Customer Reviews

Lord Libertine (Harlequin Historical)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Set in London, 1821. When her sister, Cora, is dying before her, Isabella "Bella" O'Rourke vows to find the killer and bring him to justice. The only thing Cora can tell Bella is that the man is a gentleman of the Ton, dark haired, licks his lips after every kiss, and his kisses taste bitter. Bella has no delusions about Cora's murderer. Cora had been bled from the wrists, partly skinned, her private parts mutilated, and had a wyvern dragon drawn (in her own blood) on her belly. Whoever this madman is, he is able to hide his dark soul beneath a handsome face and great charm.

Since the Home Office has no leads and stopped investigating, Bella can think of no way to locate her sister's killer except to kiss every dark haired gentleman she can during the Season and watch to see if he licks his lips or tastes bitter. Bella has no doubts that the hunt will destroy her reputation; however, she needs to protect her identity as much as possible so that her vigilante justice does not ruin her two remaining sisters chances of making a good match. The men have begun calling her Lady Lace. One dark haired and charming gentleman, Andrew Hunter, is fast becoming a problem. Bella finds herself attracted to him, but she cannot get him to give her a kiss. Yet she must find a way to make sure he is not the man she seeks. At the same time, the gentleman keeps scaring off the other gentleman she is trying to test.

Andrew "Drew" Hunter is known as Lord Libertine. After witnessing horrors during his time in the war (not to mention the horrible acts he had to commit to others), Drew is doing every wild thing he can imagine to keep himself from remembering. Drew has become numb and not even his wild nights are interesting any more. But then his former commanding officer and friend, Lord Wycliffe with the Home Office, convinces Drew to help locate a serial killer. Ladies are disappearing, only to turn up dead with ghastly wounds that speak of cult rituals. Lord Wycliffe had been present when Bella and Cora spoke. Cora had only been the first lady from the upper class to been kidnapped. The facts show that she won't be the last. The number of bodies is now in the double digits and the night of something called the Thirteenth Sabbath draws near. Drew must keep silent on what he knows from everyone, including from the tempting Lady Lace once he knows her secrets. But how can Drew keep the lady he adores from putting herself in danger without revealing Lord Wycliffe's secrets?

***** This may be a romance set during the Regency era of London, but it is overflowing with drama and gripping suspense! The identity of the killer is pretty obvious to the reader, but the author has more than a few twists and surprises in store. You will never grow bored of this excellent story and I highly recommend it to all. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I've been devouring this series and leaving reviews as I go. You'll see that I've rated most of them at 4 stars, but this one fell a little flat for me. There is too much repetition, both in Bella's manner of searching for her sister's killer, as well as in Andrew's investigation of the mystery plot - neither of which leave much time for the romance between them to develop. As I said with The Rake's Revenge, read this if you are reading the series. Otherwise, start somewhere else with this author. I actually think her first book, A Wild Justice (Harlequin Historical), is one of her best, so I suggest you start there.

Andrew Hunter no longer thinks the season will be boring - with the Crown asking him to investiage some recent murders and being enchanted/obsesses with Lady Lace. Bella's sister Cora was murdered by one of the 'Ton'. She has little information about the murder but that he kisses uniquely and is determined to avenge her death. So decides to kiss tall,dark and handsome men of the Ton as "lady lace." I really enjoyed this book - off to find more this by this author.

In my limited experience, I'm coming to the conclusion that the best historical romance fiction can be found in the Harlequin series and "Lord Libertine" is no exception. Well written, with a delectable hero and brave and intelligent heroine, strong supporting characters and suspense to boot makes for a great read! I put everything else aside until I finished it. One caveat for sensitive readers: the mystery element is most unsavory, although the author handles it very well, getting the point across without drawing too precise a picture. All in all, highly recommended for its admirable h/h, intelligence and fast pacing.