One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean
Lady Phillipa Marbury, fourth daughter of the Marquess Needham and Dolby, is brilliant. Too bad her soon-to-be betrothed, Lord Castleton is not. Before her marriage, though, Pippa is determined to experience the scandalous side of life that her husband will surely never show her...and she knows just who to ask.
Jasper Arlesey used to live the wasteful and roguish life of "the spare". Finding no need to take anything seriously, he never did. Until one fateful chain of events gave him a title and stole his integrity. Now, instead of living in the excess his title would allow, he lives as Cross, the bookkeeper and part owner of The Fallen Angel, the most exclusive gaming hell in London. When he wakes one morning to find the sister-in-law of one of his partners sitting at his desk reading his ledger, he knows that ignoring her will be impossible. When she asks him to ruin her, he knows that denying her will be imperative.
This book is emotionally and rationally intriguing. How many books can you say that about? Throughout the book the reader is shown many obstacles that both the hero and heroine must overcome. Some of them have obvious solutions, but the really juicy ones are left to fester. Several times I had to remind myself that I was reading a romance novel and that they have to follow at least a few cursory rules, but if any writer would dare buck the system, my money is on MacLean!
Cross is somewhat of a beta-hero disguised as an alpha-hero. He is brilliant, a bit of a shut in, and not very suave, but very much a protector. He comes by this tendency through guilt, but it still seems to be a natural fit for him. I liked his frank honesty about his intentions, and his own admission that Pippa was not safe with him. However, the thing I loved the most about him was the fact he has a conscience. He may not have always made the right decisions, but at least he had scruples.
Pippa is just plain awesome! I love heroines who pretty much just bulldoze the men in their lives to get what they want. She is smart. Like genius-level smart and loves nothing more than to either experiment, or read about experiments. Yes, she has some issues with propriety, and sometimes she trusts the wrong people, but she is amazing fun.
The villain in this torture-fest-disguised-as-a-really-good-novel is actually identified right away, but his angle and motivation remains muddled for some time. He truly is a classic villain though, so a total bravo for that one! His setting is sleazy, his connections are sleazier, and his ultimate goal is just despicable...I LOVED IT!
Now for the moment of truth...the supporting cast. I felt the presence of the other owners of The Angel far more keenly in this one than the previous book. They seemed to have come together as a more collective whole here, and we learn a lot more about their cooperative positions. They also have a seamless and shining moment at the end that is just so well written I had to put the book down for a minute to compose myself.
Overall, this book was fabulous. The characters were memorable, and readers are given satisfaction for all of the torture have had to endure at the hands of a master (story) manipulator.
Ratings:
(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)
Continuity/Flow – 5
Sex – 5
Language – 4
Storyline – 5
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