From New York Times bestselling author Tracy Anne Warren, the first of a new trilogy about the most dashingly dangerous men in London.
Pay a call to the most seductive address in London and meet the Rakes of Cavendish Square...
Lord Leo Byron is bored with the aristocratic company he keeps; he needs a distraction, preferably in the form of a beautiful new female companion. So when he sets eyes on fascinating and scandalous divorcée Lady Thalia Lennox, he’s determined to make her intimate acquaintance. But the spirited woman seems to have no intention of accepting his advances no matter how much he chases—or how hard he falls...
Once a darling of Society, Thalia Lennox now lives on its fringes. The cruel lies that gave her a notoriously wild reputation have also left her with a broken heart and led to a solemn vow to swear off men. Still, Leo Byron’s bold overtures are deliciously tempting, and, for the first time, she finds herself wondering whether it just might be worth the risk to let the attractive rake into her life—and her bed...
He’d wanted her before. Now he craved her with a hunger that bordered on obsession.
I guess this was my first older woman, younger man romance even though the heroine was 31 years old and the hero was 25. I guess the closer the woman is to my own age the easier it is to read about, because I'll be honest I normally run in the other direction when I see this trope.
Now back to the story. While this book may have started off with some very entertaining banter between Thalia and Leopold including some hilarious pranks done by Thalia and steamy moments compliments of Lord Leopold, this was a very sad book. But in a good way since I only read books where good conquers evil.
Thalia lives apart from the ton, ever since her divorce she's been seen as a pariah and the gossip rags only make her situation worse by publishing false accounts of her exploits with all the men she supposedly encounters. Leopold feeling bored and needing a new mistress sets his sights on Lady Thalia, thinking her the perfect candidate because of age and experience. But what looked like an easy wooing of the divorcee turns out to be far from it. And as Leopold gets to know Thalia he begins to think that maybe he doesn't know Thalia as well as he thought he did.
"One can never be too self-assured. It’s rather like having money, I have found."
Like I said, this was actually quite a sad book. What Thalia went through because of her divorce, how she was treated and how no one really wanted to know her side of the story was heartbreaking. Everyone took her ex-husbands word, including the law. As much as I love the regency era I would never give up the freedom I have as a woman which is something Thalia never had.
I loved how transparent Leopold was, I had thought he would he resistant to his growing feelings for Thalia because of her place in society but I was so wrong. Leopold's love and devotion to Thalia made this book so much better than it already was. And reading about Thalia slowly opening up and letting go of her old fear because that's what happens when you realise that not all men are like Lord Kemp truly fed the romantic in me.
This is a book I would strongly recommend, because unlike my usual reads the characters are far from perfect and while it has the perfect ending, it is far from conventional.
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