Series: Masters of Seduction, #3
Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks Publication Date: January 3rd 2017
Pages: 352
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LOVE ISNβT ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS. Justin Reeve Netherwood, Earl of Kempthornβa.k.a. Thornβhas never cared much for his neighborβs daughter. But his twin brother, Gideon, befriended the wild, reckless, and wholly inappropriate Miss Olivia Lydall in youth, and two have been close ever since. So when Olivia finds herself in a state of romantic conflict and seeks out Gideon for advice, heβs only too pleased to oblige. Only problem: The man Olivia is speaking to is Thorn. And now itβs too late for him to tell Olivia the truthβ¦
Thorn always believed that Olivia was too smitten with Gideon for her own good. So whatβs the harm in steering her away from him? But Thornβs charade turns out to be anything but harmless once he begins to see Olivia for who she really is: A woman full of spirit and passionβ¦and someone he canβt live without. But how can Thorn claim Oliviaβs heart when their deepening connectionβand burning desireβis built on lies and deceit?
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
Alexandra Hawkins always provides guilty pleasure historical romances. The heroes are generally wicked and the heroines headstrong to stand up to that wicked hero. This book was no exception. The interactions between Thorn and Olivia were delightful. I couldn’t wait for the next interaction because they completely threw each other off-kilter. And let’s not talk about the sexual chemistry between these two. Even when they were arguing it was off the charts. But it wasn’t the H/h that made this a 4 star instead of a 5-star review. It was the sudden disappearance of Thorn’s twin, Gideon, and the ending.
I adored this book right up until the last page. I had questions about what was going on with Gideon, but I could overlook those as we made our way to Thorn and Olivia’s HEA. The ending did me in. It was kind of abrupt. Olivia and Thorn make-up, she asks when they are going to wed and he says when he finds Gideon. No one had been worried about Gideon before and his disappearance shouldn’t impact you getting off the grass and at least get closure with Olivia’s father. It was kind of “Hey, he already agreed and after all that’s happened we’re just going to do our own thing.” Given the events that had just happened, I would have liked the closure with her father…even if we weren’t getting their wedding at the end.
All that being said, if you are a lover of historical romances you must pick this book up. The banter and chemistry with these two characters more than makeup for my dislike of the last page.
Shannon
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