Dangerous Gentlemen

Growing up in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Henrietta has contented herself with watching Araminta capture the attentions of London at every ball.  That is, until Sir Aubrey is caught between them.  While Araminta has set her sights on him, Hetti inadvertently caught his attention, and to her surprise and his, seems to have kept it.  A string of secret liaisons has compromised Hetti's virtue but for the first time in her life, she feels alive and desirable...no matter that Sir Aubrey believes her to be a woman of the night instead of a respectable lady. However, he is drawn to more than her physical charms, and if Araminta's nastiness doesn't get in the way, Hetti and Aubrey just might find happiness together.

This was a fast-paced, character-driven, steamy read in which the battle lines are clearly drawn.  Araminta was an easy person to dislike and Henrietta an easy choice to root for. Sir Aubrey is not quite the requisite rake that he is first made out to be and Hetti’s character is graced with a wonderful group of supporters. The way Aubrey begins to see the true beauty in Hetti through a handful of trysts is what love stories are made of. There was a decided lack of finesse to their intimacy making it somewhat clumsy to read. A shocking and somewhat disturbing twist toward the end came out of nowhere and was glossed over and dismissed when it should have garnered much more attention. Otherwise, Hetti and Aubrey's story was a well-told tale of an unexpected pairing.

Nicole Duke