BookTalk
Leah Carrollton just wanted to find love. As a great beauty in a family struggling to maintain their ton-ish lifestyle. A bank account was more important than the love Leah sought. But a love affair found her anyway. Two love affairs to be exact.
Leah’s first love was star-crossed. Falling for Viscount Huxhold, Devon Marshall, was unfortunate. A grudge lasting a generation means that any hope Devon and Leah had for a traditional Happily Ever After was lost from the start.
After losing her great love. Leah rebounds with a less than honorable man. One who leaves her with a baby on the way. But fate expects more from Leah and Devon. Their stars and paths are to cross yet again. And the troubles they incurred during their separation may be the very things that save their love…
Review
I enjoyed this one so much more than the first. Thought starting with the baby’s delivery then flashing back to the start of Leah and Devon’s love then coming back to the delivery was really different. Really cool. I got to know the characters in a way I wasn’t expecting. Their backstory helped explain motivations and feelings…and kept the delivery from seeming too random.
Though it must be noted that no one recovers from giving birth as quickly as Leah does. Seriously?! the day after a traumatic (and premature!) birth and we’ve got our heroine throwing the baby in a drawer (yep. a dresser drawer. padded with blankets. duh.) and riding a coach to London. Leah even feels the stirring of desire for Devon. You have to ignore a lot of logic to bridge the unrealistic-ness of this situation. But if you can get past it watching Devon and Leah rebuild their love is rewarding.
What was great about this read was how much I enjoyed these characters as people. Getting to know Leah better in this novel makes such a difference…and sheds so much light on her, shall we say, sluttiness of the last novel. I actually liked her. And Devon is simply the sweetest. Even if it took them FOREVER to say the L-word. That confession was pretty obvious way before the characters admitted their feelings.
Again, the second in this series keeps the ‘drama’ to a minimum…at least in the main character’s relationships. This semi-drama-free relationship was one of the things I most like about the first book, Married in Haste. No grand displays followed by white knights to be found here. Just major issues sorted out by realistic people.
Finally, the epilogue to this book was better than the first in the series. It completed Leah and Devon’s story, giving a Happily Ever After that is the sweetest I’ve read in awhile. Well done Maxwell.
Rating: 3.5/5 A swift, sweet novel worth the hour or two of escape it provides.
Sara O
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