Holly‘s review of Tempting a Proper Lady
A Most Improper Alliance
Two years ago, dashing Captain Samuel Breedlove disappeared without a word. But he’s resurfaced in London a wealthy man, only to discover his fiancÉe preparing to wed another. Now Samuel needs to restore his good name and expose a villain—and tempting, temptable Cilla seems an ideal accomplice.
Priscilla Burke knows the marriage of her charge, Annabelle Bailey, to the Earl of Raventhorpe must be perfect. It would be madness for her to even consider doing anything that would mar this beautiful day and destroy her fledgling career as a wedding planner. Why then is she so drawn to this irresistible stranger who insists she help him sabotage the impending affair?
But a proper lady’s desire is nothing to toy with. And a man whose character has been questioned cannot allow himself to dream of happily ever after. This not-so-innocent seduction may have unforeseen consequences . . .
I wasn’t sure about this one after reading the blurb. I’m not a huge fan of love-triangles and I thought this might head that direction. I’m happy to report Mullins took it somewhere else.
Cilla was a strong woman who had really fought to get where she was. I think I liked that she was from a wealthy family who had a high place in society, but made it on her own. Her father disowned her and she had to survive. I really liked that Cilla no longer trusted her judgment about me, but didn’t hate all men. She didn’t trust herself to choose a good one, but she knew they were out there. That was a refreshing change from so many other romance heroines who hate all men because they were mistreated by one.
Samuel was a very noble man. He was very honorable and did his best to be honest in all things. His disappointment when he realized his surrogate family didn’t believe in him was heartbreaking. And still he kept trying to do the right thing. I loved that once he committed to something he threw himself in it full boar.
I really liked the way the relationship between Samuel and Cilla developed. At first they didn’t care for each other and she was very suspicious of him. It didn’t take long for each of them to realize they needed to work together – in more ways than one. Once they committed to each other the story really progressed. I understood both their reasons for holding back, and appreciated the way they came together.
While the romance and family dynamic aspects worked extremely well, the mystery plot fell short. The villain was very stereotypical and didn’t really seem all that scary to me. At first he did, but the longer the book went on the more he seemed to morph from a coldhearted man into a somewhat laughable one.
I did really enjoy the secondary characters. The Bailey’s were excellent characters and really added depth to the story. I truly felt for all three of them. I’m also very curious about John Ready, Samuel’s partner and sometimes coachman and the mysterious highwayman who showed up several times throughout the story.
4 out of 5
This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here
Debra Mullins here…Thank you for the honest review! I wanted to comment on your last line regarding curiosity about John. This is the first in a three book series, so John Ready will be back in his own book next year called TOO WICKED TO LOVE. It’s already written and at the publisher. 🙂
Hi Debra,
Thanks for stopping by. I’m very much looking forward to John’s book and unraveling the mystery behind him.
I assume the third book will be about the highwayman?