Author: Eloisa James
Release Date: March 25, 2014
Publisher: Avon (HarperCollins)
Rating: 4 starsPublisher: Avon (HarperCollins)
Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade, the specialty of Lady Xenobia India.
Exquisite, headstrong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks.
But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them.
Thorn will stop at nothing to make India his. Failure is not an option.Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade, the specialty of Lady Xenobia India.
Exquisite, headstrong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks.
But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them.
Thorn will stop at nothing to make India his. Failure is not an option.
But there is only one thing that will make India his . . . the one thing Thorn can't afford to lose . . . his fierce and lawless heart
My review:
India, who is an interior designer and decorator, really wants children, and, logically, she must marry to do so. She agrees to take on one more client before settling down and marrying. Enter Thorn.
Thorn also wants to get married, but more to check it off his list. He's clinical in his approach - good bloodlines, money, etc. He plans to dump his wife in a country home. Before he can obtain said wife, he needs to polish his tarnished reputation as his future mother-in-law has final say over her daughter's future. To attempt to win over the MIL, Thorn purchases a country house...that was used for large parties of the amorous kind. His aunt hires India to remove any and all stain (both physical and mental!) of such activities so that the house can be thought of as respectable.
India is more than up for the challenge, and these two incredibly strong characters clash. The plot, which is relatively simplistic in nature, is a perfect backdrop for these two strong characters to interact. They are written with complexity, dimension, and depth. My favorite pieces of the novel were their letters to each other, which are clouded with just enough flirt, business, and familiar tones that you could see the friendship and respect develop and grow.
Four stars.
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar"; later People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists. After being a finalist for a RITA—the top award in the genre of romance fiction awarded by the Romance Writers of America—over ten times, she won in 2013.
After graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Her "double life" is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she's written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published everywhere from women's magazines such as More to writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.
In 2014, Eloisa was nominated for a career achievement award by Romantic Times Book Review.
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