I loved, loved, loved this book so much. I could not put it down. I was so sad that it had to end. :( I felt the series as a whole was ok, that it was entertaining but not a keeper. In the past books I would relish every scene that Rochford and Francesca were together. They held my attention way more then the main characters of the other books. The love between the both of them was so believable and sweet. The only negative things I have to say is that I wish they would have been together more sooner. I would just wait on pins and needles for them to interact with eachother. Also, I would have liked to have had more narration from Rochford. Otherwise I give the book 5 stars! It will definetly be a keeper and well worth the wait!
I've always enjoyed CC's work. This was the like having the best piece of cake at the end of an excellent meal. This is the 4th of a quartet of very well written---characters, dialogue, romance/comedy/some intrigue. Emotional, yet not maudlin....This was my favorite of the 4, but truly I do recommend reading all 4 in this series--in order if possible, only so you can really enjoy how things wrap up in this last book.
Lady Francesca Haughston has had to help the ladies/gentlemen of the ton find their husbands/wives just to make ends meet since her husband has died and left her in debt. One person that she truly wants to help is Sinclair, Duke of Rochford to make up for breaking of their engagement when she was very young. Her and Sinclair have always remained friends but deep down she is still in love with him. The chemistry between the two is off the charts! Sinclair gives in and agrees to the plan (but only because he is going to propose to her). Her late husband's friend Galen Perkins comes back and tells Francesca that he actually owns her house and if she wanted to keep it, she needs to come up with the money to pay him off. Francesca starts to sell everything she can but still can't come up with the money. Her only hope is Sinclair!
Francesca is such a strong independent woman (my favorite heroine type). She has done everything she can to get by without help of others and not showing her stress. But she also knows when things are way over her head that she needs to ask for help.
Sinclair is the dashing hero who sweeps in to help. He is everything a knight in shining armor should be. He has always loved Francesca and until she confessed why she broke off the engagement he thought there was no way that she loved him.
Galen Perkins is the slimy foe who has come back after being exiled after he killed a man. He was Francesca's late husband's gambling buddy and he supposedly has a note that says her husband signed over the house to pay a gambling debt he owed to him. Really all he wants is for her to be his mistress so when his plan is foiled by Sinclair, he decides to kidnap Francesca.
Great story, loved the interaction between all the characters. Would recommend this to anyone that enjoys the historical romance genre...:)
