Picked up this book from a rental 'cos I couldn't remember if I'd read it. But when I settled down one week night last week to read, memories started flooding in by the end of page 2, and I recalled this is one of the books by Thorntonthat I enjoyed.
She writes such intense romances, and in this instance the relationship between hero and heroine is tempestuous, wildly passionate and at times reckless.
Dangerous. Wild. Reckless.
Those were the words that crossed Serena Ward's mind when she met Julian Raynor. But she never thought they would also describe her relationship, and marriage, to him.
Our star-crossed lovers met when Serena was disguised as an aspiring actress while stowing Jacobites to safety, and needed to steer clear of the militia when they surprised a check on the tavern she was gambling at. She thought to make use of Julian, only they both ended up in bed but parted on acrimonious terms. Julian, who is really a Renney, has vowed to avenge his parents' death on her father, so when he learnt of her true identity, he manipulated her, with the help of her footman and some friends, into a hasty wedding.
His excuse was to get at her father through her, at first, but he's also wildly attracted to her, having tasted her passion on that unfortunate night. They couldn't foresee the dangers and treachery headed their way which could either destroy the love/hate relationship utterly, or really strengthen their feelings for each other.
What I like about this story is the tumultuous turns of events that draw out the romantic tension, making me eager to chase the plot and character development. Elizabeth Thornton is a master at that, and reading this again brought back a lot of fond memories about this book and her other great works. Tara challenged us to pick up an old favourite and read it again to see if we still like it.
Well, this is one of the more memorable ones of Thornton's I've read in the past, and I'm glad to report that I still like it. Although compared to some of [her] other books I've read, this isn't my most favourite. Still, I quite enjoyed the story and the characters. I think Thornton is one of the few romantic authors who improve with time
Now for the second part of Tara's challenge … to 'read something you didn't exactly love in the past and see if it improved with age'. Hmmm … that would be the one I kept putting off, and my pick for April's challenge. Will be reading that next after I'm done wit Judith Ivory's The Proposition.
Have fallen into a slump with the latter as I've been busy finishing up the church website and one other web project at work. But now that we're having a long weekend since tomorrow's Good Friday, I hope to finish that off.
Oh, and I've decided to keep Dangerous to Love. Let's see how I feel about it 5 years down the road. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to the launch of her next book, The Bachelor Trap, to be released the week after.
