Review: She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath.

Posted January 31, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Rowena’s review of She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath.

Hero: Sebastian Easton
Heroine: Lady Mary Wynne-Jones

Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped—to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle—awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright.

Sebastian Easton always vowed he would avenge his stolen youth and title. Now back in London, the rightful Duke of Keswick—returning from battle a wounded, hardened, changed man—cannot forget the brave girl who once rescued him and his brothers from certain death.

Lady Mary Wynne-Jones paid dearly for helping the imprisoned young Lords of Pembrook, and she remembers well the promise she made to Sebastian all those years ago: to meet him once more in the abbey ruins where they shared a bold, forbidden kiss. While Mary is now betrothed to another, a friendship forged with dark secrets cannot be ignored. Unexpected passion soon burns dangerously between them, tempting Sebastian to abandon his quest for retribution and fight for a love that could once again set him free.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a historical but I’m glad that I picked this one up. I haven’t been in the mood for a historical but this one ended up to be a real treat. Not that it surprised me that this book ended up being a treat because duh, this is a Lorraine Heath and she introduced me to some of my favorite brothers not too long ago.

This book started with a big bang! I mean, three young boys trapped in a tower after their Dad dies by their mean Uncle? Oh yeah and then a fair maiden comes plowing in to rescue them? Yeah, this is what romances are supposed to be made of. Lorraine Heath always does a bang up job of making me come to care for her characters. She has a way of explaining things that makes me all happy and gooey inside from too much sighing all over the hot damn place. This book was no different.

There are three Easton boys and this is the oldest Easton boys book. His name is Sebastian and he’s the heir to the family Dukedom. It was his livelihood that his uncle wanted to steal from him and it was his father that his uncle killed. Being only twelve years old when his uncle killed his dad, there wasn’t much that he could do to keep the title and the lands, or protect his brothers. So when his best friend, Mary Wynne-Jones came barreling and released the Easton brothers from the tower and it sets them all free.

It’s been twelve years since that dark night and Mary has missed Sebastian so much since he left. They were close childhood friends and she cared for him, she wasn’t counting on caring so much about him now that he’s back. She’s engaged now to a man that is good and solid and she’s getting married soon but when Sebastian blows back into town, she can’t help but drawn to him. Over and over again.

She’s worried about Sebastian and his brothers because she knows about what his Uncle tried to do them when they were little boys and she knows those boys like they were her own brothers and above all else, she cares about them. But most of all, she cares about Sebastian. Only Sebastian isn’t the boy she once knew. He’s not the same boy that she used to run wild with over the forests when they were kids. He’s a hard man, a serious man with scars both inside and out but try as she might. she can’t help but worry about him.

It was a real treat seeing Sebastian and Mary get reacquainted with each other. Time and distance had taken the two of them in different directions and seeing each other now makes them both feel, different.

When they parted as children, they were friends. Sebastian doesn’t see Mary as a friend anymore. He sees her as a woman but isn’t fooled by what she sees when she looks at him. He’s got the wounds and the battle scars to prove what he’s been through. He knows that he’s not the same good looking chap she knew when they were younger and his emotional reaction to his looks was different in the heroes that I’ve read in a while.

Sebastian didn’t have a prayer of loving anyone if he couldn’t love himself and he didn’t love himself. He had too much duty and guilt and grief over the way that his life turned out. Guilt at leaving his brothers when they needed him the most, grief over losing his home, his family and his heritage on the same day that he lost his father. All things that made him grow up much too soon then he was ready. Seeing Mary come back into his life and seeing them grow closer and closer together made for an enjoyable tale of two friends finding love after losing so much.

Heath did another fabulous job of sweeping me into the lives of her characters. I thought this book was too cute for words and I’m glad to have read it. I think fans of her stories will find this book delightful and sweet, the romance was steamy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely recommend this to lovers of historical romance.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.