Sandy M’s review of Tantalizing Secrets (The Secrets, Book 3) by Lynne Connolly
Historical Romance released by Samhain 24 Feb 09

This series started off well for me, though I somehow missed reading the second book, Alluring Secrets. I did read and review Seductive Secrets, the first book, and really enjoyed it; loved the hero, Nick. However, it’s the hero, Peter, in this book who took a while to grow on me.

Peter is a second son of a viscount, so he’s made his way in the political world quite successfully. He’s happy in life even if his carousing days aren’t what they used to be since his two best friends have settled down with wives recently. Everything is about to change, however, when Arabella Mason walks into his life with news he hopes isn’t true.

Even from the moment Peter and Arabella meet, his conduct and attitude never appealed to me. Yes, I know he’s on the back end of his hell raising and womanizing days, but the way he treats Arabella within moments of her literally running into him just didn’t work for me. She may enchant him, but there’s still too much of the rake in him considering the situation they find themselves in that it all just didn’t feel right. It’s not until so much later in the book when he realizes that he loves her and will do the right thing by her that I began to like him. Before that his arrogance was just a bit too much.

Arabella is not a peer of the realm, just a widow looking out for her family. Her sister’s husband has just died and that’s what sends Arabella to Peter’s family, hoping to gain some type of help for her sister and nephew. She’s a strong woman, independent, and can hold her own with Peter for the most part. I liked her just because she didn’t put up with Peter and his attitude. She doesn’t get that swept away in him and by him before he’s really serious about his intentions toward her. Of course, once she does it’s a whole different story. She keeps her head even when she knows that Peter must leave once the truth is learned about his brother’s death. She revels in her one night of loving she allows herself with him and is ready to move on out of necessity.

But as things begin to heat up in her small town, criminals are found out, and Peter’s past rears its ugly head, the storyline keeps moving at a fairly brisk pace. I really enjoyed the last third of the book. Sev and Nick join Peter to help him solve his mystery, along with their wives who welcome Arabella into their fold. Peter confesses his love, wants to marry Arabella and does a complete turnaround in wanting her to take time to be sure he and his world are what she wants. He almost goes overboard with that request, making it look as though Arabella doesn’t know what she wants. But I liked this Peter so much more than the one in the beginning.

I’m actually surprised that Peter didn’t appeal to me more than this. I usually like an arrogant, demanding hero. I think his manner and attitude just started a little too early, but he does a fairly good job of redeeming himself in the end, doing the right thing for Arabella and making peace with his new life that he grew on me just enough. But he just barely squeaked by! I’m glad Arabella brought him to heel.

Grade: B-

Summary:
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Peter Worsley is handsome, rich and successful, every woman’s dream. Except for Arabella Mason’s. Looking for answers to her brother-in-law’s violent death, instead she finds love and passion like she’d never imagined. And a deception that plunges her into life-threatening danger.
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Arabella discovers that her sister’s husband wasn’t the land steward they thought him, but the heir to the Earldom of Ulverscroft. And already married. When Peter accompanies her to his home in Leicester, he poses as her brother, but in private, he doesn’t treat her that way. Suddenly her heart is under siege and she is lost, but does he want her heart or only her body? Whatever the answer, her quiet respectable life is lost forever. She can’t deny this man what they both want.
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Peter never imagined he’d find the one woman who could tempt him from his confirmed bachelor state in a backwater like Leicester. He’s bedded the loveliest women in society, but now a pretty widow has snatched all his resolve with one kiss. He wants to find his brother’s killer, but he wants Arabella more. All he has to do is persuade her to take him. But that’s even more difficult than he first thought.
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Warning: Irresistible seduction makes this book a steamy read. Keep a man handy for emergencies.
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: