Harold Rayburn is about to be taken for the ride of his life…
After having his proposal rejected by a beautiful but flighty woman, Harry vows he is done with unpredictable and impetuous women for good. Until beautiful and fierce Leannah Wakefield barrels into his life, inadvertently kidnapping him while on a wild carriage ride and leaving him all too eager to get back in the saddle…
Leannah would sacrifice everything to protect her family. So upon hearing of her sister’s intended elopement, she races across London to stop the ill-advised ceremony before it can happen. However, when her mad journey picks her up an unlikely stowaway, one who ignites her desire beyond all reason, she’s the one who ends up hastily wedding a handsome and secretive stranger.
But as Leannah and Harry immediately encounter opposition, jealousy, and suspicion of their hurried nuptials, they begin to doubt that their unquenchable passion can truly lead to a happy marriage—especially when both the bride and groom have devastating secrets to hide…
I loved the book until I hit the halfway point!
One of my biggest peeves is the lack of communication between the main H/h. If that’s the predominant reason for conflict you can count me out. Wilde sets me up to fall in love with these characters.
We have Harry Rayburn, our hero, who’s been spurned from a potential fiancée. He’s no well-to-do lord. I liked him. He’s got an inherent sense of honor and does a fine job of standing up for what’s right and the woman he’s falling love with. So, why in the hell did he let circumstantial assumption derail all his good intentions? I don’t know, but I didn’t like it.
Our heroine, Leannah Wakefield, is a tough, strong heroine. Bless Wilde, for giving me one of those. She’s used to handling things herself, used to losing more often than winning. Out of the two I loved Leannah, up until she chose to remain silent about certain things over communicating.
Now, I will say Wilde has two points in her favor. She creates characters, good and bad, you want to hug or bash in the head. I was thoroughly engaged, even with a small secondary plot working against them. Unlike other books I’ve read, Wilde creates a secondary plot that doesn’t overshadow the leads but plays a direct role in their relationship. Also, Wilde gave me a pretty radical ending to a historical romance. Sure H/h finally get through everything end up together, but the process in which they arrive there isn’t typical.
Now when we pass the midway point of the story things began to unravel for me. People withholding information, absence of communication, and in general characters allowing fear to stop them from speaking their minds. In short, I began to see some issues and was waiting for resolutions, at least a few, to take place. Instead the resolution is literally not based on any time of change by the characters, no arc, but by a situation.
So, not only do we have two people who end up together because of an accidental abduction they don’t fully arc in my opinion to become more then what they were in the beginning of the book.
Overall, I’m interested in seeing more from this author. I like the unconventional way she writes a story, but I want to see more growth from the characters.
Reviewed by Landra
Heat Level: Hot
