The only prior book I've read by Ms Day seemed to me to have so little story--just some throw-away plot to use as an excuse to write one graphic sexual interlude after the other. Not this one. In this book, I found the storyline and premise to be interesting enough that I finished the book in a single day of reading--and didn't skim through it like I have some of her others.

I guess my favorite factor was that our hero married our heroine for all the wrong reasons, was out of the picture for more than 4 years, and came back (a vastly more mature and likeable man) to discover a strong attraction to the wife he left behind. I understood why she was intrigued now when she wasn't back then.

There were a couple of tee-hee moments especially toward the end of the story, one involving our heroine's brother and the near-botching of his own romantic future. At that same time, our heroine was running away from a revelation regarding her husband and their future. This seemed out of character for her because she had pretty much stood her ground and demanded his respect prior to that (and lots of sex, of course).

Ms Day is known for writing in a style that is scorchingly erotic and vividly described using modern language that would have been extremely shocking and unacceptable in this time period. Ultimately, I gave this book a 3 because "I Liked It" and because I would read others by Ms Day, but she is far from my favorite author.

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Regency romance with some juicy sex scenes and lovers' angst; just about average for the genre.

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It seemed like the perfect arrangement. Lady Isabel Pelham is tired of proposals from men she doesn't want to marry. Gerard Faulkner, Marquess of Grayson, needs a wife. Both Isabel and Gerard are notorious for their romantic liaisons, and both know that any marriage between the two of them would be one of convenience based only on friendship. Soon after their marriage, though, a tragic accident sends Gerard away from London and his new wife. Four years later, when he finally returns, Gerard is no longer the charming rake Isabel first married, and he is no longer willing to settle for a marriage based simply on friendship. A woman determined to resist falling in love becomes engaged in a seductive battle of wits with a man equally determined to win her love in Day's latest boldly passionate, scorchingly sexy Regency romance. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Presumably erotica that reads more like a standard historical romance with lots of steamy sex and explicit language. I had some trouble with it initially; it was slow getting started and I didn't much like the hero. And the heroine isn't particularly easy to identify with either. However, there is a very decent little romance lurking in there, and the hero, once he returns from his four year journey to find himself, emerges as a much stronger more admirable character. Still not perfect, but better than many I've seen in erotic romance. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It has its share of silly moments and contrived situations, and at times it seems that the H&H's entire relationship is based on nothing but sex, but I think fans of erotic romance will find it quite enjoyable. Not a keeper for me, but for all its weaknesses, still a pretty good read.
Grade: B+
Sensuality Rating: NC-17

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Loved this book, only took a couple of days to read. Great story,this is the kind of book to read, the one you can't put down until it's done. Looking forward to reading more from Miss Day

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Erotic historical fiction full of contemporary language and steamy love scenes.

This book is about a married couple but it won't give much away to say that while they've been married for four years, it was a marriage of convenience and never consummated. So the story takes up when they finally reunite and Gerard wants to make their marriage real. There's also a subplot with Isabelle's brother falling in love with a young virgin. You get the story about the jaded, experienced couple and also a story with a virgin bride and a rake.

The book was definitely sexy with some pretty steamy love scenes. The love story was kind of weak. Their love seemed to be based almost solely on the incredible sexual attraction between them and not much else. They never really talk about anything but sex or their attraction, don't learn about each other and their personalities or foibles, its just a lot of sex in period costumes. It's worked but wasn't one of those enduring love stories. But good enough to certainly read more, historical and contemporary, from this author.

Haven't read this author before and I wasn't in a big hurry. While this book languished on my TBR pile for a while, I read Fifty Shades of Grey series and Amazon then suggested a bunch of contemporary Sylvia Day books similar to FSoG. So if you like that kind of book, you get the idea of Day's writing style.

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