Heather (bookishheather) reviewed on 10/18/2010 + 21 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

Kasey Michaels latest was smart, sexy, refreshing, and fun. A forced engagement brings the hero (Justin) and heroine (Alina) together, and such two strong-willed characters create fireworks from their first meeting, and it only gets hotter. Their constant game of one-upmanship kept me glued to the page. Alinas unaware of the true reason for their engagement and her role as a pawn between warring factions in her country for a good portion of the opening section of the novel; such an unaware heroine can sometimes read as flighty, but this is not the case in this book. Her compassion and intelligence shine, and when she outshines her fiancé on their first encounter, shes begun the game. And Justins attitude his sense of ridiculousness, the lack of concern over his future, ring true. And then he meets an immovable object: Alina. And he cant help but be reminded that he feels. It isnt just their relationship with each other that kept me reading; the secondary characters such as Tatiana and the Prince Regent added such depth to their stories. Justins suppressed rage with the Prince Regent reminds me of Sebastian in Cruel Intentions- a man who has been made, and almost feels too much. It goes to show you how great writing can make a common plot refreshing. While this can be read as a standalone, it is part of a series beginning with the eBook prequel How to Woo a Spinster, and then the paperback title How to Tempt a Duke.

*Note: I was given a free digital galley for review, courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley.com. Any thoughts or opinions of this book are entirely my own. * **Review first posted at Goodreads.com**

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