Worth Any Price (Bow Street, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lisa Kleypas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2003

What is the price of love?

Nick Gentry is reputed to be the most skillful lover in all England. Known for solving delicate situations, he is hired to seek out Miss Charlotte Howard. He believes his mission will be easily accomplished -- but that was before he met the lady in question.

For instead of a willful female, he discovers one in desperate circumstances, hiding from a man who would destroy her very soul. So Nick shockingly offers her a very different kind of proposition -- one he has never offered before.

He asks her to be his bride.

And he knows that this will be much more than a union in name only. For he senses what Charlotte does not yet know -- that her appetite for sensuality matches his own. But what Nick learns surprises him. For while London's most notorious lover might claim Charlotte's body, he quickly discovers it will take much more than passion to win her love.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: London, 1839
Sensuality: 9

Bow Street runner Nick Gentry is a complex man with a dark and tortured history, and beautiful Charlotte Howard is a woman running from her past. Neither Nick or Charlotte are wholly what they seem, for each have secrets too painful to reveal, and each has chosen to hide behind a false identity. Once they’re drawn into each other’s worlds, they’re forced to face difficult truths and are compelled to acknowledge the passion that burns between them. For Charlotte, "the challenge of taming him, matching his powerful will with her own, was too tempting to resist." For Nick, "if he could not have her, this endless feeling of being hungry, unsatisfied, cold, would never leave him." But will their love be enough to defeat the obsessed nobleman who covets Charlotte and the thirst for danger that tempts Nick, or is their future together doomed by the pain of their past?

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas has another winner on her hands with this follow-up to Lady Sophia’s Lover. Fans and new readers alike will love the fast-paced plot, compelling characters, high-octane sensuality, and the well-drawn English setting. --Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly

Like a bottle of champagne, Kleypas's Victorian-era romance opens with gusto, but the deeper tastes of this delightful story are what make it a truly magical experience. Although former criminal and current Bow Street Runner Nick Gentry has spent three years tempting fate and hunting down many types of lawbreakers, he knows that his life is about to change when he spots wayward Lottie Howard, the runaway fiancee of an overbearing lord. Nick was hired by Lord Radnor to track Lottie down but, upon meeting her, he realizes that he wants her for himself. Faced with the prospect of returning to her much older betrothed or marrying a notorious Runner whose kisses make her heart pound, Lottie hardly hesitates to accept Nick's proposal, despite his dark past. But even as Nick woos her into his bed, his reluctance to open his heart holds her at bay. The narrative's high sensuality quotient, strong sense of place and full-bodied characters make it a worthy follow-up to Kleypas's previous book, Lady Sophia's Lover, and the appearance of the protagonists from that novel will please fans. With this spicy, seamless story, Kleypas reaffirms her place as one of the foremost writers in the historical romance arena.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380811073
• ISBN-13: 978-0380811076
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Historical > General

More About the Author

Lisa Kleypas graduated from Wellesley College with a political science degree. She is a RITA award winning author of both historical romance and contemporary women's fiction. Her novels are published in fourteen different languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband Gregory and their two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This story is Worth Any Price!!, January 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Worth Any Price (Bow Street, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been waiting months to find out the fate of the intriguing Nick Gentry, who, if you read Lady Sophia's Lover, was last "offered" a legitimate position as a Bow Street runner by his nemesis/now brother-in-law Sir Ross Cannon. At last the wait is over, and, as usual, Lisa Kleypas delivers!! We find out some very interesting things about Nick in the beginning of the story-things which help us to see Nick in another light and begin to empathize with him more. While you are awed by the street savvy devil-may-care Nick Gentry, you will also come to love the man who was robbed of his birthright and must struggle with and travel a path that leads him back to a life he was meant to have.

Nick's fate is decided when he is sent to search for Miss Charlotte Howard ("Lottie"), the runaway bride of Lord Radnor. He finds her on the estate of Lord Westcliff, where she has become as inconspicuous as possible. From the first moment he sees her, Nick knows he must have her. Instead of returning her to Lord Radnor, Nick finds himself offering her the one thing he never expected-marriage. Although Nick doesn't know it at the time, Charlotte becomes his saving grace. But, can Nick reconcile his haunted past with his future?

