Sandy M’s review of Met by Chance (Triple Countess Trilogy, Book 3) by Lynne Connolly
Historical romance released 5 Feb 08 by Samhain
I have not read Book 1 of this trilogy. I did read Book 2, and I believe in my review I said I didn’t feel the chemistry between the hero and the heroine as I normally did with this author’s other books. Well, I definitely felt it in this book.
Charles and Perdita are aware of one another from the moment they meet. She feels an attraction to him even though he’s dressed as a dandy and society ridicules him, but she realizes immediately there is more than meets the eye to this man. How right she is. However, Perdita does get a little more than she bargained for when she meets Charles’ daughter and sister, but she puts on a brave face and knows she has to take the good with the bad.
When Millicent, Charles’ sister, runs off with the man who was instrumental in Perdita’s perilous accident a year before, a story she’s told to practically no one and dared not tell Charles for what he might think of her, guilt takes over and she heads out on her own to try to put a stop to another potential accident waiting to happen. However, it’s Perdita herself who ends up on the receiving end of violence once again and it’s Charles who rescues her.
The ensuing chapters are my favorite part of the book. This couple inspire love and romance. Charles does his best to be a gentleman and protect Perdita’s reputation and her virtue, but she knows this is the man for her and being near him without touching him and loving him is torture. The rest of their time together before the action begins is pure pleasure as they satisfy themselves to the hilt.
So many things happen in this book that give it so many layers. I enjoyed Perdita’s confusion when Charles appears to be two different men. Charles’ daughter also causes quite a bit of havoc that causes rifts between them. There’s so much that happens between them to make their relationship multi-dimensional.
This is the Lynne Connolly I enjoy reading. I had no doubts at all that this hero and heroine belongs together. They talk to one another, they argue, they have their own doubts and vulnerabilities, they’re human, and I loved every minute with them.
Grade: A-
Book summary:
After a serious riding accident, Perdita Garland is back in society. Unfortunately the first man who catches her interest, Charles Dalton, Marquis of Petherbridge, turns out to be a popinjay with a spoiled daughter in tow. And his equally spoiled sister is flirting with the same fortune-hunting suitor who almost cost Perdita her life. What’s a lady to do? Warn the marquis of the danger, of course.
Charles knows that English society finds his manners and dress astonishing, but they cover a man broken by a disastrous marriage to a faithless wife. Now a widowed father determined not to be fooled again, he is nevertheless charmed by Perdita and the steely strength of will under her fragile exterior. If only the lady would mind her own business.
But when his impulsive sister elopes and kidnaps his daughter, he finds himself wishing he had listened to the little busybody. And Perdita, feeling partly responsible for the disaster, boldly sets out to help him put things right. Alone in a strange city with his lordship, plunged into danger, Perdita discovers there is more than meets the eye under the pampered skin of the marquis. There is strength, power…and passion beyond her wildest dreams.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
