Customer Reviews

The Heart's Desire (Heart's Desire, Book 1)

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4 star:		(1)
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Emily, Lady Harland, has lost two brothers and a husband to the war against Napoleon. Her surviving brother is paralysed, an invalid. Her father, a general, is still involved in the war effort although they're now back in London. So when she hears the idle, indolent and supercilious Duke of Avon mocking the English troops and suggesting that Napoleon should have been allowed to run free on the Continent, she is furious - and lets him know her views in no uncertain terms. And when he informs her that the severe limp she sees him walk with is only an affectation, she is incensed and dismisses him as a worthless fop. Only, once he leaves, she notices that there is blood on the handrail where he had walked...

Dominic Maitland, Duke of Avon, is indeed a cripple, and has been since birth. He is also up to his neck in the war effort himself behind the scenes: he decodes encrypted messages and is in charge of a network of couriers. The night Emily meets him, he has just come from a rendezvous with a courier which went badly wrong, and he was nearly killed. His business with her father is to establish the source of a leak in the war office, for which her father is responsible.

Avon has long decided never to marry, and never to fall in love. After all, who could love a cripple like him? And anyway, his father always told him that his crippled leg was hereditary - so why have children only to pass that on to the next generation? Furthermore, he detests feeling pitied, so he avoids friendship - the person he is closest to is Moss, his valet, who is more like a father to him than his own father was.

However, he is deeply attracted to Emily, and she to him. He tries to scare her off by indicating that all he wants from her is sex - but she refuses to be completely scared off. And when Avon starts spending a lot of time at her home, working with Devon, her brother, they are thrown more into each other's company - and then when Emily and her father save Avon's life and he has to stay with them in order to recuperate, feelings grow even stronger and he finds it impossible to deny what he really feels for her. But he still won't marry her... and then things get worse when, under severe stress and worry, Emily says something unforgivable to him about his limp. Can these two ever forgive each other and find love?

This is an amazing, gripping and so well-written book - Gayle Wilson is a real find! I would put this on a par with the better long Mary Baloghs, and I'm now off to get hold of as many other Gayle Wilsons as I can. Excellent!

wmr-uk

If you pick up this book, you are going to fall in love with the hero. Never has a book provoked so much emotion! This book is a keeper that can be read and enjoyed time and again! This is the first book of a three book series. The Gambler's Heart and The Heart's Wager are just as wonderful! Gayle is truly gifted. This book is going to be re-released in December 2000 - I recommend it to anyone who loves dangerous romances that are full of love and emotion.

I don't usually care to see books released again, but this is certainly an exception! I loved this book and scoured the used book stores when it was first released to buy a second copy to loan to friends. It was too good not to share, but too good to risk losing. Avon is a hero to die for--great strength of character and intellect hiding a wealth of strong emotion. Very sexy combination. I sympathized with the heroine so deeply when she voiced something she wished with all her heart she could call back. Excellent story, excellent romance, and great conflict. These series books have such a short shelf life, I'm glad that more people will get a chance to enjoy this story.

Talk about your tortured hero's. Dominic Maitland, Duke of Avon is the poster boy. Not only was he born crippled, his entire family dies (except father) in a horrible accident and his father abandons him to a harsh school without an allowance. So basically he has lived all his life without love and only relys upon himself. He decides the only life for him is that of a spy/informer of military strategems for England in her war with Napolean. Lady Harland's father, a general, is one of the few people privy to his secret activities. And so the romance begins or not with Dominic and Emily. Dominic does everything ( including some very hurtful things) to keep her away even though he's madly in love. He believes that his handicap will be passed on to his children and so has decided never to marry, but Emily will not be denied and so a rollercoaster begins. There are so many ups and downs in this book. Just when you think all will be well -BAM!- a huge misunderstanding or a crule twist of fate intervenes.

This is a wonderful book. After what these characters have been through, you really feel their deep love in the end. Just magical.

Lady Emily Harland is a strong young woman who has experienced a number of things in life. She's followed her father and brothers to the Peninsula, hastily marrying Lord Harland in order to do so; she's then widowed, lost two older brothers to the war and has had a harrowing trip back to England with her father and her badly wounded younger brother. But even her seemingly indomitable strength and compassion are tested when she meets the cold, sardonic Dominic Maitland, Duke of Avon.

Dominic is secretly working with Emily's father who is a former field general but now working at the War Department. Disabled from birth and unable to do his duty to his country any other way, he's created and run an important spy network compiling crucial information about the enemy, only there seems to be a traitor leaking information and killing couriers. Dominic has led a hard and solitary life: his father had always despised him, sent him away to a harsh school to fend for himself without visits home or even an allowance and had told Dominic his defect was hereditary and he's a disgrace to his name. Dominic has learned to cope by vowing to survive despite his father, but to never love or have children. He is strangely tempted to ignore his vows because of the lovely--and persistent--Emily, but does his best to keep her away, and he's very good at what he does.

Emily's invalid brother, Devon, needs something to work on, however, and Avon could use his sharp mind to try and figure out who the traitor is, so Emily has opportunity to try and find out if Dominic will ever allow love into his life.

Dominic is definitely a tortured hero. His words and actions are often brutal, whether hunting down traitors or keeping others away. This is no light, fluffy romance, rather it's full of hints of the harsher realities of war and injury and the state of medical care, the cruelties of society, a traitor who doesn't hesitate to kill or sell out his country. Dominic and Emily love each other, but their path is far from smooth and both make very human errors that cause pain. The characters are well-drawn and their feelings and trials are carefully related so that you feel their joys and anxiousness and pain. Parts of this book made me tear up, which was a good thing, since it meant I was really feeling for these characters. It was definitely one of the more memorable romances I've read lately, which is also a good thing since many books I'll read and forget about right after.

Gayle Wilson writes an engaging story of life's imperfections and the struggle to find love. This is a must read for any romance fan who really believes that love conquers all!

This book had tears running down my face as I devoured the 2nd half, aching for the Duke and his Duchess as they misunderstood each others intentions. Darn willful pride! But a great romance it always makes!

I read The Hearts Wager first, not knowing it was a sequel, and I'm glad I did, because there is quite a lot of this book devoted to Devon and his relationship with Emily and Avon. I loved Devon in the Hearts Wager and I really enjoyed reading about his recovery in this book, which I may not have appreciated fully if I hadnt already been acquainted with his character.

This is a very gripping and emotional romance, but I do have a few qualms with it. I didnt care overly for Emily. The glimpse you get of her in The Hearts Wager shows her to be a fiery and independent redhead, possessive of her crippled husband and his love. She came off strong in the beginning of The Hearts Desire, and a few later scenes, but she made some really questionable choices in the book that had me nearly disgusted with her. For example, after she criticizes the Dukes handicap, she falls ill, and Devon has to convince her to find the determination to get well. The author would have us believe that she welcomed the solace of her illness so much that she contemplated death? There were other instances as well, but detailing them would expose spoilers in the plot, and I dont want to detract from what really was a lovely read.

So lovely in fact, that this and the The Hearts Wager have earned a special place in my treasure hutch, and I know I will reread many times. A keeper!

It is excellent book for adventure and romance. It really intrigued me. This book is highly recommendation.