Customer Reviews

Lord of Temptation (Warner Forever S.)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I finished reading Lord of Temptation last night and absolutely loved the book. Gia and Dante were fabulous. Totally believable characters that just grabbed your interest and held on to it the whole book.

I loved that Gia's characteristics and personality evolved in a believable way! You could feel her distrust of people in the beginning and the slow thaw when she found that people she met were genuinely good and happy. Those introductions to people who were happy with their lives gave her the canvas that she needed to relax her guard and let her soul emerge. She had so many personality traits that I loved, even when being so distrustful of the world. She was brave and stayed true to her friend. I loved her sense of humor!!! She also had a huge amount of love all bottled up inside of her and you gave her the perfect setting for that to come out and for her to become the person that she was meant to be.

As for Dante: A reformed rake who became able to focus and love only one deserving woman. Dante had such compassion and understanding of who she was even while lusting after her ~ and then his heart started to open up and let her in. He was tender - giving - unselfish - and totally HOT ....

Paula, I cannot wait to read more. As a total addict to Lynn Kurland I can honestly say that you are now rated right up there on the top shelf !!! I LOVED this book and look forward to reading more in the future.

Gianelle Dejiat is on a mission. Tired of being an abused slave in her master's household, she and another servant plan their escape. But their plans go awry and Gianelle is accused of murdering her master. Fearing that her life is going to come to an ugly end, Gianelle is surprised when King William's man, Lord Dante Risande comes to her rescue.

In order to prove her innocence, Dante must first purchase Gianelle. Knowing that Dante is a rogue, Gianelle refuses to give in to her attraction for him and goes out of her way to alienate Dante. Dante, however, has other plans for Gianelle. Plans that she is scared to believe in because she knows that she has no business depending on Lord Dante. In fact, he is a temptation that she just doesn't need.

I fell instantly in love with Lord Dante Risande. He is the epitome of a medieval hero and he made my heart thump. Whether he was listening to Gianelle yell at him or trying to seduce her, he went about his task in a manner that made me want to submit to him! Gianelle, well, she was harder to love because of her fears. There were times that I wanted to yell at her and tell her that Dante really loved her. Once she finally took the chance to love Dante, I breathed a sigh of relief. These two characters were perfect for each other.

Lord of Temptation is set in medieval England right after the Norman invasion. I love reading historical romances set in this time period, it's one of my favorites. Paula Quinn has captured the elements that so delight me; medieval intrigue, rebels and love. All of it just makes for a wonderful book. Lord of Temptation is alluringly delicious and I look forward to more from Paula Quinn!

Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Dante Risande is a fearsome warrior with a face and form that leaves women sighing. He has not met a woman that will make him give up his freedom until the lovely Gianelle. She is about to be accused of a murder Dante is not so sure she may have committed. Taking her and her friend Casey he heads back to Graycliff castle but what starts off as a simple rescue turns into something Dante could never imagine.

Gianelle lives for the chance to experience freedom from her bonds of servitude. Her master is cruel and Gianelle knows that her only chance of living the way she wishes to escape. With her friend Casey they try for a daring escape only to be found by the handsome Lord Risande. Gianelle knows this rogue will cause her nothing but trouble but she is helpless when it comes to turning her back on him. He will only end up breaking her heart...or will he?

This second effort is a wonderfully romantic story. I loved Dante and Gianelle's story and highly enjoyed visiting with Brand and Brynn again. This is an author who knows how to develop endearing characters. I eagerly look forward to her next effort.

Wow! I wasn't sure that Quinn could top the prequel Lord of Desire, but was I wrong! Lord of Temptation is excellent! Norman Lord Dante Risande rescues and buys slave/servant Gianelle, who is a murder suspect. He then brings her back to his home where he sets her free. Dante is extremely attracted and drawn to Gianelle, who resists not wanting to be one of his 'women'. The love story is excellent, along with plenty of action (murder/revenge) and some humor. LOD characters Brand and Brynna make appearances too. A very satisfying read.

From the book:
Norman lord Dante Risande never met a woman he couldn't seduce... until a lovely slave named Gianelle refuses his bed and piques his interest. So when she's accused of murder, he can't sit idly by. As the king's right hand, it's his duty to investigate. But in order to save her, he must buy her.

A slave all her life, Gianelle wants nothing to do with men. Especially this silver-eyed, velvet-tongued warrior. What she wants is her freedom, not to become another of Dante's conquests. But as the only suspect in the killing of her last master, she has no choice except to put her faith in Dante... a man who questions everything, including her innocence.
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I was a bit nervous about picking up this book, I was afraid after how much I adored it's prequel, "Lord of Desire" that it might pale in its shadow.
To my delight, this book shines as much (if not more) brightly than its predecessor! It's a passionate, sensual adventure with a fiery intelligent heroine, and an alpha male you'll wish you could keep. Dante and Gianelle have chemistry impossible to deny. Sparks FLY! The crackling sexual tension between them will cause you to break a sweat, and the verbal banter will have you laughing out loud. Paula Quinn is swiftly proving herself to be one of the great voices that will be around for a long time to come. One of the best medieval romances I've ever read, grab this one up fast, don't wait!

I'll admit that I read this novel, Paula Quinn's second, before reading her first. I enjoyed it so much that I just had to read Lord of Desire.

Paula Quinn has a fresh, distinct voice, one that I expect to hear from time and time again.

