Kresley Cole’s IF YOU DECEIVE – Absorbing Victorian Romance: A Story of a Scarred Soul and a Broken Lady!

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

Kresley Cole’s IF YOU DECEIVE – Absorbing Story of a Scarred Soul and a Broken Lady... A Keeper!

Set in the Victorian era, 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, the oldest MacCarrick 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, an 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, 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 does her homework on the historical setting—it feels authentic—and she makes you fall in love with Scotland and it's men. These 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

Review: Kresley Cole’s THE CAPTAIN OF ALL PLEASURES – High Seas Romance at its Best—a Keeper!

This is one of my favorite romances set on the high seas with a daring sea captain and a worthy heroine. It’s a keeper.

The story is centered around two competing shipping companies in 19th century England, and two competing captains (the English Earl, Captain Derek Sutherland, and the American Captain, Jason Lassiter), each of whom must win the Great Race from London to Sydney to survive.

When Lassiter is imprisoned, his daughter, Nicole, who has been raised at sea and can navigate as well as her father, must win the race for him. Nicole cannot resist the handsome Sutherland, who when he first encounters her in a dockside bar, thinks she's a whore. He wants her and then he's lost for her, but circumstances make them enemies. When sabotage of her ship forces her to join Sutherland on his ship for the rest of the race, her spirit and his wall of stone collide; the result is a fast-paced romance that grabs you.

There are many things I can praise Kresley Cole for in her writing, all of which are present in this novel: she gives the reader a real historic setting--London and a major sea race in1856; she weaves wonderfully colorful characters into her story so seamlessly the story becomes a tapestry of lives; the story pulls you in from page one--you feel like you're living it and you cannot put it down; the love scenes seem real, each tailored to the character and the story; she lays a good foundation for the emotion displayed; and the plot is interesting with just enough history to ground you in the time.

Cole is simply one of the best romance writers, and even though this was one of her early novels, it is well worth 5 stars. The sequel is The Price of Pleasure, the story of Derek's brother, Grant, also a sea captain.

For nautical historic romance at it's best, I highly recommend this one!