Lord Nicholas Asquith needs his wife. Too bad he broke her heart ten years ago.
Can he resist a second chance at the love he lost?
When Mariana catches the eye of the man at the center of an assassination plot, Nick puts aside their painful past and enlists her to obtain information by any means necessary, even if it means seducing the enemy agent.
Even if the thought makes his blood boil.
Only by keeping his distance from Mariana these last ten years was he able to pretend indifference to her. With every moment spent with her, he feels his tightly held control slipping...
Can she trust the spy who broke her heart?
Mariana spent the last decade forgetting Nick. Now she has the chance to best him at his own game, an opportunity she can’t resist, even as her view of him begins to shift. Increasingly, she wants nothing more than to seduce her own husband...
It’s only a matter of time before mad passion ignites, a passion never convincingly extinguished. A passion that insists on surrendering to the yearning of the flesh and, quite possibly, of the heart.
EXCERPT:
“A girl like you is a girl one could marry,” he murmured. They were heedless and dangerous words that fell from his lips, and he couldn’t understand why he spoke them.
“A girl like me?”
“You.”
“One could marry?”
“I.”
“Careful,” she whispered into the space between their lips. It was the only space that mattered in the universe. “I might hold you to such words.”
“I might hope you do.”
Again, words fell from his mouth of their own accord, and he’d proposed to her. There had been no biting it back.
And he hadn’t wanted to.
At least, not for another five seconds.
He’d proposed to Lady Mariana Montfort, a girl he didn’t know.
That wasn’t precisely true.
In the ways that mattered, he knew her.
BUY AT AMAZON here.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
From the moment Mariana met Nick theirs was a combustible pairing of instant attraction that would defy the odds. From a whirlwind marriage based on love, to a set of twins to solidify their bond, nothing seemed capable of tearing them apart...until something did. Ten years of Nick choosing love of country over his love of Mariana led to hurt feelings and a final chance to reclaim a love that’s never died in this tale of second chances and political intrigue.
Mariana knew the moment she met Nick that he was a man like no other. With interactions full of sexual tension it was clear their quick marriage was guaranteed to burn bright and it did...until the day he left to do his duty and never came back. During that time Mariana remained the dutiful wife, dealing with gossip concerning her husband with a stiff smile, until a message sent her running into a whirlwind of confrontations and danger. Her attraction to Nick clearly never died which has her making some frustrating decisions as she becomes his partner in saving their country. His lessons on being a spy quickly become more scorching and remind both of them of all they have to lose in their first step towards overcoming their painful pasts. Mariana becomes stronger while in Paris, becomes more of an equal to her missing husband which had me cheering after seeing her set aside for all those years. While that act had me cheering I was frustrated by her tendency to jump to conclusions and assume the worst of Nick. The tight bond they once had clearly took a beating over the years and showed in her constantly changing feelings for Nick. One moment she loved him and the next she was ready to move on in a dance of indecision that will leave readers uncertain of their future until the very end.
Nick’s an unconventional hero who loves to shock others and live life on the edge. It made him the perfect spy but a terrible husband. His parent’s disastrous marriage also make him a less than ideal husband as they made a mockery of love and fidelity that left him doubting the power of love. The moment he met Mariana though he couldn’t stay away as he was drawn to her wild side, a wildness he brought out in her. He knew he’d make her unhappy but had to claim her as his own and grew to love the life they had until duty forced him to leave her behind. He never forgot her though and the moment she re-enters his world he immediately has to have her again despite the danger. Though he wants to push her away in order to keep her safe she’s too much of a temptation to keep at arm’s length as he sets out to win his wife back to his side while completing one last mission. Nick’s extremely loyal, both to his country and his wife, but the decisions he made clearly hurt her over the years. In keeping her safe he let lies and secrets keep them apart and throughout this story they continue to keep them from their HEA. Despite everything though it’s clear that Nick loves Mariana, through each word and deed he shows us his heart, and by treating her as his equal it’s the grandest gesture of his love and it had me cheering.
