12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Twice Tempted by a Rogue by Tessa Dare, June 26, 2010
One thing Rhys St. Maur, the newly appointed Lord Ashworth knows for sure is that fate wants him to live. Having suffered brutal beatings growing up, horrendous battles in war, and just being all around roughed-up, he is still standing and breathing. His body is covered in scars and the deepest are hidden under the skin.
Last in the village of Buckleigh-in-the-Moor when he was seventeen, many years have passed since his family's estate burned to the ground. He still hears the horses cries as the stable burned that terrible night. Now he is back to see what is left of his family's estate. Stopping at The Three Hounds Inn for the night, he meets a blast from the past. Meredith Lane Maddox, who grew up with him. For Meredith, she has been infatuated with Rhys ever since she was young skinny and girl. Rhys is very attracted to the adult, widowed Merry Lane.
Upon inspection of the ruins of his family's estate, he comes to realize the entire village suffered a loss that night. When his family left, the tenants stopped receiving money. The vicar was forced to leave town. The only driving force in town is Meredith's inn. Feeling extremely guilty over these events, and really having nothing else in his life to live for, Rhys decides to stay in the small town and start making a difference. To redeem himself. For starters, he wants to rebuild his home and marry Meredith. Although these words make Meredith's heart all a flutter, the inn is her life. She doesn't want someone taking care of her. She also doesn't trust that Rhys is actually going to stay permanently.
As started in book one, One Dance With a Duke, the murder investigation of Leo, the founder of the Stud Club continues as the remaining members try to find the man responsible. Julian Bellamy comes into town with a lead. As Rhys makes his presence known in town, many townsfolk see his return as more of a threat. Rhys not only has to prove himself to the villagers, but to Meredith as well.
Twice Tempted by a Rogue is the second book in Tessa Dare's Stud Club trilogy. I'll say right off the bat, I loved Rhys and I had problems with Meredith. Rhys is just a big hunkin' man full of sweetness. Oh, he has anger and has lived a hard physical life. But he treats Meredith with the utmost respect. He truly wants a companion, a lover, a wife. He feels like he owes Meredith something better in life since she has worked so hard to repair the damage his family leaving caused.
I liked Meredith in the sense that she was not shy when it came to telling Rhys that she wanted him. She is not a virgin and did not hide her lust filled glances toward him at all. What became tiresome was her lack of communication and indecisiveness. One minute she thought she loved him and wanted him, and the next she decided she only wanted to have sex and that is it. She also kept secrets from him and I never truly understood why. Rhys kept saying- I want to marry you and take care of you. Meredith took this as, she wasn't allowed to run her inn anymore, hanging onto that as her reason not to get married. By the end, she contradicts herself.
Although Meredith and I didn't see eye to eye, Tessa Dare still writes wonderful romance. There is a scene with the simple act of Rhys taking off Meredith's apron that becomes anything but simple. She just adds something special to her romance scenes that make them so rich. The last book in the trilogy features Julian and I also look forward to the resolve of the murder that took place in book one.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tessa Dare is Amazing!, July 4, 2010
Tessa Dare is such an amazing romance author. Her writing seems to be improving, if that were even possible. I don't want Mrs. Dare to think that that was an insult of any sort, though the substance of the writing is a lot deeper than the first trilogy I read, either that, or the love scenes are just that much more intense. I really loved the setting for this book, it sounded very beautiful and the author was absolutely wonderful at describing it. The danger scenes were really scary and had me reading as fast as I could to find out what was going to happen. I really loved the main characters in this book also. They were loveable and strong-willed, and very very identifiable. The dialogue was a lot darker than the first book in this trilogy, but it matched the characters, a lot less laughter, though that was still present. I really liked this one and can't wait for the last book in the trilogy.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Preferred to One Dance with a Duke, June 30, 2010
I definitely preferred the storyline in Twice Tempted by a Rogue to that of the first in the trilogy One Dance with a Duke. I loved the idea of someone that felt so worthless and unlovable (Rhys) paired with someone that had always loved him no matter what (Meredith). I think this is the first book I've read that had a widow so that was a welcome change for me! I liked how confident she was in her abilities to take care of the people that frequented her inn. I also really liked that the mystery of the murder of the Stud Club founder took a back seat for most of the book, a lot less horse talk.
We did get to learn a bit more about Julian who takes center stage in the third and final book, Three Nights with a Scoundrel. In the first book I didn't really like him but he's starting to grow on me and we are also introduced to Cora who plays a role in the mystery and has a sorted past but ends up fighting for a new life for herself, I liked that!
Rhys and Meredith's back and forth keep me going through most of the book, with new revelations about their shared past constantly being brought up but towards the end I started to feel like the magic was sort of fading for me. I don't know what it was, maybe the predictability of the genre? I really don't know. Overall still a fun book
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