Finn’s review of Explosive by Charlotte Mede
Historical Romance released from Brava 1 Jan 08
Explosive was not very explosive. This is a story of the history of nitroglycerin/dynamite and Beethoven’s music. Gray Dalton works for the government and Devon Caravelle is the alleged mistress of a French aristocrat. These two must work together to unlock the code buried in Beethoven’s “Eroica”.
Devon plans to take Gray hostage but the tables turn when Gray is the one in charge. The two must work together to discover the recipe for dynamite all the while trying to keep it out of the hands of the deadly Frenchman.
The story moves to slowly, but the way Mede writes a sex scene is really good. I like the way she describes the interaction and how the characters can’t seem to get enough of each other. The banter between the two is funny and entertaining. But, unfortunately it doesn’t help the story along.
Grade: C
Summary:
London, 1818. A beautiful, brilliant woman and a cynical, aristocratic spy are forced into a desperate mission to decipher a secret code that could change the face of Europe forever…
Explosive
Gray Dalton, the Marquess of Blackburn, wakes in a dark London cell staring down a gun barrel. Devon Caravelle, alleged mistress of a deadly French aristocrat, has been sent to ensure Blackburn’s cooperation in a secret plot to unlock the mysteries buried within Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica. It’s terribly convenient and just as Blackburn planned. And taking the lady hostage is–if not terribly gentlemanly–not very difficult. Resisting her dangerous allure, on the other hand, is. Suddenly, the man famed for his cold-blooded control, wants a woman fiercely, wildly, forever…
Devon Caravelle has loved two things in her life: music and her father. She would do anything to discover his murderer and clear his name, even if it means forcing the contemptuous, debauched Marquess to her aid. But when he turns the tables and takes her prisoner, she is not prepared for his skillful seduction or her white-hot response…
It was supposed to be a seduction each side intended to win easily. Instead, the first spark unleashes an untamed passion in a game where all rules are forfeit and every move brings them closer to an unspeakable danger…
Read an excerpt.