This was a romance full of action, both in and out of the bedroom, and it made for a story that went on just a bit too long. Things could’ve been wrapped up sooner as readers were taken on a lengthy tour of the underbelly of Paris to its glamorous ballrooms. The color and excitement of Paris was on prominent display here and while it added atmosphere to the story, it also took me out of the story as it became a distraction. The assassination plot that Nick’s trying to solve was an exciting premise, with intriguing villains, but ultimately fizzled out in a quickly resolved conclusion that brought everyone back home. Nick and Mariana are a crackling couple teeming with sexual tension and happy to engage in a tug of war of verbal foreplay that led to many erotically-charged encounters. Ms. Darling nicely balanced their romance with the political intrigue to keep me on the edge of my seat, particularly in the reveal of someone close to them both still being alive. This reveal hits especially close to home for Mariana’s sister Olivia and has me hoping that it’s the start to another story as it promises to be an extremely emotional one. On a whole this was an enjoyable read that lovers of historical romance will be drawn to and I look forward to where Ms. Darling takes us next.
Mariana knew the moment she met Nick that he was a man like no other. With interactions full of sexual tension it was clear their quick marriage was guaranteed to burn bright and it did...until the day he left to do his duty and never came back. During that time Mariana remained the dutiful wife, dealing with gossip concerning her husband with a stiff smile, until a message sent her running into a whirlwind of confrontations and danger. Her attraction to Nick clearly never died which has her making some frustrating decisions as she becomes his partner in saving their country. His lessons on being a spy quickly become more scorching and remind both of them of all they have to lose in their first step towards overcoming their painful pasts. Mariana becomes stronger while in Paris, becomes more of an equal to her missing husband which had me cheering after seeing her set aside for all those years. While that act had me cheering I was frustrated by her tendency to jump to conclusions and assume the worst of Nick. The tight bond they once had clearly took a beating over the years and showed in her constantly changing feelings for Nick. One moment she loved him and the next she was ready to move on in a dance of indecision that will leave readers uncertain of their future until the very end.
Nick’s an unconventional hero who loves to shock others and live life on the edge. It made him the perfect spy but a terrible husband. His parent’s disastrous marriage also make him a less than ideal husband as they made a mockery of love and fidelity that left him doubting the power of love. The moment he met Mariana though he couldn’t stay away as he was drawn to her wild side, a wildness he brought out in her. He knew he’d make her unhappy but had to claim her as his own and grew to love the life they had until duty forced him to leave her behind. He never forgot her though and the moment she re-enters his world he immediately has to have her again despite the danger. Though he wants to push her away in order to keep her safe she’s too much of a temptation to keep at arm’s length as he sets out to win his wife back to his side while completing one last mission. Nick’s extremely loyal, both to his country and his wife, but the decisions he made clearly hurt her over the years. In keeping her safe he let lies and secrets keep them apart and throughout this story they continue to keep them from their HEA. Despite everything though it’s clear that Nick loves Mariana, through each word and deed he shows us his heart, and by treating her as his equal it’s the grandest gesture of his love and it had me cheering.
This was a romance full of action, both in and out of the bedroom, and it made for a story that went on just a bit too long. Things could’ve been wrapped up sooner as readers were taken on a lengthy tour of the underbelly of Paris to its glamorous ballrooms. The color and excitement of Paris was on prominent display here and while it added atmosphere to the story, it also took me out of the story as it became a distraction. The assassination plot that Nick’s trying to solve was an exciting premise, with intriguing villains, but ultimately fizzled out in a quickly resolved conclusion that brought everyone back home. Nick and Mariana are a crackling couple teeming with sexual tension and happy to engage in a tug of war of verbal foreplay that led to many erotically-charged encounters. Ms. Darling nicely balanced their romance with the political intrigue to keep me on the edge of my seat, particularly in the reveal of someone close to them both still being alive. This reveal hits especially close to home for Mariana’s sister Olivia and has me hoping that it’s the start to another story as it promises to be an extremely emotional one. On a whole this was an enjoyable read that lovers of historical romance will be drawn to and I look forward to where Ms. Darling takes us next.
My rating for this is a B-
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Sofie spent much of her twenties raising two boys and reading every book she could get her hands on. Once she realized that she was no longer satisfied with simply reading the books she loved, that she must write them, too, she decided to finish her degree and embark on a writing career. Mr. Darling and the boys gave her their wholehearted blessing.
When she’s not writing heroes who make her swoon, she runs a marathon in a different state every year, visits crumbling medieval castles whenever she gets a chance, and enjoys a slightly codependent relationship with her beagle, Bosco.
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