Sadly, Kresley Cole no longer writes historical romance, but we have several that are classic keepers. This is one. The last book in Cole’s Victorian trilogy
and my favorite, this is the story of Ethan MacCarrick, the oldest of three brothers,
Scots who live under a 500-year old curse that promises death if any of them
marries. Of course, the curse was not all readable so they don’t know the whole
of it.
Ethan was a heartbreakingly handsome
rake until a powerful nobleman ordered him brutally beaten and his face scarred
for a crime he didn't commit. In revenge, Ethan bankrupted the nobleman. Ten
years later, a haughty, mysterious beauty captures Ethan’s attention one night
at a masquerade ball. When he learns she is the daughter of his enemy, he
decides to complete his revenge: he'll promise her marriage, seduce her, then
cast her aside.
Madeleine (“Maddy”) van Rowen has had a hard life. She comes to London hoping her cousins can help her find a new path, but alas, her encounter with a man who takes her virtue has her returning in shame to the slums of Paris where she ekes out a living. When that same man, Ethan, comes to Paris to find her, he is shocked at her living conditions and awed by her courage and kind heart toward others.
I fell in love with
Ethan and Maddie and their story (introduced in the second book in the trilogy,
If You Desire). There is something
about love healing a scarred man and a curse to overcome that melted me. The
characters are well developed and the plot moves at a good pace. Cole
did her homework on the historical setting—it feels authentic—and she makes you
fall in love with Scotland and it's men. The three Scottish brothers are sexy
and strong and love their women with a passion that is compelling. They will
draw you in, I promise. And Maddie is, well, one of the most endearing
characters I have ever met.
I couldn’t put this story down. And the
rest in the trilogy are equally good.
The MacCarrick
Brothers Trilogy
If You Dare
If You Desire
If You Deceive
Loved this one too. Haven't read the previous two but Ive kept this one in my library and read it twice already :)
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