Veena’s review of Fearless (The Shaws, Book 1) by Lynne Connolly
Historical Romance published by Lyrical Press Aug 22 17
With Fearless Ms. Connolly spins us into a new arc of the Emperors of London, focusing on the delightful Shaw family we’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the earlier series.
Val has been engaged throughout the Emperors of London series, but his fiancé has been nameless and faceless so far. She remains tucked away out of sight out of mind while Val lives his life in town to the fullest. Lady Charlotte Engles is nameless no more as she strides onto center stage from the get-go. Daughter of a duke, she’s tired of waiting for Val to commit himself and marry her, so she’s ready to break the engagement and marry someone else. Val’s reaction to this proposal is not exactly the relief you might have expected.
Val is surprised at how pretty Charlotte is when he meets up with her at his parent’s fete. To his chagrin, there’s another man at her feet proposing marriage. Suddenly the marriage that was once so unattractive to him doesn’t seem to be such a bad thing anymore. Of course, Val, being a Shaw and one of the emperors, is not willing to walk away from his responsibilities. So he decides to investigate this new man on Charlotte’s horizon, who, as it turns out, is quite the kinky villain.
As the story progresses and Val really gets to know the real Charlotte beneath the icy cool façade she presents to the world, a romance is born. He moves Charlotte into his parent’s home as their guest and proceeds to really get to know her. He becomes determined to make up for all the dreary years Charlotte has spent under her father’s thumb in the mausoleum she called home. Along the way, he investigates the seamy side of kink in London in his quest to protect Charlotte. As the story progresses, we get to catch up with some of the characters from the earlier series while Charlotte and Val finally find themselves married and forging a life together.
Outside events, however, continue to intrude on their idyll and then an incident at their estate disrupts the closeness they’ve been developing. Val’s family mobilizes to protect them both, but will their relationship survive, let alone thrive after this trauma?
The author deals with the subject of abuse, both emotional and physical, in a very compassionate way, such that it enhances the story. A great start to the Shaw family. I look forward to reading about the other Shaw siblings in the future.
Grade: B
Summary:
Scandal is his chosen path-until this infamous Shaw surrenders to love . . .
When Lady Charlotte Engles receives an offer of marriage from an eligible suitor, she’s finally ready to let go of her long-held hope that her engagement to Lord Valentinian Shaw will result in marriage. For despite the betrothal their families made between them, Val shows no interest in leaving his reckless life behind in favor of one with Charlotte. But when her plea to end their arrangement ends in a heated embrace, suddenly Val seems reluctant to let her go . . .
The last thing Val wants is a wife, despite how desirous his lovely bride-to-be has become. But when he discovers sweet Charlotte is planning to marry a dastardly man, he feels duty bound to keep her safe, even if that means making good on his marriage pledge. Then Charlotte is taken hostage by her dangerous suitor and suddenly Val is ready to risk everything for the woman who has won his heart . . .
No excerpt available.
