‘He’d been ready to sacrifice everything dear to him, to turn his back on everyone else he loved, in order to keep her.  And then, she had left him.”

FINAL DECISION:  This is my favorite book of the series.  I loved just about everything about this book.  The characters were good people, intelligent and demonstrated growth in the story.  The romance was difficult and there was no magic solution for these two but rather a mature acceptance of the painful things that can go with love.

THE STORY:  Lord Denys Somerton has finally regained the respect of his family after a wild period where he fell for a cancan dancer and thought to make her his future countess until she abandoned him for another man.  Now Denys is considering marrying his childhood friend while managing his family businesses.  Then Lola Valentine walks back into his life.  Having inherited half a theater from the man she left Denys for, Lola has returned to London to fulfill her dream of being an actress.  Denys finds himself an unwilling business partner of Lola.  Denys knows that Lola is bad for him but he has never been able to resist her.

OPINION: I don’t if I can express how much I loved this book.  A fallen woman.  Class differences.  Hero is a genuine nice guy.  Heroine is smart.  Setting someplace other than the ton balls. Second chance at love.  Accepting love requires sacrifice.  This hit so many of the points that make my heart soft and gooey.

I loved Lola.  This woman is a survivor.  Intelligent and self made.  She has taken risks and brought herself so far.  And yet she is haunted by the choices she has made to get where she needs to be.  Being with Denys challenges her because she feels unworthy because of her past and because of their class differences.  She let Denys before in order to protect him from the sting of their relationship, but she also wanted to save herself.  She has returned, older and stronger and perhaps willing to try harder.

Denys is adorable.  I love that he acknowledges his mistakes and tries to remedies them.  He is also completely devoted to Lola.  Even when he is hurt from her actions, he still treats her with more respect than other people.  I like that he attempts to understand her.  When he realizes that he did not know Lola as well as he assumed, he takes actions to remedy that.  It takes a brave man to toss everything he loves away for a woman and an even stronger one to try and convince those he loves to support her.

The romance between Denys and Lola begins in this book with them being equals in a way that they were not in their prior relationship.  Lola, especially, feels the inequality between them so it means something for the two of them to be equal business partners.  Their equality in business which Denys accepts become a proxy or a more equal personal relationship.  Their equality also refreshingly comes into their acceptance of their sexual history.  Denys realizes that he cannot condemn Lola for her sexual experience in light of his own. He cannot judge Lola and that allows him to see her in way that is personal and meaningful.

I adored that this book is about two people recognizing their mistakes, learning to trust and talk to one another and then just jumping into love with all it’s complications and pitfalls.  At the end of this book, Denys and Lola know that not everyone will accept their love but the important ones will.

WORTH MENTIONING:  I hope Pongo eventually gets his own story.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  NO MISTRESS OF MINE is the fourth book in the An American Heiress in London series.  While characters from the other books make appearances, it is not necessary to have read those books to enjoy this one.  This book can be read as a standalone.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 5 stars.

Hero Falls Long Before the Heroine

“He didn’t know that jaunt across the Channel would lead him on a quest for justice that would destroy a villain, turn his life upside down, and hurl a beautiful woman into his arms.”

THE STORY: Jack, Earl of Featherstone has come to America to help get justice for his friend and his wife. In the process of destroying the man who raped his friend’s wife, Jack has to rescue an unwitting heiress who gets in the middle. Linnet Holland thinks the man who she dreamed of has fallen in love with her and wants her. Instead, she ends up ruined by Jack who she doesn’t even know. Linnet refuses to allow herself to be forced to marry a rake and a fortune hunter after refusing other offers in a search for love. Jack is determined to convince Linnet to marry him because he realized when he kissed her that they have something special.

OPINION: There is something special about a book that goes against expectations. It is surprising when Jack ruins Linnet that she doesn’t immediately agree to the marriage. Instead, she insists on finding a match that is acceptable to her and goes about creating her own future. Jack and Linnet have a very combative relationship which is simply adorable. Linnet has been naive with her dealings with men and is determined to not succumb to Jack’s plans for her. They are a sparkling couple. What is especially interesting is the Jack becomes enamored of Linnet long before she is even willing to try to get to know Jack. Guhrke has a way of writing the reformed rake story in an interesting manner by making Jack’s character more original and singular than the familiar trope. My one complaint is that I thought the resolution of the story was too rushed and could have used an epilogue.

WORTH MENTIONING: Readers of HOW TO LOSE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS will be pleased to get the story of what happened between the last chapters of HOW TO LOSE A DUKE book and the epilogue. Those events are depicted in this book.

FINAL DECISION: This is a book where the action occurs more slowly than might be expected based on the quick events in the early portion of the book. This is a book where the hero and heroine actually have time to get to know one another before they end up committed to one another.

CONNECTED BOOKS: CATCH A FALLING HEIRESS is the third book in the An American Heiress in London series. This book can be read independent of others in the series, although the book overlaps with the events in HOW TO LOSE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS and reading that book explains a lot of what is going on in the beginning of this book.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

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Beautiful and Powerful Story of Love After Marriage

“Her marriage was perfect”

THE STORY: The Duke and Duchess of Margrave have a marriage of convenience. They agreed that Edie, and American heiress, would contribute her immense dowry, get the title, and take over running the ducal estates and that Stuart would go to Africa and never come back. Five years later, Stuart is nearly killed by a lion and realizes that he wants to try and build a real marriage with his wife. He returns to England and his wife is appalled. She has no intention of being close to any man, including her husband. Stuart offers Edie a deal, if she gives him ten days to try and win a kiss from her, he will agree to a legal separation if he fails.

OPINION: This book is a powerful story about pain and loss and recovery from deep wounds of all kinds. The way that Edie’s personal story is compared and contrasted with Stuart’s was especially illuminating. This book focuses especially on the power of love to heal, but there is also the power of choice and respect and trust. I was especially moved by Stuart’s reaction to Edie’s history and his determination to show her respect and earn her trust. I thought the story moved in ways that were unexpected and I came to really like the characters of Stuart and Edie. My only complaint was that their happy ending was cut a bit short. I would have liked more — maybe in subsequent book in the series.

WORTH MENTIONING: Readers should be aware that this book has depictions of rape and its aftermath.

FINAL DECISION: Although married, this book is really how Stuart and Edie get to know one another and fall in love. I thought the story was well developed and I would recommend it.

CONNECTED BOOKS: This is the second book in the An American Heiress in London series. It can be read as a standalone without missing anything.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

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