Synopsis
from back cover: Demon
Cynster has seen love bring his brethren to their knees, and he's
vowed that he will not share their fate...until he spies Felicity
Parteger sneaking around his country estate. Demon remembers Felicity
as a mere chit of a girl, but now she stands before him – begging
for his help – all lush curves, sparkling eyes...and so temptingly
worthy of the love he's vowed never to surrender to any woman.
Felicity
knew Demon was one of the ton's most eligible bachelors and a rogue
of the worst sort, but he was the only one capable of getting her
friend out of trouble. Her fascination with him had nothing to do
with the power lurking just beneath his devil-may-care facade – or
with the desire that flares when he takes her in his arms. She knows
he'll never yield her the love she desperately seeks, but could a
marriage with passion alone – even with a man like Demon – be
enough?
Stats
for my copy: Mass market
paperback, Avon Books, 1999.
How
acquired: Book Mooch
My
thoughts: This
is definitely my favorite Cynsters book so far. I loved both Felicity
and Demon from the start. Demon, like his brother and his cousins
before him, has no need of a wife and no intention of losing his
heart to a woman. Felicity, like her own predecessors, is a strong
and independent woman who won't meekly bow down to any man and can
hold her own with the best of them. Demon owns a stable of
racehorses, and is quite impressed with Felicity's riding skills and
knowledge of horses. I think that was part of the charm of the book
for me in the beginning, all the horse talk. Yes, I was one of those
teenage girls who loved horses above all else, especially racehorses.
I even dreamed of being a jockey for a couple of years.
The
mystery this time around involves a race fixing syndicate that
Felicity and Demon begin investigating after Dillon, Felicity's
guardian's son, gets involved with them and then goes into hiding.
(It seems that orphaned heroines with either a guardian or a brother
is a theme with Laurens' heroines). To Dillon's continual
frustration, not to mention that of his right hand man, Gillies,
Felicity is constantly bolting off on her own and putting herself
either in danger or in socially inappropriate situations. The
syndicate plot kept my interest non-stop, and watching Demon and
Felicity fall for each other along the way was almost like a bonus.
Especially watching Demon. Once he realized he wanted to marry
Felicity, he was relentless. But like all the Cynster men, he was
also arrogant and overbearing and incapable of admitting his
feelings, other than the lusty ones, and Felicity was determined that
she would only marry him if and when he truly loved her.
Part
of the book is set in the relaxed country, where Demon and Felicity
are able to spend time riding together or driving into town without
her needing to be chaperoned, and part of it is set in the city,
where social proprieties must be observed, and I loved seeing the
contrast between those two worlds.
This
entry in the series was more fun than the previous books, so much so
that I didn't even notice – most of the time – the flowery
superfluous writing and the author's habit of never using five words
when ten are available.
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