Sandy M’s review of Falling into Bed with a Duke (Hellions of Havisham, Book 1) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 27 Oct 15
I’ve been unlucky with a few new-to-me authors lately, their stories just not connecting. So you can imagine how anxious I was to begin this new Lorraine Heath book. I never doubt I will be engrossed in the storyline and the characters she gives readers. Ms. Heath is an author who knows how to pull a reader into a story inch by inch and investing us into her characters’ lives so effortlessly.
Minerva Dodger, due to her upbringing, can keep up with any man when it comes to conversation, business, and pretty much anything else anyone cares to throw at her. Her confidence is off the charts. Most men, however, want a prospective wife to be a bit more biddable, easier to handle. And since she’s not anywhere near the prettiest woman in the room, her suitors are only after her very generous dowry. Thus, after six seasons and nary a husband in sight, Minerva is giving up on ever finding a partner like her parents have found in each other and will take her life wherever she so chooses.
First, though, she wants to experience one night of true passion, to know what it’s like for a man to desire her, to claim her, to give her the pleasure she knows she’ll never have. To this end, she boldly visits the Nightingale Club, an exclusive place where anonymity and sexual titillation and satisfaction is guaranteed. There she’s approached by the Duke of Ashebury, a man who has never given her a second look in the ballrooms of the ton.
I love Ashe. He’s the epitome of the elegant, arrogant, and sexy gentleman, but he’s also very haunted by his past. He’s intrigued by the lady in white at the club, and after their encounter he can’t get her out of his head. With keen observance, he figures out that his mysterious lady and Minerva Dodger are one and the same and he goes into seduction mode as he’s never done with any other woman, confounding him completely. I kept thinking to myself I’d love to be Minerva not only at the Nightingale but even during the sweet moments between them, of which there are many to melt your heart.
Then comes the conflict that Ms. Heath is so very good at tossing at her characters. There’s been honesty between these two from the beginning, a refreshing attribute I’d like to see more often in romance, but then Ashe keeps one thing so close to the vest that you know it’s going to be the deal breaker, now Minerva has finally found the one man who can love her without her money getting in the way. But Ashe is no coward – he faces Jack Dodger with a request when the man would rather kill him for breaking his daughter’s heart. A very powerful scene.
We also meet the Albert, Earl of Greyling, and his twin brother Edward, along with Locke, a future marquess. These four men grew up together during a tragic time in their lives, which has made them brothers of the heart. I cannot wait for Edward’s book, The Earl Takes All – I just read the blurb when writing this review and what a story that is going to be. The next six months are going to drag by waiting for it.
Once again, Lorraine Heath has taken me on a true journey with her characters, from sadness to laughter to fun to romance to anger to love. . . . . and so much more in between.
Grade: A+
Summary:
After six unsuccessful Seasons, Miss Minerva Dodger chooses spinsterhood over fortune-hungry suitors. But thanks to the Nightingale Club, she can at least enjoy one night of pleasure. At that notorious establishment, ladies don masks before choosing a lover. The sinfully handsome Duke of Ashebury is more than willing to satisfy the secretive lady’s desires—and draws Minerva into an exquisite, increasingly intimate affair.
A man of remarkable talents, Ashe soon deduces that his bedmate is the unconventional Miss Dodger. Intrigued by her wit and daring, he sets out to woo her in earnest. Yet Minerva refuses to trust him. How to court a woman he has already thoroughly seduced? And how to prove that the passion unleashed in darkness is only the beginning of a lifetime’s pleasure…?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
