More than one beautiful woman’s hopes have been dashed on the rocky shoals of Jonathan Redmond’s heart. With his riveting good looks and Redmond wealth and power, the world is his oyster—until an ultimatum from his father and a chilling gypsy prophesy send him hurtling headlong toward a fate he’ll do anything to avoid: matrimony.
Intoxicating, elusive Thomasina de Ballesteros has the bloods of London at her feet. But none of them knows the real Tommy—the one with a shocking pedigree, a few too many secrets, and a healthy scorn for rakes like Jonathan.
She is everything Jonathan never wanted. But on one fateful midnight, he’s drawn into Tommy’s world of risk, danger…and a desire he’d never dreamed possible. And suddenly he’s re-thinking everything…including the possibility that succumbing to prophesy might just mean surrendering to love.
Jonathan Redmond is much more than his father believes. He’s more of a man, more of an investor, more of a thinker. He’s a good person and though his father might not see it he’s got a good head on his shoulders. When his father blindsides him by telling him that he is now cut off from his allowance and will not get another penny unless he marries “appropriately” by the end of the year, Jonathan is shocked. The things that his father says about him shows Jonathan that his father doesn’t know him at all.
Jonathan’s friend Argosy hauls him to a salon that Jonathan is not interested in going to but he’s a bit intrigued by the main attraction, namely one Miss Thomasina de Ballesteros. While the men are falling all over themselves to speak with her Jonathan hangs back as he’s not THAT intrigued. When he runs into her, in the dark, in the back of the Duke of Greyfolk’s home he has to admit to himself that he’s even more intrigued. The two become friends because they are not judgmental of the other. They have fun and share witty banter and eventually Tommy, as she’s known around town, drags him into assisting her in a midnight caper. It turns out that Tommy is helping small children who have been sold from workhouses into servitude and then beaten. Jonathan is shocked at what a dangerous endeavor this is but is blown away by how noble it is of Tommy to get involved.
It’s while helping one of these children that Jonathan and Tommy stop seeing each other as friends and see each other as so much more. Unfortunately Jonathan’s father is aware of everything that goes on in Jonathan’s life and tries to scare Tommy off. Jonathan’s having none of it and he sets out to prove that he and Tommy should be together no matter what his father thinks.
How can I possibly begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this book? From beginning to end the author had me completely engaged and rooting for the hero and heroine. I loved Jonathan and his strength of will and determination. His father, Isaiah, was such a bastard to him and just expected Jonathan to kowtow to his requests/demands and then acted like everything was right with the world while his children were suffering. I thought this part in the book, the morning after Isaiah had told Jonathan that about his impending marriage, was so typical of Jonathan’s thoughts toward his father. Jonathan is at breakfast with his mother and father and his mother just mentioned the marriage and how she had “put it about town”:
Jonathan took this in, nodding, and eyed his fork speculatively. He had two options, as he saw it: He could drive it into his own heart. Or he could hurl it straight into the tiny black heart of his father. Perhaps his aptitude for darts was all in preparation for this moment.
He met Isaiah’s eyes. His father was smiling blandly and indulgently.
No, his heart is too small and shriveled of a target, even for a marksman like me, Jonathan decided blackly.
Isaiah’s lack of faith in his son didn’t slow Jonathan and his ideas down. He would make his mark and his fortune and his ideas would come to fruition. I loved it! I also loved Tommy’s guts and fortitude and how that seeped into Jonathan the longer she knew him. I thought they were great characters separately but together they totally rocked.
The slowly dawning knowledge of their attraction to each other was wonderful. I loved how they started as friends and it almost knocked them over to realize how attracted to each other they were. After that Long gave us a dose of sexual tension that could have been cut with a knife and I adored it.
Obviously I’m a fan of the book and would highly recommend it. Just a fabulous addition to the Pennyroyal Green series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Leave a Reply