Review of Maya Banks's Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss

Title: Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss (Pregnancy & Passion #3)

Author: Maya Banks

Publisher: Harlequin

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: March 6, 2012

Rating: 3 out of 5

I am a big fan of Maya Banks. She’s an extremely versatile and prolific writer who publishes romance in numerous genres, including historical, romantic suspense, category, erotic, and contemporary romance. I’ve read most but not all of her books, and I’m always amazed that she’s able to write so many different stories that manage to draw the reader in so well. I particularly like her category romances, because she’s very adept at taking familiar tropes and making them fresh and new. I loved the first two books in her Pregnancy & Passion series for Harlequin’s Silhouette Desire line, so I was thrilled to see the third book available for review on NetGalley. Unfortunately, the hero and heroine just didn’t work for me this time, but the book is still better than many category romances I’ve read recently, so if you’re a fan of marriage of convenience stories, this might be a book you would enjoy.

Devon Carter is a successful businessman who works with his three closest friends constructing and managing resorts. When he’s approached by the owner of a large, family-owned company about merging their companies, the owner of the company suggests that they make marriage to his daughter, Ashley, a secret condition of the deal. Devon objects to keeping the conditions secret, but once he meets bubbly, beautiful Ashley, he has no other objections and agrees to pursue and marry her.

Ashley is bowled over by the sophisticated Devon, and she falls head over heels in love with him. She’s a successful businesswoman of 23, but her family is highly protective of the charming, effervescent young woman. When she discovers on their honeymoon that her father arranged her marriage to Devon as part of a business deal, she’s devastated but quickly determines to work to save her marriage. But the cost of being who Devon wants her to be is too high, and we’re left wondering if he’ll learn to appreciate the treasure he’s got before she slips away.

The main problem I had with Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss is Ashley. Frankly, I found her really annoying. Everyone loves Ashley, because she’s so charming and bubbly, but she’s also impetuous and flighty, traits that Devon points out to her early on (and isn’t THAT a charming habit you’d want in your husband). I was a little disturbed that she was so eager to change who she was in order to save her marriage, especially after her husband and father had deceived her. She does wise up later in the book and decide that she’s had enough, but I just didn’t understand why a successful businesswoman (and really, how successful could she be at 23?) would be willing to change her personality for someone else. However, I COULD find it believable that a 23 year old would do so, and that someone so sheltered would react as she did, which is why I didn’t completely discount her character.

I never could get a grasp on who Devon was, though. Frankly, he comes off as a bit of a jerk, especially since he criticizes the parts of Ashley’s personality that everyone seems to like the most. It left me wondering if he really did love her or only married her because of the merger. At one point we’re told that his family life growing up was bad and that he had to work his way to where he is now, but that was the extent of the background information about him.

There were sparks between Ashley and Devon, but because of the difference in their personalities – he’s straight-laced, she’s a free spirit – I kept wondering how successful their marriage would be. The resolution attempts to address this somewhat, but I felt it was a little too late to save the rest of the book.

Overall the book is well written, flows well, and definitely draws you in as a reader. I suspect that my annoyance with Ashley’s being so bubbly and perky says more about my personality (I’m cranky and hate perky people?) than it does about the book. As I stated earlier, if you like category romances that feature a marriage of convenience, I think you would enjoy Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss, because the focus of the book is how Ashley works to create a successful marriage. Unfortunately Devon doesn’t participate in the process until too late in the book for my taste.

Review of Nicola Cornick's Desired

Title: Desired (Scandalous Women of the Ton #5)

Author: Nicola Cornick

Publisher: HQN Books

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: November 15, 2011

Rating: 4 out of 5

Desired is the first Nicola Cornick book I’ve read, but it will not be the last! This was a delightful historical romance that I’ll be re-reading many times, and I can’t wait to catch up on her backlist. There’s plenty of angst to go around, but it’s leavened with a good dose of humor as well, and the mature hero and heroine are a breath of fresh air. Even though Desired is the fifth book in the Scandalous Women of the Ton series, you can read it without having read any of the other books, as this book definitely stands on its own.

Tess Darent, the Dowager Marchioness of Darent, is one of the more scandalous ladies of the ton, but what few realize is that she’s an ardent philanthropist and reformer. Unfortunately, in 1816 there are vicious government crack downs on reformers, who are seen as threatening the established order (and therefore the government). Tess is a gifted artist who has been publishing political cartoons anonymously while she’s leading a reform organization, but if caught she could be imprisoned for her actions.

As the novel begins, former American privateer Owen Purchase, now Viscount Rothbury, is aiding the government in its crackdown on the reformers. When he catches Tess at a brothel, he realizes that she’s involved in the movement, but only a few days after their meeting he’s shocked when she proposes marriage as an attempt to escape prosecution. After all, a husband cannot testify about a wife’s incriminating behavior, and Tess needs a husband’s protection to safeguard her reputation. Rothbury’s intrigued by this woman hiding her true nature behind a scandalous façade, but he’ll have to work hard to convince her to make theirs a true marriage rather than the marriage of convenience she proposes.

Although it took me a couple of chapters to get into the book, once I was about 15% in I was hooked. Owen is determined to court Tess, even though she’s equally determined to keep theirs a marriage in name only, and the courtship between the two is fun, sexy, and tender. We gradually learn along with Owen that Tess’ troubled second marriage left painful scars, but it’s really admirable how Tess has found ways to cope. Owen is a bit rough because of his American upbringing, but he and Tess deal together remarkably well, probably because of their plain-speaking.

I really liked Tess’ character, because despite her obvious pain over the events in her past and society’s determination to view her as scandalous, she finds ways to live a full and meaningful life. Her past is very painful, but I liked how Ms. Cornick dealt with it. Instead of Tess allowing herself to become a victim, she takes charge of her life in the best way she can and extends her aid to others in similar situations.

Unfortunately, the last part of the book felt extremely rushed, especially after Tess and Owen’s wedding. Owen learns that Tess’ second husband sexually and verbally abused her and decides that they should delay the wedding night until Tess can be comfortable with intimacy. So far, so good, but less than a day later Tess decides she’s ready, and they consummate the marriage. It felt a bit bizarre, to be honest. I found it a bit disturbing that she was so quick to jump into bed with Owen after having such visceral reactions to being touched at all by a man only a few hours earlier.

The conclusion also was a bit of a let-down, because it occurred so quickly. The resolution to Tess and Owen’s difficulties with the government in regards to her reformer activities felt a bit too deus ex machina. This is the only time in the novel when I wondered if I would have a different reaction if I’d read the other books in the series, because it seemed to come out of the blue, and the character who intervenes seems to have changed abruptly. I did wonder if perhaps his character was explored more in depth in prior books, and that’s why the ending felt so rushed.

Despite the rushed ending, this was an absolutely charming and delightful read. I’ll definitely be adding Ms. Cornick to my list of favorite historical romance authors, and I look forward to reading more of her books.