Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Review: My Fair Lover by Nicole Jordan

My Fair Lover by Nicole Jordan
Series: Legendary Lovers, Book 5
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Historical Romance
ISBN: 9780553392579
Release Date: August 29, 2017
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

Lady Katherine Wilde believes she has crushed any lingering romantic feelings toward Brandon Deverill, who spurned her six years ago. And now that the rough-edged rogue needs polishing to claim his inheritance, she’s willing to strike a practical bargain: Kate will mold the brash privateer into an acceptable English nobleman if Deverill will safeguard her from brigands on a voyage to recover lost family treasure. However, the soul-melting kiss that seals their agreement just may reignite blazing passion.

Brandon’s fortitude was sorely tested when he turned Kate away from his bed all those years ago. Even a rake such as he wouldn’t seduce an innocent beauty before sailing into battle. But now that he’s inherited a title and must take a suitable bride, he sets his sights on Kate. Though he fiercely desires her, true love is a notion that baffles him—until their adventure turns perilous and Brandon realizes he’d gladly trade his life to save the woman who has captured his heart.

Six years ago Lady Katherine Wilde was in love with Brandon Deverill and attempted to seduce him. At the time he was about to leave to fight in a war against the British, so Deverill chose to do the honorable thing and turn her away. Now there’s peace between their countries and Deverill has inherited a title, which means he needs a suitable wife. Who better to find him a wife than consummate matchmaker Kate Wilde? Kate agrees to his plan in exchange for Deverill taking her to France and helping her search for what’s left of the ship her parents died on. She will model Deverill into the ideal English gentleman and introduce him to the perfect candidates for matrimony. What she doesn’t know is that he has no plans to mold himself into the perfect husband for some strange woman – he fully plans on seducing and wedding Kate. All he needs to do is convince her to give him a second chance and they could have a love that is truly legendary.

The ultimate matchmaker finally meets her match in My Fair Lover. Though this fifth book in Nicole Jordan’s Legendary Lovers series gives a few nods to the story of Pygmalion, Kate and Deverill’s story is more of a second chance romance than a twist on a literary legend. As I happen to be a sucker for a good second chance romance, I didn’t really mind this, particularly since My Fair Lover started out with such promise.

Deverill and Kate have fantastic chemistry at the start of the book. She is determined to be proper and not to let him seduce her, while he is equally determined to tempt her, challenge her, and ultimately win her back. Their back-and-forth was charming and the dialogue was flirty and fun. But once things started to get steamy between Kate and Deverill, the book, well, lost its steam. The obstacles in the way of their happily ever after – both internal and external – felt a bit forced as it was clear the two were meant to be together, wanted to be together, and the reasons they weren’t were fairly thin. The snappy connection that characterized Kate and Deverill’s relationship in the beginning gave way to sensual scenes that were entertaining but not as original or fun. In addition, the storyline involving Kate’s search for her parents’ sunken ship, a pirate with a grudge against Deverill, and the pirate’s lovelorn mistress just fell flat. Perhaps a shorter format would have served the characters better, but as it stands Kate and Deverill were delightful together and I was rooting for them to get their happily ever after. So while My Fair Lover had its ups and downs for me, I did finish the story a satisfied reader.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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