I haven’t read much historical romance lately, and after reading this one I may not again for awhile. I’d forgotten how formulaic a lot of these books are now, especially by authors that churn out several in a short time. I really enjoyed Eva Leigh’s earlier books in this genre, but this one was rather predictable. The basic plot is that three male friends, (who are, of course, hedonistic bachelors who have no real desire to settle down) must find suitable respectable women to marry or there will be no more funds from the parents to maintain their usual lifestyles. The book begins with one of the three, Dom Kilburn, escaping his own wedding, since he felt he wasn’t good enough for his fiancée – he is aided in this escape by his groomsmen Kieran and Finn Ransome. This results in a huge scandal and sets in motion the ultimatum from their parents to marry respectably.
I thought originally the book might focus on Dom, but the bachelor in question here is Kieran (clearly I didn’t remember what the book blurb had outlined!). The only respectable woman that he knows is Dom’s sister, Celeste. She is known for her spotless reputation, and genteel nature. Their family had come from humble beginnings, and while they are extremely wealthy now, there is a lot of responsibility on her shoulders to maintain their place in society. She can never put a foot wrong, or do anything that will bring shame to her family, even though she longs to break free and do something scandalous. Well, she gets her opportunity when Kieran approaches her to aid him in changing his image and introducing him to women that might fit the bill for a wife. She decides to help him, but he has to provide an opposite service for her – take her out at night to show her the dark side, so to speak.
And so it begins…Kieran escorts her to polite garden shows, teas and musicales to polish his image, while at night she slips out to meet him in disguise as Salome so that he can take her to gambling hells, orgiastic parties and romps at the theatre after hours. How she manages to escape her house so easily is sort of a mystery, but with the help of her maid Dolly, she manages to do so. The two of them are finding that they enjoy being together, and Celeste’s sexual awakening takes them into the danger zone and their feelings begin to burn red hot. The only problem is that she is supposed to marry a stuffy earl – will she be able to have her fun with Kieran and then settle down? Then suddenly things start to unravel when someone threatens to expose her secret escapades – will she have to sacrifice her happiness to save her family’s good name, or give in to temptation and have the man of her erotic dreams as her husband? Decisions, decisions…
I grew to like Kieran, despite his being over the top handsome, charming and rakish. He had a softer side to him, and I liked his relationship with his brother Finn. Celeste was the usual heroine, not one that I will be remembering for long. The sexy bits are steamy, but overall the book isn’t anything new or different.