, and created a real sense of doubt. I didn’t think the characters would get an HEA. I didn’t believe that enough growth had occurred, when in reality the growth was there. You just get the deliverance at the right time and right place! Overall, if you like a story where characters must question their own beliefs, and evaluate their scruples then this book is one to read. It’s a love story that reminds me of how love can form between different people, and even when it makes you question the very ideals you hold dear.

Reviewed by Landra

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