Reviewer: Holly Touch Me (Langley Family Trilogy, #1) by Lucy Monroe
Series: Langley Family Trilogy #1
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Publication Date: September 6th 2005
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 317
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Series Rating:
Outspoken, opinionated Thea Selwyn is no ordinary lady. Raised in the exotic West Indies, she has none of the starchy propriety Pierson Drake is accustomed to—rather, there is a lush sensuality about this impulsive beauty that tempts him unmercifully. Her delectable curves and wide, innocent eyes are enticing enough, but her breathless response to his touch is a lure he can't resist.
On a voyage that takes them from a tropical paradise to the glittering ballrooms of London, Thea and Drake are pulled into a firestorm of illicit passion. Thea knows that once they reach England, the secrets she's been keeping will kill whatever Drake feels for her. But Drake's own history has taught him the value of acceptance and the desolation of loss. Thea is the one woman Drake has ever trusted with his heart, and he ha no intention of losing her—not to the ghosts of the past or the threats of the present. But can he convince Thea to forget the hard lessons she's learned and take a chance on love?
Together, Thea Selwyn and Pierson Drake embark on an extraordinary voyage from a tropical paradise to the glittering ballrooms of London. But will Thea’s dark secrets destroy their illicit passion?
In 1797 England, angry aristocrat Geoffrey Selwyn believes his wife was unfaithful to him, though she swears she was not. When Anna gives birth to a boy, Geoffrey immediatly takes the baby away with him, determined to keep her away from her son. Heartbroken, Anna gives birth a few minutes later to a twin a girl she names Althea.
Anna makes several attempts to see her small son and keep her daughters presence a secret from her heartless husband, but, after almost being caught with her daughter, flees to the exotic West Indies to raise her daughter alone. And pine for her missing son.
Twenty-three years later, Thea is a partner in Merewether Shipping with her Uncle Ashby, a sweet man who helped Anna when she first arrived on the Island. Though her mother died ten years before, Thea is still haunted by her mother’s continued heartbreak over her missing son and the promises she made to Anna on her deathbed.
Pierson Drake arrives on the Island in desperate need of a blacksmith to fix his steam engine, so that he can sail back to England in a timely manner and ensure his investors make a return on the money they invested on his behalf. He ignores Thea at first, refusing to deal with a “mere” woman regarding matters of business. He finally realizes it is she, not her Uncle, that can help him and she agrees, under the condition that he takes her to London with him, so she can investigate some discrepancies in the books from their London office. He is blackmailed into agreeing.
On the voyage, tempers ingnite, wills clash and a fierce attraction develops between the two. Though Pierson wants to marry Thea, she refuses, afraid of loving a man and ending up in the same position as her mother.
I generally dislike a stubborn heroine, because so many times she tends to be stupid as well as mule-headed. I’m happy to report, however, that Thea Selwyn didn’t fall fall into this category. She was perhaps a bit too obsessed with staying unwed, but Monroe did an awesome job of explaining her reasons.
Pierson Drake is hot, tortured and a total Alpha-Male…my favorite combination. He has his own issues – illigetimate birth – but he doesn’t let that stop him from making Thea his.
As with all of Lucy Monroe’s books, I was touched, angered and in love by the time I finished reading it.
4 out of 5
Langley Family Series
how have I not read this author??!!This book sounds amazing. Totally up my alley. I love alpha males in historical’s, and the heroine sounds wonderful too.
I love LM. I haven’t read her more recent stuff, but her older books are favorites.