BookWebWarehouse

LORD OF TEMPTATION by Paula Quinn
February 6, 2006

Amazon rating 4/5

"Paula Quinn's LORD OF TEMPTATION takes off where LORD OF DESIRE left off. The first story centered on Norman Lord Brand, a close friend of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy. The focus is now on his brother, Lord Dante Risande, who has a reputation with the ladies.

Gianelle is a slave owned by the Dermott brothers, Edgar and Bryce, known for their cruelty to their underlings. With the help of her good friend Casey (also a slave), Gianelle tries to run away but is caught by the visiting Dante when he finds them climbing down the castle walls early one morning. In the meantime, Bryce is found dead, and Dante suspects Gianelle, who demonstrated her knowledge of herbs and poisons to him earlier that evening. Dante takes Casey and Gianelle under his wing. He knows that if he lets them escape, Gianelle will eventually be captured and tried for murder. Gianelle longs for freedom, but Dante promises safety, something she would not have if she ran away. Wanted for murder, she would not survive alone. Casey, once of the upper classes, fits easily into Dante's world and wishes that her friend could learn to love this way of life as well, but Gianelle is not easily convinced. She senses that Dante does not trust her. However, Gianelle and Dante slowly fall in love." - complete review at BookLoons - M. Lofton


This book was even more fun than the previous book LORD OF DESIRE. The author knows her medieval history and brings to life these characters that lived side by side with historic persons such as William the Conqueror. Recommended for lovers of historical medieval romances.

Most women flirt with and fall for Dante, a georgous man. Gia is a servant who plays hard to get with him because she has other things on her mind. He is drawn to her because she is a challenge. Eventually they get together, but the attraction is based on physical beauty rather than interesting character traits or other reasons for them to like each other. The theme of two good looking people meeting and getting together didn't do much for me. There is also a bad guy who wants Gia and wants to kill Dante.

Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: six. Setting: 1071 England. Copyright: 2006. Genre: historical romance.

To date, I have read two Paula Quinn books. The other one is "Lord of Desire" copyright 2005. My 4 star review of that book was posted on 1/26/07.

If the book's calling out from the shelf every time you go to the dang store--pick it up! This is what I told myself after reading Lord of Temptation because for over a year I was tempted to buy Ms. Quinn's books. Guess my head was on cloud zero. This book gave me the warm fuzzies, the kind usually only a nice long bubble bath and some good chocolate can. Needless to say, I've already gone back to it for a second helping.

England, 1071. Dante Risande, Norman lord and lover extraordinaire, is in search of members of a Saxon resistance, who work to thwart King William's hold on England. While visiting Saxon noble Bryce Dermott's estate in Devonshire, he meets the lovely and enigmatic Gianelle, a servant. Not even the noble ladies present can turn his head, and Dante is determined to make the jaded woman his. When Dermott meets his maker, his brother seizes his chance to make Gianelle suffer, as he's always wanted her too. All but charged with her master's death, Dante steps in to protect her till a proper inquiry can begin. When he takes Gianelle and her best friend to his home, he begins and all out wooing of Gianelle and it's not long till both of them feel the unrestrained passion that has haunted them since their first meeting. Meanwhile, Dante must figure out if she can really be trusted all while carrying out the orders of his King. Keeping Gianelle safe is no easy task either. Not everything is as it appears and they'll have to wade through treachery, deceit and heartbreak before dreaming of happiness.

This is the kind of book that makes me want to reread it--immediately. Not only did I laugh my butt off at Gianelle's extra dry roasted sense of humor, I felt swept off my feet many times throughout. Dante Risande: great name, phenomenal hero material. He's haunted by the loss of a loved one, hounded by the resistance of a beautiful woman and he doesn't take crap from his enemies. Sexy doesn't begin to describe this proud, fierce and noble man. Gianelle was a fresh breeze of wit, poise and intelligence. She's got som major hang-ups due to family as well and when she slipped into her devious, child-like means of retribution, I was floored with laughter as well as sympathy for her. By no means is she a wilting willow though, quite the opposite. Never having been able to trust in men, her melting to Dante was one of the sweetest, and hottest, scenarios I've read in a while. The writing is so smooth, flowing wonderfully from one scene to the next with a good, solid pace that never left me wanting to put the book down. In fact, I couldn't and read it in about five hours. So, not the most complicated of storylines, but with a timeless, beautiful love story that more than filled my "ahhhh, giggle, sigh, sniffle, ahhhh" quota for the month. It seems as if it's part of a series, but in typical me fashion, I'm all out of order, but not out of sorts as a result--I reads just fine on its own though I'm reading her others as soon as possible. Wonderful book. Top ten keeper shelf material right here.

Dante is such a fierce warrior and what a rake. He goes through an amazing amount of women before he meets Gia. Oh the lovely Gia, a servant and virtually enslaved by Bryce Dermott and avoiding his seedy brother Edward. Gia more than anything wants her freedom so when Dante says he is taking her with him she is not happy. She thinks she will be going from one enslavement to another. However she finds Dante's world completely different. Here at his castle she is not a servant but a guest. and of course there are those feelings she is starting to have for Dante. and he cannot believe how strongly he wants Gia. But Dante has never been faithful in his life and Gia knowing this resists him as long as she is able. This is a heartwarming story about a rake that finds love with a beautiful loving woman. Great romantic read!