Book review
A gal in one of my book clubs recommended this to the group if one happened to be in a reading slump. I was. I needed something different to read. Normally when this happens, I change genres for a bit. That didn’t work this time. But reading this book did. She was right.
I’ve read my body weight and then some in historical romances. They are my go-to books for a lot of reasons, but I’d never read anything quite like this. Gregory Harrow, our hero, is a diabolical, vicious bastard who stops at nothing to get what he wants or to exact his revenge. Never call him a bastard, although he is one in fact as well as deeds. He will ruin you for even uttering the word. He’s propelled by greed, revenge and, as far-fetched as this sounds, justice. But the justice isn’t for himself. It’s more for Lady Iliffe, a widow who’d barely survived a totally abusive marriage and had rented a house on his property.
Gregory is not noble. He is not honorable. He’s rude, condescending, doesn’t care at all if he uses people to meet his goals, and there isn’t an ounce of remorse in his whole body for the things he says or does. He has his objectives and anything or anyone who gets in his way is just collateral damage. Yet he loved Arabella and she loved him. It was twisted, yet right.
Arabella, Baroness of Iliffe, married the baron when she was just 15. She never fancied herself in love with him. He was so abusive and treated her worse than anybody should be treated. Not a whole lot was told about everything he did to her, but what was revealed was enough to curl your fingernails and despise the man. He was depraved and excessively cruel and to such a young girl. Ugh! Horrifying. When she leaves London, she heads for Crescent Barrows, the house on Gregory Harrow’s land. She needs to get away from the evil men who are still pursuing her in an effort to prevent her from laying any sort of claim to her late husband’s estate, which is now in the clutches of her husband’s equally wicked cousin. She has servants who go with her which are more friends than servants. She trusts them implicitly and they do right by her every time.
A lot goes on in this book that isn’t pleasant and kept me turning the pages. I didn’t trust Gregory at all and wasn’t sure how Arabella could, but she did and we end up with a happily ever after not just for them, but for all of the good characters in the story. The subtle antagonist, Lilly Jenkins, got exactly what she deserved. That’s all I have to say about that.
This is a dark, tense read with well-developed characters you either loved or hated, a few steamy scenes that weren’t overdone, and a great ending. I never knew what to expect from Gregory and the love/hate relationship he and Arabella had probably lasted their whole lives.
Great book!
- Goodreads rating – 4.07
- SUMMARY – Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill