TITLE: The Dangerous GentlemanAUTHOR: Julia London
STARTED: December 24, 2008
FINISHED: December 28, 2008
PAGES: 374
GENRE: Romance
FIRST SENTENCE: Phillip Rothembow was dead.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] It was strictly business as Adrian Spence claimed the woman his brother desired. A hasty wedding, and Lilliana Dashell was his—sweet revenge on the father who disinherited him and the brother who let it happen. Their wedding night is a revelation as passionate, innocent Lilliana ignites fires Adrian tries desperately to deny. By day he is a stranger. By night he is the lover of her dreams, and she a shameless wanton in his arms. But Adrian is determined that no woman will ever possess him. And Lilliana knows that her only hope of taming this very dangerous gentleman is to unlock his deepest mysteries and open his shuttered heart to love.
THOUGHTS: Holy Frijoles! A keeper! Can it be true?
I don't know if it was me, the book, or the Christmas season, but this story sure hit the spot. Something about London's romance called to me. I actually hated having to put this book down so I go eat the tasty nummies my grandmother made the entire holiday season. Seriously, I was half-ready to blow off the family I hadn't seen in years to go finish this sucker. Not good for me familial relationships but awesome for my reading mojo.
The heroine was neither simpering not TSTL. She was incredibly smart and emotionally strong, particularly when the Twist (that actually came out of nowhere but worked incredibly) occurred. Lilliana is the type of romance hero I can get behind. She is mature, rational, and not prone to whining or running off like an idiot. She is also not afraid to do what she wants but she had just enough "Sure, walk all over me, sir" to fit with the social era of the book.
Spence is an incredibly hero for a romance novel. He has enough emotional depth to be intersting, but not enough for me to want to hate him or find his story incredibly far-fetched. He acts like a man and when the Twist happens I completely believe how his character reacts. I also think that he is enough of an ass to fulfill the stupid male qoutient of the book but not overwhelm the story with his Alpha-maleness.
The one downside I saw was how The Big Misunderstanding resolved itself. I found it a tad hard believe - not because the resolution wouldn't happen that way, but more that it would not have been that long drawn out. And, once that bit was resolved I thought one of the overarching emotional plot lines was a bit rushed at the conclusion.
On the whole, I hearted this book. (Although I do wonder if it will retain keeper status after a second reading.)
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
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