The Lady Tamed

Delightful Characters All Around This is the first Saints and Sinners series book I’ve read. I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to have to go back and read the other ones. The author has created not only an excellent hero and heroine who are not wholly typical for Regency romance, but she’s created a wonderful family for the heroine and villains you love to hate. Previous books had the romances for some in that delightful family… which is why I want to go back now. Anyway… what was so good about this book? I loved the heroine and hero, especially their interplay… which happened right at the beginning. The heroine is atypical because she has a head for business… and her late husband had no trouble turning over the reins in that regard because of how she increased their coffers. His death devastated her, and she does want to give up control of her vast fortune to another man, so she is happy staying unwed. She also tends to, as her family puts it, “pick up strays.” Her latest is our hero, a minor actor who was an orphan who had to steal to survive before his time on the London stage. She’s using him as a decoy at the house party before her sister’s wedding to scare away fortune hunters. Their interaction was fun and witty from the start as they discussed their “play” during his visit. Both deny deeper feelings, even to themselves, because they are more comfortable in their defined roles… and neither thinks the other could/would reciprocate anyway. The heroine comes across as both very vulnerable and very controlling; difficult for an author to pull off successfully. The hero has a firm sense of self, even with his less-than-stellar background; the heroine can’t always sway him, even when she wants to. The big intimacy scene was sweet and totally in character for both of them. Few authors do this at all, tending to fall back on rather generic intimacy concepts. Not this author, not this scene. It continued to show the character’s strengths and vulnerabilities in surprising ways… so kudos to the author! I loved the heroine’s father, the duke. His interactions with Jeremy (the hero) at the beginning and end were an absolute delight. Highly recommended. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

This is a delightful turn of the fake engagement trope with more mature characters. It kept me up late reading and had me often grinning. A good read to get lost into and forget the outside world. The interactions of Fanny's family were often quite amusing. Poor Jeremy did not know what he was in for when he arrived at her father's estate - a bit of conspiracy of the family and retainers to test his mettle. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I love that authors are writing more books that take liberties with certain tropes like this one does. In this regency romance the woman is older, richer and socially way above the man. Jeremy is an actor that Fanny who is the daughter of a Duke has hired to be a fake beau to keep other men away from her at her sisters wedding. While there is a bit of angst caused by some of the other men, the main plot is the burgeoning relationship between the two main characters. I especially enjoyed the delicate touch Heather Boyd has with these two and that she has given them very well rounded characters that are a delight to follow as they work their way towards a relationship. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.