Contest of Wills (Black Lace Series) [Paperback]

Louisa Francis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998 | Series: Black Lace Series

In Sydney, Australia, in the late 1870s, vivacious young Melanie marries a man old enough to be her grandfather. On a trip to England, their journey is cut short by his sudden death. She inherits his entire fortune unaware that her late husband has a grandson in England who is very much alive and is planning to contest the will. The louche and hedonist Ric Lidell and his promiscuous half-sister travel to Australia in a bid to get their hands on some of the money. Ric conceals his identity from Melanie so he can use his satanic good looks to charm her. However, Melanie's former lover, the rich South African Peter van Heuren, is unwilling to allow the highly-sexed young widow to be taken from him and concocts a plan to discredit her other suitors. Who will win Melanie's heart and their way to her fortune?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Louisa Francis is the author of Desire Under Capricorn, Gold Fever, Hostage to Fantasy and Contest of Wills, all available from Black Lace.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: London Bridge (Mm); paperback / softback edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0352332239
• ISBN-13: 978-0352332233
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,370,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot and Steamy as Usual!, January 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Contest of Wills (Black Lace Series) (Paperback)

This was my first Louisa Francis book and it made me crave more. She's my favorite writer of erotic romance novels. Her female characters are feminine but strong and are not afraid to take advantage of their sexual urges at every opportunity. Men find them irresistable and they don't disappoint.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but could have been better., December 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Contest of Wills (Black Lace Series) (Paperback)

This Black Lace novel had a lot of good things going for it. There was a strong plot, which isn't always the case with erotic novels, and the characters are developed. There is one big problem with the book. None of the characters are likeable. I wanted them all to end up unhappy.

The supposed heroine is Melanie, a young woman who married a man old enough to be her grandfather. This book pretty much ducks the issue, but an earlier book has her bragging about marrying for money. In the first chapter her husband dies while she is in the midst of having sex with a man she's just met. She inherits the old man's money, to the dismay of his grandson, Ric, who had been the old man beneficiary before Melanie's brief marriage. However, it's hard to sympathize with Ric, who had not bothered to visit his grandfather in over 25 years, despite pleas from the old man. Ric disguises himself in order to trick Malanie into marrying him, so he can get his hands on the money. Meanwhile, Pieter, a former lover of Melanie's begins to woo her, but what are his motives? Add in Deli, Ric's amoral sister, and you have a whole cast of unlikable characters who actually deserve each other, but not in a good way. Who will Melanie choose, and will his love be true. Who cares?

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As the cover says a book written by women for women ..., January 8, 2001

By 

Rudolf Spoerer "dowadiddi" (Weston, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Contest of Wills (Black Lace Series) (Paperback)

Which of course makes it difficult though not impossible to review from a man's point of view ....

I have noticed that in the Black Lace series of erotic literature the eroticism is more broad based and sensual than the classic Vitorian erotic literature that was generally if not exclusively written by males .... It delves into the mind of the female characters of the book making the love and sex scenes that much more erotic ..

Needless to say, this book and plot contains some very very strong women who are not hestiant in putting their finger, if other things, on what they really want and usually get.

The story is set in 1870's Australia which is interesting since one could hardly accuse Austrlians of being a matriarchal society making women such as Melanie and delie that much more interesting ...