Above painting: Louis Jean Francois - Mars and Venus an Allegory of Peace

Pages

***All photos accompanying posts are either owned by the author of said post or are in the public domain -- NOT the property of History Undressed. If you'd like to obtain permission to use a picture from a post, please contact the author of the post.***

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Historical Romance Review: Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Heather Grothaus

Never Seduce a Scoundrel
Kensington Zebra
ISBN-13: 978-1420112436


ABOUT THE BOOK

Even a cloistered young heiress in medieval England has her reckless moments. . .

Lord Oliver Bellecote has a way of bringing out the vixen in any woman. Any woman, that is, but Cecily Foxe, an innocent flower destined for the abbey who seems utterly immune to his charms. Or so he believes until the night they accidentally meet in the pagan ruins of Foxe Ring, and Oliver discovers that "Saint Cecily" is actually as tempting as sin. . .

Cecily would like nothing more than to forget her night of heated passion with the dangerously handsome Lord Bellecote. But denial proves quite impossible when she is charged with tending his every need during his stay at Fallstowe Castle. For only in his arms does she feel truly alive, despite the deadly secrets that surround his past--and threaten their tenuous future. . .


MY REVIEW

I literally read this book in a day. Never Seduce a Scoundrel, is a medieval romance novel that takes place in England (haven't read one of those in a long time!), and it was jam-packed with action, conflict, sensuality. I've never read a book by Ms. Grothaus before, and I am now a fan! Can't wait for the next book in this series to release.

There was a subtle humor laced into the book that had me snickering as I read--such as Cecily's thoughts on people, people being people--ie being clumsy! It was fantastic how she brought these characters to life. They were "real" people, jumping right off the page and acting out the scenes before my eyes. They were also flawed. All of them had some sort of issue to overcome, and I enjoyed their journeys to a fulfilling end.

But most of all, I enjoyed the interaction between the characters and following the character's along their paths to finding out who they are. The novel is very character driven. There is a bit of a mystery to it as well. Poor Oliver and Cecily. I hate to say that I revel in novels that get the h/h together with a bang (lol) in the beginning and them they are forced apart, trying to understand their feelings for one another, and also figure themselves out before they can finally be together in the end. Its painful, but oh-so-wonderful when they finally reach the HEA.

As far as historical details, the author painted an accurate picture, and did so subtly, so I could mostly fill in the blanks with my own imagination.

A definite recommended read!



No comments: