This is the third book in the Daring Hearts series, and for a change I actually have read the first two books in the series. The summary on Amazon is as follows:
For most her life, Lady Talia Hall has been dreaming of the day James Forester will take her in his arms and kiss her with unrestrained passion. Tired of waiting, Talia decides to take drastic measures to make James see her as more than his best friend’s little sister. But her bold plan goes awry when the scoundrel informs her that he is leaving London-and her-for a life of adventure traveling the world. Crushed, Talia throws herself into her reform work and vows never again to let her foolish heart get the better of her.
But even halfway across the world, James can’t stop thinking of the beautiful Talia, her bold declaration . . . or her brazen kiss. And when James learns that Talia’s reform work has thrown her into the path of danger and scandal, nothing can keep him from returning to London. But a broken heart is not easily put back together, and old habits die hard. Talia and James must learn that trusting in true love is the greatest adventure of all…
So James, Baron Castleford, is a friend of Talia’s brothers, and of course doesn’t realize that Talia has grown up until she surprises him with a kiss. He isn’t prepared for that, and furthermore, would never dream of getting involved with the sister of his friends. On his adventurous tour, he bumps into her oldest brother, who has heard that Talia is doing charity work, and putting herself into dangerous situations. He asks James to return to London to keep an eye on her, and keep her safe.
This puts the two of them into close contact again, and the feelings that Talia thought she’d buried come roaring back to life. She tries to convince herself that she doesn’t care about him, and wants to hang onto a measure of independence she’s gained through her involvement in the ragged schools. There’s a side story with one of the boys she’s helped and a villain, but overall, it’s a basic love story.
It wasn’t a bad book, parts of it dragged a little, and it wasn’t as steamy as some others I’ve read lately. Still, it was nice to see James realize his feelings for Talia were true, and he needed her in his life, instead of running away to tour the world as he normally would. In the end, he’s always had something of hers with him…her heart.
