Good book, though I liked the first book, Wicked Intentions, better. In this book, we have Lady Hero, her fiancé, Thomas, and Thomas's brother, Griffin. The story opens at a ball where Hero's engagement to Thomas is to be announced. Hero stumbles upon a couple in a very compromising position, considering the lady's husband is close by and looking for her. I thoroughly enjoyed Hero's way of getting the man's attention, and that she helped the woman. The sparks flew between Hero and the man, as she read him the riot act for his behavior, and he refused to be the least bit ashamed of it. He, of course, cements his reputation with her by stealing a kiss. Both are horrified a short time later when she discovers that he's her fiancé's brother, and he discovers that she is going to marry his brother.
These three characters were very interesting. First, there was Lady Hero. She comes across at first as very prim and proper. She is quite proud of her reputation and works hard to protect it. Her match with Thomas has been arranged by her brother. Though she doesn't love him, there is respect that she hopes will grow into love. Behind the façade of "Lady Perfect", there is also a caring, kind, and stubborn woman. As one of the patronesses of the Foundling Home in St. Giles, she is currently in charge of supervising the building of a new residence for the orphans. Unbeknownst to her brother and fiancé, she regularly goes into St. Giles, an extremely dangerous place for a woman.
Then there is Thomas, Hero's fiancé. I'll say right out that I didn't care for him at all. He is a boring, stuck-up prig. Hero's biggest appeal for him is her brother, the duke, and that she always behaves with grace and dignity. He doesn't love her and has no intention of loving her. He'd been married before to a woman who betrayed his trust, and he won't risk that again. Thomas also spends a great deal of the book lusting after another woman, though we don't find out about their history until near the end. Thomas also does something that, to me, is so terrible that I could not forgive him. He deserved far worse than what he got. His relationship with Griffin is strained because of something that he believes happened several years earlier. I didn't like the way that Thomas treated Griffin, especially considering everything that Griffin was doing for the family.
For the most part, I really liked Griffin. He is charming, flirtatious, and there is more to him than expected from the initial meeting. Griffin has the reputation of being an unrepentant rake. He carouses at night and sleeps the day away. He is also the unsung hero of his family. When his father died, he left the family in dire financial straits, and Thomas is no better when it comes to managing money. So Griffin took over managing the family estates and used his own inheritance to start a gin distillery in London to make money as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, gin distilling is illegal. Griffin is also very protective of those he cares about. I loved his relationship with his mother and sisters. He's very sweet with them. That protectiveness extends to Hero.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Griffin and Hero. Though it started out as a contentious one, with him sneering at "Lady Perfect" and her looking down her nose at "Lord Shameless", there was no denying the attraction that was also there. Their confrontations continued when Griffin insisted that she no longer go into St. Giles alone. She would allow him to accompany her or he would rat her out to her brother and his. Hero was horrified when she found about his gin distillery and made it her mission to get him to stop. During their times together, Griffin tried very hard to break through Hero's prim exterior to the passionate woman underneath. The attraction between them built until it could no longer be denied and became explosive. I loved that Griffin accepted his feelings and knew what he wanted right away. Hero made me want to shake her, repeatedly and hard. She let expectations rule her actions longer than she should have. I ached for her when she did finally stand up for herself because of what both Thomas and her asshole brother said and did. I loved Griffin's reactions to Thomas and Wakefield. His heartfelt words to Wakefield showed the depth of his feelings for Hero. I loved his big moment at the end as everything came together.
A big part of the story was the gin distilling. There was Griffin's use of it to repair the family finances. He also is fighting off attacks from a rival distiller whose actions have deadly consequences for some of those on Griffin's team. Those attacks grow more intense as the book goes on. On the other side is Hero's vehement dislike for anything having to do with gin. She sees the effects on the people of St. Giles, especially the children. I loved seeing her efforts to turn Griffin away from his part in it. Then there is Wakefield. He blames gin for the death of their parents and has set his considerable influence on ending the presence of gin completely. It's obvious there will be trouble when he and Griffin collide. The way that confrontation was handled was clever, exciting, and had me on the edge of my seat until it was over.
