Breathless
Beverly Jenkins     
December 2021 Releases

Contemporary
Historical
Mystery

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Genre: Historical Romance
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Book:

A strong-willed beauty finds herself in the arms of the handsome drifter from her past, in this second book in the sizzling series set in the Old West, from USA Today Bestselling Author Beverly Jenkins

As manager of one of the finest hotels in Arizona Territory, Portia Carmichael has respect and stability—qualities sorely missing from her harsh childhood. She refuses to jeopardize that by hitching herself to the wrong man. Suitors are plentiful, but none of them has ever looked quite as tempting as the family friend who just rode into town…and none has looked at her with such intensity and heat.

Duchess. That’s the nickname Kent Randolph gave Portia when she was a young girl. Now she’s a stunning, intelligent woman—and Kent has learned his share of hard lessons. After drifting through the West, he’s learned the value of a place to settle down, and in Portia’s arms he’s found that and more. But convincing her to trust him with her heart, not just her passion, will be the greatest challenge he’s known—and one he intends to win…

Portia Carmichael is holding onto a lot of the pain from her past. She has a lot to prove to herself and others. She doesn’t want to be viewed as just the daughter of a whore or labeled as a female who should be married with babies. She is strong-willed, vibrant and full of hidden passion. She has dreams and goals of owning her own business.

Kent Randolph is just the kind of man to bring all of that out in her. He is kind and gentle. He teases her a lot. He draws her out her wild side. I enjoyed the flirting and constant coaxing to get her to experience passion and true love.

Kent had a hard life as well. There are some experiences from his youth that follow him around. He is loyal and hardworking. He just wants a fresh start and when he learns that his friend Rhine can help him, he takes full advantage of this.

It has been years since Kent seen little Portia but she is all grown up. He can appreciate her beauty and brains. He keeps his distance out of respect for Rhine but he can’t fight the attraction. He handles the situation with class.

Beverly Jenkins delivers the perfect blend of chemistry and heat between Portia and Kent. The build-up is a slow burn that is enjoyable. My only complaint is that there was no angst or drama. Everything works so well and is so predictable.

It is nice to see what happened with Eddy and Rhine. They are still lovable and cute. They've built a nice life for Portia and Regan. There are some side romances that add to the story.

I loved Regan. She is such a sassy pistol. She needs a man who can appreciate all that she brings and stoke her fire. I hope her situation works out and I look forward to closing out the trilogy with her story.

If you are looking for a sweet, well-written historical romance, then Breathless is the perfect book for you.

~ Samantha