First love, never forgotten!
One Night of Surrender (Wicked Dukes Club #2) by Darcy Burke
Ten years earlier, when a student, Valentine Fairfax, Duke of Eastleigh had shared a night with Isabelle Highmore, the intelligent daughter of an Oxford College warden.
"They’d stolen their one night together and knew it would have to last them forever."
Now they've met again. Isabelle's a widow, Isabelle Cortland, and the governess for the children of a friend. Both have been married before, both marriages were untenable. Their meeting is a complete surprise. The attraction between them fairly lifts of the page.
When Isabelle is discharged from her position (think jealousy, followed by unwanted attention by the children's father) she turns to seeking a job, any job, even as a barmaid at of all places The Wicked Duke, owned by, you've guessed it, Val and his friend the Duke of Colehaven.
That idea doesn't sit happily with Val. He takes charge, or attempts to. What we see is the struggles by both Val and Isabelle where their relationship is concerned. Isabelle wants independence. Val wants? Well Val is conflicted about what he wants, apart from Isabelle in some fashion, except maybe marriage.
This all made for an exciting storyline, but even after a second reading I was not entirely satisfied and have questions about their relationship when they were younger. Was Val happy to have one night with Isabelle and leave? Was Isabelle really ok with that? Was dukely duty a consideration? Val and said to her, "he didn’t wish to wed for several more years." And now, Val it appears is concerned but not willing to commit and Isabelle still wants her independence. Sudden steamy interludes are becoming a habit, with Isabelle more often than not the protagonist. I guess 'you can't fight true love' is the message. Or maybe that the love they have is enduring even if they don't realize it and after all 'love will conquer all.'
A NetGalley ARC
*** 1/2
Ten years earlier, when a student, Valentine Fairfax, Duke of Eastleigh had shared a night with Isabelle Highmore, the intelligent daughter of an Oxford College warden.
"They’d stolen their one night together and knew it would have to last them forever."
Now they've met again. Isabelle's a widow, Isabelle Cortland, and the governess for the children of a friend. Both have been married before, both marriages were untenable. Their meeting is a complete surprise. The attraction between them fairly lifts of the page.
When Isabelle is discharged from her position (think jealousy, followed by unwanted attention by the children's father) she turns to seeking a job, any job, even as a barmaid at of all places The Wicked Duke, owned by, you've guessed it, Val and his friend the Duke of Colehaven.
That idea doesn't sit happily with Val. He takes charge, or attempts to. What we see is the struggles by both Val and Isabelle where their relationship is concerned. Isabelle wants independence. Val wants? Well Val is conflicted about what he wants, apart from Isabelle in some fashion, except maybe marriage.
This all made for an exciting storyline, but even after a second reading I was not entirely satisfied and have questions about their relationship when they were younger. Was Val happy to have one night with Isabelle and leave? Was Isabelle really ok with that? Was dukely duty a consideration? Val and said to her, "he didn’t wish to wed for several more years." And now, Val it appears is concerned but not willing to commit and Isabelle still wants her independence. Sudden steamy interludes are becoming a habit, with Isabelle more often than not the protagonist. I guess 'you can't fight true love' is the message. Or maybe that the love they have is enduring even if they don't realize it and after all 'love will conquer all.'
A NetGalley ARC
*** 1/2
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