The secondary characters were well done and had important parts in the story. Hero's brother, Wakefield, was a royal pain in the tail. He was such a stiff, judgmental man. I hated the way that he treated Hero after she tried to break her engagement. I expect that there will be a story for him, and hope to see a woman that will break that stick up his butt and bring him to his knees. I liked Hero's sister, Phoebe, and Griffin's sister, Meg. Both of them obviously love their siblings and know them quite well. Each of them has a talent for making those siblings see past the difficulties to what is possible. Though we didn't see much of her, I really liked Mrs. Tate. I loved how she stood up to Thomas and stuck to her principles.
These three characters were very interesting. First, there was Lady Hero. She comes across at first as very prim and proper. She is quite proud of her reputation and works hard to protect it. Her match with Thomas has been arranged by her brother. Though she doesn't love him, there is respect that she hopes will grow into love. Behind the façade of "Lady Perfect", there is also a caring, kind, and stubborn woman. As one of the patronesses of the Foundling Home in St. Giles, she is currently in charge of supervising the building of a new residence for the orphans. Unbeknownst to her brother and fiancé, she regularly goes into St. Giles, an extremely dangerous place for a woman.
Then there is Thomas, Hero's fiancé. I'll say right out that I didn't care for him at all. He is a boring, stuck-up prig. Hero's biggest appeal for him is her brother, the duke, and that she always behaves with grace and dignity. He doesn't love her and has no intention of loving her. He'd been married before to a woman who betrayed his trust, and he won't risk that again. Thomas also spends a great deal of the book lusting after another woman, though we don't find out about their history until near the end. Thomas also does something that, to me, is so terrible that I could not forgive him. He deserved far worse than what he got. His relationship with Griffin is strained because of something that he believes happened several years earlier. I didn't like the way that Thomas treated Griffin, especially considering everything that Griffin was doing for the family.
For the most part, I really liked Griffin. He is charming, flirtatious, and there is more to him than expected from the initial meeting. Griffin has the reputation of being an unrepentant rake. He carouses at night and sleeps the day away. He is also the unsung hero of his family. When his father died, he left the family in dire financial straits, and Thomas is no better when it comes to managing money. So Griffin took over managing the family estates and used his own inheritance to start a gin distillery in London to make money as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, gin distilling is illegal. Griffin is also very protective of those he cares about. I loved his relationship with his mother and sisters. He's very sweet with them. That protectiveness extends to Hero.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Griffin and Hero. Though it started out as a contentious one, with him sneering at "Lady Perfect" and her looking down her nose at "Lord Shameless", there was no denying the attraction that was also there. Their confrontations continued when Griffin insisted that she no longer go into St. Giles alone. She would allow him to accompany her or he would rat her out to her brother and his. Hero was horrified when she found about his gin distillery and made it her mission to get him to stop. During their times together, Griffin tried very hard to break through Hero's prim exterior to the passionate woman underneath. The attraction between them built until it could no longer be denied and became explosive. I loved that Griffin accepted his feelings and knew what he wanted right away. Hero made me want to shake her, repeatedly and hard. She let expectations rule her actions longer than she should have. I ached for her when she did finally stand up for herself because of what both Thomas and her asshole brother said and did. I loved Griffin's reactions to Thomas and Wakefield. His heartfelt words to Wakefield showed the depth of his feelings for Hero. I loved his big moment at the end as everything came together.
A big part of the story was the gin distilling. There was Griffin's use of it to repair the family finances. He also is fighting off attacks from a rival distiller whose actions have deadly consequences for some of those on Griffin's team. Those attacks grow more intense as the book goes on. On the other side is Hero's vehement dislike for anything having to do with gin. She sees the effects on the people of St. Giles, especially the children. I loved seeing her efforts to turn Griffin away from his part in it. Then there is Wakefield. He blames gin for the death of their parents and has set his considerable influence on ending the presence of gin completely. It's obvious there will be trouble when he and Griffin collide. The way that confrontation was handled was clever, exciting, and had me on the edge of my seat until it was over.
The secondary characters were well done and had important parts in the story. Hero's brother, Wakefield, was a royal pain in the tail. He was such a stiff, judgmental man. I hated the way that he treated Hero after she tried to break her engagement. I expect that there will be a story for him, and hope to see a woman that will break that stick up his butt and bring him to his knees. I liked Hero's sister, Phoebe, and Griffin's sister, Meg. Both of them obviously love their siblings and know them quite well. Each of them has a talent for making those siblings see past the difficulties to what is possible. Though we didn't see much of her, I really liked Mrs. Tate. I loved how she stood up to Thomas and stuck to her principles.
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