To Tame a Dangerous Lordby Nicole Jordanreviewed by Valarie PelisseroFebruary 2010, 464 pages, Publisher: Berkley, ISBN: 0345510119 Back Cover Blurb: Dangerously sexy nobleman and former spymaster Rayne Kenyon, Earl of Haviland, has no interest in love. He merely desires an heir to carry on his title and therefore must have a wife. Rayne makes a surprising choice of bride by settling on the plain spinster daughter of a fellow spy who once saved his life. But the spirited and witty Madeline Ellis proves much more than Rayne bargained for.
Dazed by Rayne's smoldering kisses, Madeline knows that she's at last found love - with a man determined to avoid it. Once wedded, she decides to take fate into her own hands. Maybe, just maybe, she can kindle the fires in Rayne's heart by turning her plain, ordinary self into a dazzling temptress. With a little help from the Loring sisters, the earl's artless new wife becomes a beautiful, bold seductress in their marriage bed. But who could imagine that a simple marriage of convenience can suddenly be flooded with danger, desire, and unexpected love?
What's a girl to do when the man of her dreams only wants a marriage of convenience and no romantic entanglements? Why, marry him then seek help from a courtesan to make her husband fall in love with her. Sound familiar? Yes. As is the part where Rayne has had his heart broken before and so paints his wife in the same light as that other traitorous bitch. Does the heroine follow in the paths of previous stupid heroines who value their pride above honesty with their husbands? You bet. All of these occur in Nicole Jordan's latest “Courtship Wars” book, To Tame a Dangerous Lord.
Sarcastically, they say there are only about six plots and they keep getting reworked and redone to death, and, since three of those plots were in one book, I am strongly inclined to believe that. In fact, I think I am going to start keeping a tally. Back to the point though, I am making To Tame a Dangerous Lord out to be a bad book and it really wasn't. Like all of Nicole Jordan's books the writing was solid, the characters were solid, the dialogue and the pacing were spot on, and there was just enough humor to balance out the story, it was just the conflict that I had an issue with.
When Madeline and Rayne meet, she is heading to London to look for work after the death of her elderly employer and desperately trying to avoid Baron Ackerby who wants her for his mistress and won't take no for an answer. In fact, he has followed Madeline to the inn she was forced to stop in when the coach she was traveling in lost a wheel. Unable to sleep, Madeline sees the Baron arrive and flees her room taking refuge in what she thinks is an empty parlor. A scene ensues between Madeline, Rayne and the Baron with Madeline pretending that Rayne is her lover to throw her pursuer off her trail. Rayne can't leave a damsel in distress and offers to take Madeline to his neighbor who runs a ladies academy.
Rayne promised his grandmother he will marry and secure an heir but all of the debutante's leave him cold. It is only Madeline whom he desires so he pursues her until she capitulates, then promptly leaves her the day after the quick wedding so that neither of them will get too attached, since this is a marriage of convenience after all.
And it goes on from there with Rayne suspecting Madeline of all kinds of foul deeds because he had been betrayed by a woman before. THAT is his entire conflict and his reason for leaving her in the country and having his staff spy on her. Just that, nothing else.
Madeline's conflict was equally trite. Her brother has recently eloped, but before he did, he stole a necklace from Baron Ackerby (for altruistic reasons) and now the baron wants his head or Madeline in his bed. Does she ask her powerful husband for help? Nope, because if he or his family finds out her brother is a criminal then they will surely hate her and think she isn't good enough for Rayne. REALLY?! That's it? Rayne's grandmother and sister's have already told Madeline in no uncertain terms that she isn't good enough and should step aside so that he can get the marriage annulled, so how much worse could it get? And that sums up the story and the conflict.
Rayne was an ass and treated Madeline horribly, and I never warmed up to him, nor did I believe his and Madeline's love story. Despite some stupid moments though, Madeline was a likable and engaging heroine. All in all To Tame a Dangerous Lord is an acceptable book, despite my boredom with this type of overused plot, but judge it for yourself.
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