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rjordan19's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
Cliffhanger: No (though the overlying story continues through the whole series – characters stories are established and grown in each book)
Epilogue: Yes, but it focuses on Harrison, the hero from the next book (Book 2 - The Truth about Cads and Dukes)
Format: audiobook checked out on Hoopla
Should I read in order?
You can read the prequel novella (Ever Yours, Annabelle) and you SHOULD because it’s one of my FAVORITE BOOKS….but not totally necessary.
Basic plot:
Lucien is determined to see revenge against Blackmore and sees the perfect opportunity in his sister, the Flower of Blackmore.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency time period (1816)
- London setting
- ruined heroine
- revenge – hero wants revenge against the heroine’s brother
- plenty of angst
- bit of an antihero
- instalust
- you’re okay with a hero that can be a bit of a controlling jerk
- possessive, jealous hero
- medium steam – I have this at 3 full scenes and concentrated in the first half of the book. I could have missed something in the latter half of the book (I don’t do as well taking notes on audio)
First line
As the heat of her bath soaked into Marissa Wyatt's Skin, a single thought drifted through her mind, the words like acid dripping a constant stream.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed a lot about this one but I read it directly after Ever Yours, Annabelle, which I really REALLY loved. Like, one of my favorite books ever probably, I adored it so much. So this one had a lot to live up to and there were a few things I wasn’t a huge fan of so it didn’t get quite to 5 stars for me.
Overall this has a lot I love in romance. Compromised heroine is my jam. Revenge plot between the hero and the heroine’s family? Yes, please. I loved the characters and ate up the angst.
I struggled a touch with how Lucien and Victoria feel into lust so quickly. I like a tension buildup and just felt in minimally here. But what really made me struggle with this one compared to the prequel novel, is how they continued to have sex without the emotional aspect. Victoria would be hurt by him, angry with him and still submit to him and it just felt missing a little something for me.
I also got a little annoyed at the end how Lucien totally shut down and Victoria had to put in most of the effort to salvaging the relationship. I think it fit with the plot and Lucien’s prior problems, but I think it just drug on a touch too long for me, personally.
Still, I adored a lot about this one and loved how angsty their ending was. Lots of emotional focus. Also now I am starting to see why everyone complained that Colin couldn’t really recover as a hero from his previous actions...
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts: Taken from audio, any mistakes are my own
When he spoke again, his voice was dark and faintly raspy.
“You are my wife. We will share one bed so I may have you whenever I desire.”
“But Lucien, I -”
“Victoria.”
“Yes?”
“Be quite, so I may kiss you.”
---
“I would do anything for you, Victoria,” he rasped. “For your happiness. Anything. I would swim until I drowned. Walk until no ground remained. You asked once if you matter to me at all? The answer is this. You are the only thing that matters.”
Content warnings:
- Grief over family multiple family member’s death
- Duel fought resulting in death
- Suicide of a pregnant side character due to ruination
- possible feelings of infidelity – heroine kisses the hero while shes engaged to someone else. He pushes her to do so and she’s not happy in the engagement
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes: I felt like there was more than this? I could have missed some.
Safe sex: I don’t believe so but they are married a monogamous
7% - kisses, breast play
33% - 🔥 fingering/oral for her
42% - kiss
44% - 🔥 her on top
58% - 🔥 kisses and fingering at the theater, then blow job (incomplete) and missionary-ish in the carriage
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
Cliffhanger: No (though the overlying story continues through the whole series – characters stories are established and grown in each book)
Epilogue: Yes, but it focuses on Harrison, the hero from the next book (Book 2 - The Truth about Cads and Dukes)
Format: audiobook checked out on Hoopla
Should I read in order?
You can read the prequel novella (Ever Yours, Annabelle) and you SHOULD because it’s one of my FAVORITE BOOKS….but not totally necessary.
Basic plot:
Lucien is determined to see revenge against Blackmore and sees the perfect opportunity in his sister, the Flower of Blackmore.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency time period (1816)
- London setting
- ruined heroine
- revenge – hero wants revenge against the heroine’s brother
- plenty of angst
- bit of an antihero
- instalust
- you’re okay with a hero that can be a bit of a controlling jerk
- possessive, jealous hero
- medium steam – I have this at 3 full scenes and concentrated in the first half of the book. I could have missed something in the latter half of the book (I don’t do as well taking notes on audio)
First line
As the heat of her bath soaked into Marissa Wyatt's Skin, a single thought drifted through her mind, the words like acid dripping a constant stream.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed a lot about this one but I read it directly after Ever Yours, Annabelle, which I really REALLY loved. Like, one of my favorite books ever probably, I adored it so much. So this one had a lot to live up to and there were a few things I wasn’t a huge fan of so it didn’t get quite to 5 stars for me.
