In USA TODAY bestselling author Eva Leigh’s new novel a notorious rake and an innocent debutante strike a scandalous bargain…
When Kieran Ransome’s latest antics result in a massive scandal, his father issues an ultimatum: find a respectable wife or inherit nothing. But as one of London’s most inveterate scoundrels, Kieran doesn’t know any ladies who fit the bill. Or does he?
Celeste Kilburn is a society darling, beloved by influential members of the ton. But keeping a spotless reputation leaves little room for adventure and she longs to escape her gilded cage, especially with her impending engagement to a stuffy earl. When Kieran—her older brother’s best friend and an irresistibly attractive rogue—begs for her help, Celeste makes a deal: she’ll introduce him to the right social circles if he’ll show her the scandalous side of London.
In between proper teas and garden parties, Kieran escorts Celeste—disguised as “Salome”—to rowdy gaming hells, wild fêtes, and sensual art salons. As they spend more time together, their initial attraction builds to a desperate desire that neither can ignore. But when someone discovers their midnight exploits, Celeste’s freedom and reputation are endangered, and Kieran must save the woman he loves… respectable or not.
Review:
I am so here for this series! Though it looks like Ms Leigh is going to make us wait until book 3 for Dom’s story (which had BETTER be a second chance romance!) I guess I’ll survive that long…
Kieran and Celeste’s story was absolutely delicious. I loved that the author was able to take a somewhat tried-and-true plot (the rake who gets the good girl to help him become more nice for society meanwhile they fall for each other and go on to an HEA, her making him good and him making her…well, you know) but somehow make it feel fresh and new. Making him a closet poet was a lovely touch (and OMG, I wanted to murder his oldest brother and parents every time they popped up on the page) and even though the trope can get kind of tired the author honestly made me believe that Kieran and Celeste really did fill in the missing bits for each other and deserve every second of their HEA. (And getting Celeste’s grumpy and over protective older brother to help out at the moment he was most needed? Icing on the already yummy cake!)
I am really looking forward to Finn’s story–it’s obvious from what we see of him here that there is so much more than society and most of his family sees him as (I’ll direct your attention back to the above paragraph, as I’m guessing I will feel exactly the same about the rest of Kieran and Finn’s family members in How the Wallflower was Won as I did here) and I loved the glimpse we got of his heroine here too. Maybe it will help make the wait for Dom’s story easier? Clearly, this is one of those series that I wish had been released like a Netflix series, all at once. When it’s this good, I hate waiting 😉
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.