When a scheming marquess’s daughter offers her one hundred pounds to publicly kiss a nobleman, a desperate Jessamin Wright agrees. She believes the money will save her failing bookstore and finally free her from her father’s debts. But when Jess bursts into an aristocratic party and shocks the entire ton, she never expects to enjoy the outrageous embrace she shares with a grim viscount.
Lucius … viscount.
Lucius Crawford, Viscount Grimsby, has never met, or kissed, anyone like the beautiful suffragette who unsettles him with a single touch. He has always strived for control and avoided passion at all costs. Lucius is determined to protect his title and restore the estate he’s unexpectedly inherited, but Jess’s appearance in his life poses a threat to his plans and his heart. After a country house party brings them together once more, neither can resist temptation, and both find that one scandalous kiss just isn’t enough.
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This was my first book by Christy Carlyle, and honestly, I didn’t have super high hopes. I’m an avid romance reader and she’s not an author widely talked about among romance reader groups I’ve joined and/or seen advertised. Based on those couple of things, I expected this to be an average book. Maybe because I had such low expectations I enjoyed it more than I expected!
The story itself was really good. The heroine is bribed with 100 pounds to kiss a viscount in the public place as a way to humiliate him after he snubbed her friend at an event. She’s going to use the money to save her deceased father’s book shop. This plot line alone made me a little giddy! Knowing how PDA was treated way back in 1890, I knew this would start quite the scandal.
It was cool to read about a suffragette, especially in today’s times of feminism and equality being such a big thing. My issue with the heroine is that she didn’t have enough backbone. I prefer my heroine’s to be strong, straightforward and confidant. Jessamine isn’t much of any of those things. The boldest thing she’s ever done is go kiss the viscount. The rest of the book, she’s very much a wallflower, and she let’s doubt and fear rule a lot of her actions. She did have a few moments of strength, especially when it came to her suffragette beliefs, but when it came to her relationship with Lucius, she was very weak. And her insistance on returning the money after she looses her shop, seemed odd to me at first. But only because of the way it was explained. The first time it’s mentioned, it’s almost like a casual after thought, “Oh I guess I’ll have to return it now.” And I was like WHAT? She just lost EVERYTHING. Why wouldn’t she use that money to go buy a small house in the country? But then later, the author had the reason be that the money was tainted since she had actual feelings for the Viscount. Which makes sense! It should have been written that way from the beginning.
And Lucius! Gosh, he was GREAT! The heroine did NOT deserve him! He is what prevented this book from being a 3 star read. I LOVED HIM. Once he decided that he wanted her, he was with her and would not let anyone convince him not to be with her. He was the perfect mix of stoic aristocrat and gentle lover. He had every reason to let anger, fear, and loneliness rule his life, but once he found love, he wasn’t going to let all those other things in. There are some really great romantic scenes between Lucius and Jess.
I liked this enough to read the next book in the series. Though it’s about the girl who paid Jessamine to kiss him, and I’m not crazy about her character, so we’ll see how it fairs.
There is one love scene, about three quarters of the through. Not super explicit, but not vague either. Outside of that, there’s just kissing, a couple heavy petting moments, but that’s all. No violence, no language.