Tag: Erica Ridley

Lord of Temptation by Erica Ridley

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Lord of Temptation (Rogues to Riches Book 4)Lord of Temptation by Erica Ridley
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Rogues to Riches, #4

Release Date: March 30, 2018

This is a very emotional second chance at love story. Ten years ago Faith Digby and Zachary Nash were in love, they shared a night of passion and promises were made. But the next day, reality slapped Zachary in the face. With the death of his father, he became the Marquess of Hawkridge and responsible for all the debt the marquisate had accumulated under his father and then his guardian. Foolishly, Hawk thought he could marry Faith, but when he learns the full extent of his obligations, he sends her a letter breaking with her.

Faith was devastated by Hawk’s rejection and wrote back telling him to never speak to her again. Later when she learns that she is expecting a child, she and her parents concocted a story to explain the appearance of Christina. In the years since Hawk left her, the Digby’s have become rich and it enables Faith to work with Dehlia at the school in St. Giles. When Dehlia’s husband Simon, brings his half-brother to dinner, it is the last man Faith ever wanted to see again – Hawk.

Hawk regrets loosing Faith, but he could not afford to marry her then or even now. He has worked hard the last ten years and is close to paying off his debts and once again being financially stable. He hopes once the port he is building is opened, he will finally be in a position to win back the only woman he has ever loved. When he sees Faith again, the years fade away and he is desperate to apologize and explain his actions.

Faith wants nothing to do with him and is terrified he will learn her secret. She is still angry and hurt, but admits to herself that she still loves him. Hawk tries to get himself back into her good graces and then learns that her family is rich – how can he convince her that it is her and not her money he wants?

When Hawk learns of his daughter, he is furious and will stop at nothing to be with his child, even marry her mother. Faith agrees to marry him, but she will be damned if he gets a shilling from her and makes plans to ensure he doesn’t.

These two have a long, painful road to their HEA and will have to learn to forgive and trust each other before they can have any sort of future. I thought the book was well written, but there are some inconsistencies and dropped plot lines – but in fairness, I read an uncorrected eARC and these issues might be resolved prior to publication. I did feel that Faith’s anger was out of proportion considering the secret she kept from him and her actions before and after they married. For quite a bit of the book, I didn’t like her but she was able to redeem herself by the end. The book is very emotional, has cameos with Dehlia and Simon and a very sweet ending.

This is the fourth book in the series, but it could easily be read as a stand alone title – HOWEVER, I would suggest reading the previous book Lord of Night before reading this book to get a better understanding of Simon and Hawk’s relationship.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an Uncorrected eARC that was provided to my by NetGalley and the publisher*

Lord of Night by Erica Ridley

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Lord of Night (Rogues to Riches, #3)Lord of Night by Erica Ridley
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Release Date: 07/22/17
Series: Rogues to Riches, #3

I’m giving the book 4 stars, because it was well written and entertaining, but if you are a stickler for “by the book” true Regency protocol, this book is not for you.

This is the story of Dahlia Grenville (sister of Camilla from Lord of Pleasure) and Simon Spaudling.

Dahlia has runs a boarding school for girls in St. Giles, she has a huge heart and can’t bring herself to turn away any girl in need. Problem is, she has used all her own funds and she can’t afford to keep the school running without more donations, which are bascially non-existent since Lord Wainwright inadvertently scorned her school. Unwilling to close the school, Dahlia does what she thinks she must to keep the school going. She becomes a thief, does she know that it is wrong? Yes! But to her mind, closing the school and returning the girls to the streets is far worse.

Simon is an inspector for Bow Street, he is dedicated to his job and is a stickler for the law – there is no gray in Simon’s world. He is the bastard son of a marquess and has strong feelings about the “upper class”. He is still angry and bitter about the relationship that he had (or more aptly, didn’t have) with his father and is incredibly jealous of his half-brother, Lord Hawkridge. He has put all his passion for injustice into his career and has been very successful. So successful that the Justice of the Peace has been tasked him with finding the “Thief of Mayfair” and Simon will stop at nothing to find this criminal and bring them to justice.

He meets Dahlia by chance, he was on his way home when he came upon two women running from an attacker, he chases the thug and takes him into custody. He returns to St. Giles to let Dahlia know that the attacker was caught and thinks that will be the end of their association. But Simon is intrigued with Dahlia and returns to the school a few days later.

Dahlia is also taken with the handsome young inspector, but she has no room in her life for a romantic relationship nor can she risk what little social standing she still has by engaging in an affair. She vows to keep Simon at arms length. But she can’t seem to stop herself from drawing Simon into her life and for his part, Simon can’t seem to stay away.

As these two spend more time together and fall in love, it seems like they will have an easy path to a HEA. But what fun would that be??

When the truth is revealed about Dahlia’s “fund raising” efforts, will his love for her be enough for him to change his black and white view? I honestly wasn’t sure and didn’t see how this book could possibly have a positive ending! Of course it does, but it is touch and go until the very end 🙂

The book is well written, flows nicely, has a couple of warm love scenes and very likable characters (I will be honest, I didn’t like Dahlia in the previous book and didn’t expect to like her in this one, but she won me over). On the downside, their is little to no adherence to Regency proprieties and the idea that a young unmarried woman from a good family could do the things that Dahlia did and not be a complete outcast is unbelievable. However, if you can bear in mind that this is a work of fiction and can overlook this, you will not be disappointed with the story!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*