You will like Charlotte as a heroine. She is strong-willed and optimistic, despite the fact that she has a tainted secret she'd like to forget. She is drawn to Nick from the beginning and sees past his hardness. But, can she forgive him for betraying her trust? Can she come to love a man she has promised to marry, but finds she doesn't really know at all?

As always, the story between the characters is mature and sensually rich. Unlike other authors, the heros and heroines in an LK novel grow and develop before our eyes. There isn't the harsh separation or cruel deceptions between the characters. Instead the characters are able to explore their feelings and come to a natural progression of love. Not to mention, Ms. Kleypas is always able to reinvent the love scene, giving us more and keeping us guessing with each new novel.

This is the last of the Bow Street Runners series, and I really hate to see this hunky, dashing group of men go away. However, Ms. Kleypas still has a few minor characters to possibly develop into future novellas or stories. Dr. Linley or Lord Westcliff definitely would make good protagonists in a story. I especially like that Dr. Linley. Although he doesn't play a major role in this story, I am still wondering what makes the good doctor tick.

You will fully enjoy all facets of Worth Any Price. The story is brilliantly written, the characters are mature and memorable, and the passion is beyond compare. To me, this story is worth any price...

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SO WORTH THE READ!!!!, February 12, 2003

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Worth Any Price (Bow Street, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was so worth the price to buy it and absorb this story right into your soul - Lisa Kleypas does that for me - and this, as in all her novels, left me in awe! It is the sequel to 'Lady Sophia's Lover'as our very sexy and accomplished lover/hero is Sophia's brother Nick Gentry. In that prequel, Nick was the scourge of the bow-street runners, and at the end of that story, Nick had been blackmailed by his sister Sophia's husband Sir Ross Cannon to work for and become a bow street runner himself. Please note here that just for the record, even if you have not read the prequel - this book stands quite well on it's own. As would happen with the runners, they would sometimes take on private investigations and so Nick was on the trail of a run away bride who had been missing for two years. Naturally, being the best at what he does, he finds the beautiful Charlotte Howard but being so totally attracted to her and sensing her terror at being sent back she is given three choices, one of which is marrying Nick! Being a bright girl, and also feeling the attraction she marries this very complex, and handsome man!

This book is HOT - STEAMY - and absolutely, deliciously SENSUAL and should come with a warning to not start it at night as you will not be able to put it down. The very complexity of who Nick is and what make him tick is amazing and you will get this from the very first pages. The plot is relatively simple and not a great mystery - but it is still quite an amazing read! I highly recommend this book to buy and be placed on your keeper shelf with - if you are a Lisa Kleypas fan - all of the rest of her books!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lisa Kleypas does it again! Got to Love that Nick! (B+ Grade), January 29, 2003

By 

K. Garrabrant "Katiebabs" (Bloomfield, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Worth Any Price (Bow Street, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a trademark of Kleypas's writing. It is steamy, passsionate and has a hero that would make any woman tingle. He is also a character unlike any other. There is so much more to write about him but giving that away would ruin the book. Simply, he is not what he seems.
This is the sequel to Lady Sophia's Lover and if you read that book, you know what is in store.
This story is about Nick Gentry, brother of the heroine from Lady Sophia's Lover and former thief turned straight man, working for the Bow Runners.
Nick's latest job is to find Charlotte Howard, who is hiding from her fiance and family. She has been missing for two years because the though of marrying a man her parents' forced her to turns her stomach.
When Nick finds hers, he realizes she is the one for him and won't let her go. He must have her to redeem his soul, which he lost years ago. But first both must learn to trust each other and be willing to give and receive.
Nick is the main focus of this story and from the first page you will be amazed by him. There are so many secrets about him and he is a Kleypas trademark hero. He is brooding, alpha but with a touch of vulnerability. And Charlotte is his equal half that shows him what it is to love.
And the love scenes are STEAMY, HOT and too good for words.
This book shows what a true talent Kleypas is.
Also recommended along the same lines is Suddenly You and Lady Sophia's Lover. If steamy and passionate stories are your thing, pick up all three of these books.

Katiebabs

LADY SOPHIA'S LOVER