In a night of drunken revelry, Jasper Finley, Baron Montford, gambles his reputation as London's most notorious lover on one woman. His challenge? To seduce the exquisite, virtuous Katherine Huxtable within a fortnight. But when his best-laid plans go awry, Jasper devises a wager of his own. For Katherine, already wildly attracted to him, Jasper's offer is irresistible: to make London's most dangerous rake fall in love with her.
Then Jasper suddenly ups the ante. Katherine knows she should refuse. But with scandal brewing and her reputation in jeopardy, she reluctantly agrees to become his wife.
Now, as passion ignites, the seduction really begins. And this time the prize is nothing less than "both "their hearts...
Comment: This is the second installment in the Huxtable series by author Mary Balogh. In this second story we follow the romance of the youngest sister, Katherine. Basically, this family of four siblings has discovered their only brother Stephen is the heir of an earldom after being poor all their lives. Now their circumstances changed and they need to be part of a different society.
In this story we finally get to know the youngest sister of the four siblings. Katherine is a dreamer but she is also a happy young woman, who is dedicated to her family. She found her new station in life to be a great adventure but deep down she still feels like a country girl and won't change her perspective on life for anything. Except the apparently handsome and also adventurous baron Montford, a man many people have warned her about.
Caught in a deceiving situation but rescued immediately too, Katherine soon stops thinking Jasper, baron Montford, is anywhere near respectable. However, they meet again later and apparently their connection has a lot more to go on than what they imagined. Will they find enough common ground in order to be happy together?
I don't think it would be any kind of surprise to know this story follows the same usual pattern we have come to expect from the author's writing style. There's something to be said about stability and knowing what you will get.
I was surprised, though, by how it started. The "hero" bets on a wager with other men that he can seduce Katherine completely, and this happens soon after the Huxtable family is presented to the ton. We know she can't be a match to someone who wants to deceive her and things only don't end badly because Jasper changes his mind at the last moment.
The notion someone purposely wants to hurt someone - emotionally in this case - is quite disturbing. I assume this is why many readers have complained and didn't enjoy this story. I also think it would have been a terrible action to recover from and, to be honest, if he had done it to her, how redeemed could he be anyway? However, I think it's not difficult to put aside some logic in what should have been his actions because this is meant to be a romance and although the author used/inserted some explanations later on in the story to justify why Jasper would have had a risky attitude and behavior, he did change his mind. I do think that a clever person could have had better choices but realistically speaking we don't always do what we should.
The couple meets again years later and there is when the real story begins. Of course it's to be expected they still feel attraction for one another (this is why they used to look at the other in balls and why Katherine felt like going with him to a more secluded spot) but the path towards the notion if they could be a good couple is quite interesting. Probably one of the best elements of this author's stories is how the tone of her book is serious but it still allows for some easier situations and scenes to be included. I do like how the characters often discuss important matters regarding their lives. These stories aren't only a matter of instant lust as other authors rely on.
Globally speaking, I've read other stories by the author I liked better.
Katherine is a good enough heroine but despite being happy she got her HEA, her emotional journey wasn't one I think happened very strongly. She went through a bad situation and she did face complicated feelings but her life wasn't always one she wouldn't have been able to solve.
Jasper was more intriguing because of his personality. I've read some critiques he is labeled a rake but doesn't really live the part. To be honest, I don't really care about this and I found his character to be a developing one, so I liked who he became.
All in all, this was a solid read, one that didn't make any waves considering the type of plot and style of the author but if, like me, readers enjoy stories where it's all about the characters and their lives and surrounding situations, this is a good one. I'm invested in this family and want to see more of what happens to them.
Grade: 7/10
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