Review by Library Journal Review
The welcoming and supportive Grand Palace on the Thames boarding house, run by the wonderful Delilah and Angelique, opens its doors once more (after How To Tame a Wild Rogue). Checking in this season is Catherine Keating, visiting from the country for her first (and likely only) London season. Also on the guest list is the powerful and savvy Lord Dominic Kirke, a force of nature in the political world who must find new lodgings because his mistress set fire to his mansion. Unlikely as it seems, Dominic and Catherine begin to form an abiding friendship as he helps her find her feet, and she helps him find his way. Their story builds wonderfully through conversations--held in corners of ballrooms, in front gardens, over group dinners--so that by the time the two take a step that Dominic fully knows is dangerous to them both, Catherine is already there. As would be expected from the vapidly inclined ton, danger indeed arrives--in the form of a scandal that the two resolve in heart-sweeping fashion. VERDICT Long writes romances for romance novel lovers. Suggest her to fans of Tessa Dare, Lisa Kleypas, and Stephanie Laurens's early "Cynster" novels.--Neal Wyatt
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A country miss meets a jaded reformist politician in her first London season. Slightly older than the average debutante, Catherine Keating is still a wide-eyed newcomer hoping to be dazzled by London's beau monde. Lord Dominic Kirke, a Welshman by birth and a Whig Member of Parliament, finds high society boring, but he relishes crossing verbal swords with its powerful members on behalf of his poor constituents. When the two meet as new guests at the Grand Palace on the Thames boardinghouse, no one predicts that they will strike sparks off each other. Their initially unplanned meetings in the ballrooms for various gatherings turn into a secret friendship, which then hums with unspoken desire that neither can resist for long. But Dominic is a self-confessed rake who has no intention of ruining a country doctor's daughter, while Catherine suspects that he's feeling more for her than he admits. Their evenings at the cozy inn, with its kind and quirky inhabitants, wrap them tighter in warm intimacy, countering their attempts to keep a safe emotional and physical distance. London society has taken notice, though, and personal and political jealousy soon threatens Dominic's closely held privacy and Catherine's reputation. Long is masterful in building sensual suspense, and the story throbs with metaphors that conjure images of hearts and bodies under siege from sensations the protagonists battle. Though the third-act breakup is such a frequent feature in her books that it can feel forced, the potency of her style and her skill at building complex characters do much to compensate. The epilogue strikes a poignant note, extending beyond the main characters to promise many stories of others yet to be told. Another appealing addition to this series of Regency romances anchored by a London boardinghouse. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
