Joan Bennet is tired of being a wallflower. Thanks to some deliciously scandalous—and infamous—stories, she has a pretty good idea of what she’s missing as a spinster. Is even a short flirtation too much to ask for?
Tristan, Lord Burke, recognizes Joan at once for what she is: trouble. Not only is she his best friend’s sister, she always seems to catch him at a disadvantage. The only way he can win an argument is by kissing her senseless. He’d give anything to get her out of her unflattering gowns. But either one of those could cost him his bachelor status, which would be dreadful—wouldn’t it?
When Tristan Burke meets Joan Bennet once again, after not seeing her for years, he’s not really impressed. Yes she’s a tall woman, which he actually likes, but he hates the dresses she wears and the way she styles her hair – it’s just not flattering. She’s also extremely impertinent and he soon dubs her the Fury. Her impertinence doesn’t stop him from seeking out her company, however.
Joan isn’t impressed with Tristan Burke at all. He’s a known rake and her mother has said for years that she doesn’t approve of him. When her mother takes sick and has to leave town and then her brother gets sent off to help with reconstruction on a house Joan’s brother, Douglas, asks Tristan to watch over his sister. You know, got to tea, dance with her at a ball – generally make sure she’s not moping about their mothers’ health. He only asks Tristan because his other friends are even worse reprobates than Tristan. He’s not thrilled at his new task but it seems that every time he sees Joan there’s one more thing about her that he notices.
The pair become friends of a sort and Tristan asks Joan out for a drive and surprises her with an adventure. He finally realizes that he’s fallen in love with Joan but he’s not sure her family will approve.
This was a lovely story that I loved reading. When I think back on the story it was quite a simple one in that there weren’t villains to worry about or anything of that sort. It was just the story of two people meeting and falling in love. Now for some people that’s not exciting enough for them but for me it was wonderful. The simplicity of the romance is what I loved about this story. The feelings that are stirred, the chances that are taken to be together, the tension between the couple as they metaphorically feel their way around each other – just so good.
There was so much about Tristan that I liked. One of the things was that he was quite an intelligent man. Now it’s not like a lightbulb went off in Joan’s head telling her this but as the story evolves we see Tristan’s curiosity with mechanical things and his ideas that he uses. I loved that a big deal wasn’t made of this but it was definitely brought to our attention. His admiration for Joan was slow and steady and I loved seeing his indecision when it came to her – even though it was mixed with cockiness. 🙂
Overall the story was one I definitely recommend.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sounds good 🙂 I was intrigued by this one. Seems like I'm going to be giving it a try 🙂
Nice review, thank you for sharing.
Nath – Hope you like it.
Elf – Thanks and you're welcome 🙂