THE ONE THING HE CANNOT REVEAL For years, Melisande Fleming has loved Lord Vale from afar . . . watching him seduce a succession of lovers, and once catching a glimpse of heartbreaking depths beneath his roguish veneer. When he’s jilted on his wedding day, she boldly offers to be his. TO THE ONE WOMAN HE MOST DESIRES Vale gladly weds Melisande, if only to produce an heir. But he’s pleasantly … produce an heir. But he’s pleasantly surprised: A shy and proper Lady by day, she’s a wanton at night, giving him her body-though not her heart.
IS HIS DEEPEST NEED . . .
Determined to learn her secrets, this sinner starts to woo his seductive new wife-while hiding the nightmares from his soldiering days in the Colonies that still haunt him. Yet when a deadly betrayal from the past threatens to tear them apart, Lord Vale must bare his soul to the woman he married . . . or risk losing her forever.
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I liked this so much better than book 1 in the series. The characters endeared themselves to me, and the excerpts from the Laughing Jack fairy tale formed a delightful, imaginative introduction to each chapter. Melisande is kind of a plain Jane Cinderella who seizes her chance at love with admirable determination and much help from her loyal Sir Mouse. Jasper, while a long-time rake, is ready to settle down even though he doesn’t quite know what that will mean when he makes the impulsive decision to accept Melisande’s proposal. Their relationship builds slowly, but both demonstrate humanity and caring, and a believable bond is forged. I’m not much in favor of the premise of this series forcing the men to search for a traitor, but I do enjoy Hoyt’s characters and her charming pets.
PTSD, 18th-century, romance-after-marriage, erotica, England
I read this many years ago but I remember it fondly. Not too many novels of any kind are concerned with the PTSD incurred in the French and Indian Wars in the American colonies. This one is one of four involving British men and is unusually done.
One aspect of the author is the weaving of a folk tale into the novel.
Narrator Anne Flosnik is at her usual dramatic best.
Melisande is an introvert who sees the opportunity to snag the man she has been in love with for the last six years and takes it. Jasper Lord Vale gets jilted by Melisande’s best friend and another much younger debutante in the same year, and he is sitting in the church vestibule lamenting the need to find someone else to marry. These two may be night and day personality wise (not to mention when they like to be their most active selves), but they are quickly intrigued by trying to figure out the familiar strangers that they married. While Jasper may only carry internal wounds from the massacre at Spinner’s Falls, his silent struggle with his guilt is crippling his ability to truly live. Melisande has her work cut out for her! The fairy tale book continues to bring about happy endings as Melisande works to translate the stories. This one is pretty unique! Gotta tell you though, the best part of this book might be Pynch and Suchlike. Vale’s valet and Melisande’s maid do their best to take care of their prickly bosses, but their relationship is an lovely side trip into the kingdom of cute! This is my second favorite book in the series, and I can’t wait to start book 3 tomorrow!
Elizabeth Holt does it again! Another fantasy read. Highly recommend this witty entertaining book!
I had a hard time with Vale, so this wasn’t my favorite of the series, but I still loved it. Ironically, Vale and Valentine (from Duke of Sin) are my two least favorite Elizabeth Hoyt books and both times it’s because of the hero and both of their names start with V… Melisande is magnificent as is Elizabeth Hoyt. I love the fairytale element in all of EH’s books and Laughing Jack is no exception. I also really love how all of the books in her series tie in with each other and how we’re introduced to each character so that anticipation is heightened. I actually read to Beguile a Beast first so it was so good to see Helen and the children in this book. I can’t wait to read to Desire a Devil, but once I do that I’ll be all caught up with her backlist and I’ll have to wait a few weeks for Not the Duke’s Darling to release :/ 4.5 out of 5 wine glasses.