She won’t be tamed.
A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects.
He can’t forget.
Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the … those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he’s guarded and leery of all women.
Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she’s appalled and releases him, but he’s not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement.
He succeeds only to discover he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart.
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Adaira Ferguson, or Addy as her family calls her, was introduced in the last book Highlander’s Hope. She’s everything a lady should not be. She wears pants, ties back her hair rather than styles it, cusses, and rides horses astride. She’s got her own business of breeding horses and producing some fine stock. Her mother and father (see the novella Heart of a Highlander for their sweet story) are lenient with her and let her get away with all of this. They’re not sure why she does it, but they hope she comes around.
Everything is going great for Addy when she’s in town and a man asks her how to get the castle. She discovers that Mr. Marquardt wants to go to Craiglocky to visit his stepsister, Yvette. He hasn’t been invited. She knows that Yvette has an evil stepbrother, Edgar, and she mistakes Mr. Marquardt for Edgar Marquardt and kidnaps the wrong guy. She locks him in the dungeon for a few days, waiting for Ewan, her half-brother and laird, to get back from London so he can decide what to do with Mr. Marquardt.
Mr. Marquardt insists that she’s got the wrong guy and soon she finds out that she indeed has the wrong guy. She’s got Roark, the Earl of Clarendon, Edgar’s brother. She’s abducted a member of the peer. This offense is punishable by doing time in Newgate or even hanging. Her parents know this and are pretty much at the Earl’s mercy as to what to do about Addy. He could press charges and they so didn’t want him to do that. Roark’s answer to the whole thing is to have Addy turned into a lady. He wants her to wear gowns, ride sidesaddle, speak like a lady. and have a season in London. But he wants her and her family to spend a month at his house first. Her family has no choice but to agree.
Addy decides that she’s going to see this through. She’s disobeyed her mother and father so many times and has frustrated them like nothing else. Frankly, I admired this about her. Addy was a headstrong, determined young woman, but she did love her family. I loved her family. She didn’t want to embarrass them anymore and decided she was going to be the best lady ever while they were with Lord Clarendon and attending his insipid house parties.
When they arrive, she discovers an owl in a cage in the library. She notices that the butler has just one arm and some of the other servants in the house have some sort of oddity or malformation. She soon realizes that Clarendon loves animals and takes on people who probably wouldn’t be able to find work anywhere else. He is not as aloof as she first thought and she genuinely liked him as a person. She had the same love for animals and the servants didn’t bother her at all. They were different but still people and she respected that. Moreover, she respected him.
Roark is enthralled with Adaira. He can’t seem to stay away from her, but he thinks she’s loose and knows he won’t be the first man she’s been with. He never seems to forget that, but at the same time, he never tries anything untoward.
There are a lot of kisses in this book, something I like very much, and then when the heat comes on, it’s pretty hot. There’s a fair amount of angst with Adaira’s past and even Roark with his own past. They’re sort of like two broken people who have found each other and together can be one, if that makes sense. They need each other, but they fall deeply in love with each other and that’s what made the story. The tension between these two roared from the pages, while they struggled with outside influences and adversities that seemed to set them back only to bring them together again. It was amazingly done and it had me cheering for them.
This book was a delight from beginning to end. The whole series was, for that matter. I loved every book. The best part is each book can be read as a stand-alone, but with such great stories, I don’t know why anyone would want to do that.
I was fortunate enough to win a copy of Collette Cameron’s book, The Earl’s Enticement. I loved the story of Adaira and Roark. The Earl’s Enticement is a well written book with plenty of action, drama, humor, lovable characters and steam. I look forward to reading more from Collette Cameron in the future. The Earl’s Enticement is about 350 pages of enjoyable reading and is a complete book, not a cliffhanger.
This story started out kind of funny. Adaira imprisons Roark with good intentions. Intentions that can get her hung. When she realizes she imprisoned the wrong person she is distressed and in trouble with her parents and Roark. Roark is determined to teach her a lesson and not be jailed. A dance of the heart begins but many disturbances happen to cause a bodily threat. Beware: the heroine is attacked with the intent to violate. But don’t worry, the attacker gets his due.
A very enjoyable Story .
It was Entertaining, Suspenseful & Romantic.
Taken hostage in a case of mistaken identity Roarke, the rigid Earl of Claredon, is forced to relive some of the horror of his childhood; however, he can’t get his feisty captor out of his mind. Adaira Ferguson lives in constant distrust of men & when a stranger comes to town looking for her new sister-in-law she’s determined to protect her at all costs. Throwing these two together at every turn makes Roarke realize that proper decorum isn’t always the only way & makes Adaira realize that some men can be trusted. Another superb novel by Collette Cameron!!
I have truly enjoyed this series!! Adaira Ferguson is a fiery Scotswoman (half-sister of Ewan McTavish from Highlander’s Hope book 2 of Castle Bride series) who was seriously attacked as a young woman. She wears men’s clothing and acts like a man. She hides behind this farce so men pay her no attention. On one of outings she comes across Roark Marquardt, The Earl of Clarendon (Ewan’s brother-in-law & Yvette’s half-brother), thinking he is Yvette’s other half-brother (who is out to kill Yvette) she imprisons him and waits for her brother to return. Once her brother returns she learns she has made a horrible ILLEGAL mistake. To imprison a nobleman is quite the crime; however, Roark agrees not to press charges IF Addy becomes and act like a lady at His estate in England for the one month. Even maybe have a season, something she does not want. So the family agrees, what else can they do, and accompany Roark to his home. Well one thing after another happens always with Addy in the middle…sometimes I found myself pinching the bridge of my nose….lol that girl can find trouble, Roark finally realizes he loves her the way she is…After some real dangerous threats appear, Roark runs away with Addy to save and protect her. The two agree to marry and face the trouble together. Roark faces his fears of the past and Addy comes to terms with her past. Both not caring about gossip or lies! A true HEA!!!
There is a lot of darkness in this story. I loved it. Tragic pasts, uncomfortable presents, and a love that sees through it all. Adaira was a strong woman, hiding from a painful past, until she ran afoul of Roark, and her life changes her into a more complex woman. Roark is a man trying to protect his family name but is generous and caring. He uses propriety to keep things running smoothly, yet he understands Adaira once he comes to know her. These two are opposites that I am glad became attracted to each other despite their differences. I enjoyed listening to this story and look forward to reading and listening to more of Collette Cameron’s stories.
I received a copy of this audiobook as a gift, and this is my unsolicited review.