This was a very fun, easy read for me and I am very glad that I have the next two books handy! The heroine of this book, Lady Ciara Sheffield, is a scientist and is accused of poisoning her late husband. She has formally been cleared of the charges but his evil family is desperate for the money that her son, Peregrine (!!! thankfully called Perry) will receive. At first, they just want to have custody of him and set about to prove that Ciara is an unfit mother. But as the story progresses, more sinister actions appear.
Enter our rake hell, the Earl of Hadley, Lucas. His uncle, who has been his guardian since he was a boy, needs the help of the lovely Ciara and Lucas grudgingly sets out to ask for her help. When the two meet, the sparks fly! He has climbed into her window as she has refused to see him, as he has quite the scandalous past and wants nothing to do with him. As he explains the purpose and she sees what it is his uncle has found, she agrees to help him and they strike up a bargain of sorts. She needs to clear her name with the ton and get away from her despicable in laws and Lucas agrees to escort her to some parties and strike up a fake engagement. We all know how those usually go.... :)
I really enjoyed watching Lucas transform from his devil may care attitude into a man who grows to love a wonderful woman and her son. I also liked that even though Ciara is a scientist and her discoveries are a large part of the story, it didn't overwhelm me. I am not a huge science fan and I did not find myself skimming over anything dull. Their is a lovely side story between a fellow member of her Circle of Sin, what five woman scientists call themselves, and Lucas' uncle that was very sweet. There was also just a taste of what we can accept in the next book,
To Surrender To A Rogue, that should make that a very fun, sexy read as well! I picked this book up awhile ago but bumped it up my list to read as I won a firstreads copy from goodreads.com of the third book
To Tempt a Rake and am glad I did! 4 stars
Kate Woodbridge had a very unusual childhood for a granddaughter of a duke. She traveled the world with her parents acquiring expertise in botany and has no real claim for all the traditional English customs. But a promise to her dying parents forces her to return to London and try to build a relationship with the stogy old duke. Thankfully she meets up with the other intellectual ladies in the 'Circle of Sin' and has somewhere where she feels like she belongs but she still does not tell the ladies all her shameful secrets of her past.
Lud, what another great book from Cara Elliott (sorry couldn't resist with the lud, just cracks me up reading in in her books along with la!). This book picks right up were To Sin With A Scoundrel leaves off and while not necessary to read that one first, you do get to meet our hero and heroine for the first time there and see the sparks fly! Lady Alessandra della Giamatti is not at all amused when she is told that Lord James Pierson tied her daughter to a tree to protect her. She is, of course, very upset and says some very spirited things to Jack, along with her daughter and the two of them are dismayed to find themselves both working at an excavation site in Bath. Alessandra takes her scholarship work very seriously and is not happy that some pampered lord is allowed on the site. But when Jacks true talent as an artist emerge, she has to retreat her rude comments as Jack proves to be an excellent addition to the team.
This was a very fun, easy read for me and I am very glad that I have the next two books handy! The heroine of this book, Lady Ciara Sheffield, is a scientist and is accused of poisoning her late husband. She has formally been cleared of the charges but his evil family is desperate for the money that her son, Peregrine (!!! thankfully called Perry) will receive. At first, they just want to have custody of him and set about to prove that Ciara is an unfit mother. But as the story progresses, more sinister actions appear.