Arthur Alexander DeWolf, the eighth Duke of Westlake, lacks for nothing in life . . . except a woman who will stir his blood for longer than one night. Until fate steps in on his morning ride and he stumbles across Lily St. Aubin, Countess of Worthington.
A Desperate Young Woman . . .
It is on the worst day of her life that Lily meets the imperious duke. Helpless and unable to resist, she has no choice but to trust that this dangerously handsome man will protect her and newborn son. But, as trust begins to grow between them, danger lurks ever closer . . . danger that could destroy Lily. And their newfound love.
I was so excited to see that Lavinia Kent had a new book out and I had to grab it and I'm sure glad I did! This was a lovely story of a young woman, Lily is only eighteen but she seems much older due to horrible first marriage, finding it within herself to truly love and trust in another man. The abuse she suffered from her first husband makes this very hard and Arthur is cold and haughty who knows his duty and he feels it is his job to protect Lily and her newborn son and once he makes up his mind to do something, it is done. But even as his feelings grow for Lily (and he shows more of his softer side), her tentative nature proves to be troublesome and as she reveals more of her past, he struggles with how to show her his true desires without scarring her more. Also thrown into the mix is a serious of accidents that soon prove to be attempts on her life and Arthur must find a way to protect her, as he will not lose her now. This was a very moving tale of love and forgiveness, heartbreak and hope. Watching Lily and Arthur fall in love was a slow ride that could have moved a bit faster if they just would have talked with each other openly but based on Lily's past, I felt it worked for this story. I admired Arthur and his devotion to this slip of a lady that stumbled into his life and his acceptance of her son as his own. Lily had so much to overcome and I thought it was handled well. When she finally told Arthur the whole truth, it was the right time. A well written (though it has some missing punctuation at times, not that it deterred for the story for me) lovely, heartbreaking romance that will make you smile, laugh and tear up. Looks to be the start of a grand new series! 4 stars
Arthur sounds like a very sensitive man to "work" slowly to gain Lily's trust. I like how the reader experiences lots of emotions as they read the novel for those are the stages one must go through to heal. The author obviously "nailed it."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review, Lisa!
Yes, Arthur comes across gruff but underneath he was very caring which was so nice to read!
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