Overall this has a lot I love in romance. Compromised heroine is my jam. Revenge plot between the hero and the heroine’s family? Yes, please. I loved the characters and ate up the angst.
I struggled a touch with how Lucien and Victoria feel into lust so quickly. I like a tension buildup and just felt in minimally here. But what really made me struggle with this one compared to the prequel novel, is how they continued to have sex without the emotional aspect. Victoria would be hurt by him, angry with him and still submit to him and it just felt missing a little something for me.
I also got a little annoyed at the end how Lucien totally shut down and Victoria had to put in most of the effort to salvaging the relationship. I think it fit with the plot and Lucien’s prior problems, but I think it just drug on a touch too long for me, personally.
Still, I adored a lot about this one and loved how angsty their ending was. Lots of emotional focus. Also now I am starting to see why everyone complained that Colin couldn’t really recover as a hero from his previous actions...
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts: Taken from audio, any mistakes are my own
When he spoke again, his voice was dark and faintly raspy.
“You are my wife. We will share one bed so I may have you whenever I desire.”
“But Lucien, I -”
“Victoria.”
“Yes?”
“Be quite, so I may kiss you.”
---
“I would do anything for you, Victoria,” he rasped. “For your happiness. Anything. I would swim until I drowned. Walk until no ground remained. You asked once if you matter to me at all? The answer is this. You are the only thing that matters.”
Content warnings:
- Grief over family multiple family member’s death
- Duel fought resulting in death
- Suicide of a pregnant side character due to ruination
- possible feelings of infidelity – heroine kisses the hero while shes engaged to someone else. He pushes her to do so and she’s not happy in the engagement
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes: I felt like there was more than this? I could have missed some.
Safe sex:
7% - kisses, breast play
33% - 🔥 fingering/oral for her
42% - kiss
44% - 🔥 her on top
58% - 🔥 kisses and fingering at the theater, then blow job (incomplete) and missionary-ish in the carriage
mshultz89's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pyiab's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
wearecompletelybooked's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
allomancersam's review against another edition
3.75
3.75 Stars
Enjoyed this one! Really strong start, but got maybe a little too mushy by the end. Sometimes I just want a villain
Enjoyed this one! Really strong start, but got maybe a little too mushy by the end. Sometimes I just want a villain
melireadsromance's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a lot darker than most of the romances I usually read. Lucien seduces Victoria into ruin in order to marry her and keep her from her brother forever. My problem with the book is mainly that the heroine is a shade too quick to give into sexual temptation, especially after she learns her new husband's intentions. Also, as I said before, I'm not used to reading romance novels that are so dark. Otherwise, Elisa Braden did a stunning job with pacing and writing well-rounded characters. I found myself invested in all the side characters by the end of the book. I will say that I hope all her work isn't as dark, but she sucked me in to this series quite effectively.
patrizia_anna's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
blounsbury's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vee615's review against another edition
4.0
If I had judged this book based off of the first 25 pages or so, it would either be only one or two stars or a DNF. However, I am so glad I got through those first 25 pages and that was were it improved immensely for me. This uses the classic romance trope of man wants revenge on a family so lets seduce the female of the family. Lucien's (I have yet to meet a Lucien in my life) brother is killed by a Duke so to get his revenge he seduces the Victoria the sister of said Duke ruining her chances of a decent match. But he was equally seduced so he decides to save her by marrying her BUT, cut her off completely from her brother. Victoria was slightly frustrating in her wavering between "I have a spine of steel.......actually I am meek and easily persuaded.
I liked that this book didn't fall too heavily in this particular tropes pitfalls. Lucien was still a very likable character even though he is flawed. But then again so is Victoria and that's what made it so believable.
I liked that this book didn't fall too heavily in this particular tropes pitfalls. Lucien was still a very likable character even though he is flawed. But then again so is Victoria and that's what made it so believable.