Sorcha Mowbray

The Review
Brennan Whitling is a successful textile merchant but a lonely man. When he spots Serena, he is instantly attracted to her and eventually works up the courage to speak with her. Serena Freemont works at The Market, but when Brennan takes an interest in her and bumps into her on the streets of Mayfair, she doesn’t want to reveal her true identity for fear he will walk away.

After one night of fiery passion, Serena disappears and Brennan is left with questions. When he stumbles upon her in the most unlikely place, he is furious that she lied to him, but is determined to make her admit her feelings and marry him!

Sometimes you just need a quick, cleansing read between hefty novels and this one fit the bill! It was an easy, steamy read that took me only an hour or two, but was enough time to build the story without falling flat on convincing me of the love. Ms. Mowbray's steam is some of my favorite and I always fall back to her as I know I will have a great read!

Tropes
Historical Romance, Gamma Hero, Self-Made Hero, Non-Titled Hero, Experienced Heroine, Mistress Heroine, Working Heroine, Desk Steam, House of Ill Repute/Brothel Steam, Class Difference, Courtesan Romance, Pretty Woman Trope, Hidden Identity… (altro)

Summary
Engaged to be married but left alone in the middle of night, Julia Wallthrope parents forced her to marry an older man who was unkind to her. After her husband died, she fled to the Far East to escape her lustful stepson and was a lover to a powerful Sheik.. But 10 years later she returns to London and tries to stir up scandal so her stepson will not want to marry her anymore. Wolf and Julia run into each other and, through some forceful efforts on Wolfs part, he offers to help fake an engagement to ward of Lord Wallthropes advances. But pretending the engagement leads to old feelings coming to the surface.

Tropes: Titled Hero, Rake Hero, Alpha Hero, Second Chance, Fake relationship, Jilted Bride, Kidnapped, Trauma, Friends to Lovers, Widow, illegitimate heir

The Plot : My heart just broke for Julia and what she had to endure after Wolf left her. I really felt the sense of abandon she must have felt from Wolf and her parents when she had to marry Lord Wallthrope. The telling of those past events really set the stage for the struggle Julia had when faced with Wolf again and the charge of emotions they both felt. I thought it was laid out really well to help convey those intense feelings of love, abandonment, doubt, fear and uncertainty they both felt.

The Heroine : Lady Julia Wallthorpe has been to hell and back; Wolf broke her heart when he let her to marry the old Lord Wallthrope who was abusive. Because of that, she is fiercely independent and refuses to remarry and be at the mercy of a man ever again. Can’t blame her! It takes sometime and healing for her to realize Wolf is different.

The Hero : Viscount Wolfington knows he abandoned Julia when they were younger, but, threatened with the exposure of his illegitimacy, he had to leave her. He has always loved her and is determined to do anything to keep her safe this time. He is a good man at heart and proves it to Julia throughout the book.

The Steam : Lots and lots of steamy scenes!

Stand Out Moment : When Julia finally opens up to Wolf about her past marriage and her feelings about it all.

Who Would Like This : Anyone who likes hot, steamy scenes with lots of romantic wooing from the Hero!

Final Thoughts : This was probably my favorite of the series so far. The plot was interesting with several twists to help it along, but I also really felt the emotional tension between Wolf and Julia.… (altro)

The second book in Ms. Mowbray's Lustful Lords series once again gives us erotic romance in a historical (Victorian) setting, and OMG, have a fan handy for the many, many steamy scenes between Cooper and Emily! The jewel thief/wallflower who Cooper has inadvertently selected for his "safe" society wife completely throws a wrench into his future plans when he learns what she really does at the many society balls she attends. Of course, by that time he's already in too deep and there's pretty much only one outcome for him--to fall in love with his future wife.

Though it was obvious that both Emily and Cooper had major trust issues to deal with before they could truly have the kind of relationship they soon decided they wanted, it did seem as if they spent a bit too much time covering the same "I'm not sure I can trust you" ground together. I spent a lot of time urging the two of them to just talk to each other, already! Emily's brother's gambling "cure" also seemed to be awfully quick and painless--I'm hoping he'll get a book of his own at some point so we can see the actual struggle he must have gone through in order for things to have gotten so bad in the first place, and how difficult turning things around was for him. He's not my favorite character, but I am interested to see how Ms. Mowbray could go about turning him into a hero.

Taming His Hellion Countess works as a standalone, if you haven't yet read the first book in the series ( His Hand-Me-Down Countess ) you should do just fine--if you have, though, Stone and Theo play a fun role here and it was fun to see them again, now settled and comfortable in their relationship.

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.… (altro)