A lady's lessons…
…in temptation!
When her almost fiancé proposes to someone else, Lady
Eleanor is suddenly the talk of the ton! With her family in financial dire
straits, Eleanor must marry before the end of the Season. Secret lessons with
Charles, the dashing, infuriating -- and devastatingly charming -- Duke of
Somersville, should help Eleanor shake off her shameful Ice Queen moniker. But
how can she tempt a prospective husband when it's the duke who ignites her
desire?
Good book. Eleanor is in a predicament. The man who
courted her suddenly proposed to another woman, and the gossip papers gave her
the name "Ice Queen". Raised by her father to believe that showing
emotion is a sign of weakness, Eleanor must find a way to overcome that
training and find a husband. With the family at the end of their financial rope,
Eleanor's mother sends her to a courtesan for lessons in flirting and how to
show warmth in her interactions.
Charles recently inherited the title. He struggled all
his life to earn his father's love and approval, even taking up his father's
search for antiquities. Charles returned to England after his father's death, wracked
with guilt over his failure to find the Couer de Feu, a legendary ruby. All he
needs to do is find the right journal with the information. Unfortunately, some
of those journals belong to the Murrays, the family of his father's greatest
enemy.
When Charles returned to London, he found that his
childhood friend Lottie, a vicar's daughter, had become a courtesan. When she
begged for his help so that she could change her life, he couldn't say no. Imagine
his surprise when she asked him to assist her in training Eleanor, one of the
Murray family members. If he helps her, perhaps he can get his hands on those journals.
I enjoyed seeing the development of the relationship
between Eleanor and Charles. The attraction sparks between them from the
beginning, but both try to resist. Eleanor must marry by the end of the Season
to save her family. Charles believes that marriage is not for him, having seen
what his father's travels did to his parents' marriage. Their attraction
awakened the passion hidden beneath Eleanor's icy shell, and Charles soon found
it difficult to resist the woman revealed. I loved seeing the changes in Eleanor
as she learned to love the passion she feels. She also realizes that her heart
is in trouble, as that passion focuses on a man who refuses to marry. Charles
is a harder nut to crack, as his fixation on finding the ruby overrules his
growing feelings for Eleanor. It isn't until he nearly loses her to another
that he realizes that his priorities have changed, and a hilarious elopement scene
follows.
When Eleanor finds out about Charles's quest for the ruby
and need for the journals, she makes an interesting bargain with him. I enjoyed
seeing them work together to uncover the secret. An unexpected twist brings
disturbing revelations about their fathers' methods. Charles and Eleanor also
learn that they aren't the only ones looking for the ruby. An intense confrontation
with an unexpected enemy puts both of them in danger. I was on the edge of my
seat until it was all over. The ending was terrific. I loved the solution Eleanor
provided for Charles's dilemma, and the epilogue was fantastic.
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