NEW REVIEW OF WICKED NIGHTS WITH A PROPER LADY BY TIFFANY CLARE

DANGEROUS ROGUES #1

Setting: London, England 1846

In the captivating first installment of the Dangerous Rogues series, a seductive earl encounters an old flame and passion burns brighter—and more dangerously—than ever before…

When Love Is At Stake

Leo Harrow, Earl of Barrington, is a regular subject of the scandal rags. Once an unrepentant pleasure seeker, he knows that young ladies are warned to look the other way when he enters a room. But when he comes face to face with a woman from his past—the one that got away—he will do anything to keep the rumors about him at bay. Or risk losing her forever…

All Bets Are Off

Genevieve Camden is no stranger to Leo’s seductive ways. Years ago she was fooled into believing that he cared about her…and now that he’s back on the ballroom floor, he appears to be making amends. But this time Genny knows better: A scoundrel never changes his stripes—not even one as charming and handsome as Leo. Unless maybe he’s been in love with her all along…?

★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩

Tiffany Clare is a new-to-me author and I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book. What a delicious treat it turned out to be!  The combination of endearing hero and heroine, sparkling dialogue, fascinating secondary characters and some sizzling hot love scenes made this an extremely enjoyable read.

Four years ago Leo met Genny, the woman who ‘meant more to him than he could ever fathom’ but being young and stupid, he walked away from her at his father’s bidding. Four years ago, Genny fell in love with Leo but he simply walked away leaving her hurt and angry.

Meeting again, Leo sees it as a second chance to prove himself worthy of her love. As far as Genny’s concerned it’s once bitten, twice shy.  She has no intention of succumbing to his seductive ways ever again!

I couldn’t help but like Leo and Genny. He’s the handsome, charming,  sexy, witty, protective rogue and she’s the apparently prim and proper chaperone who gradually reveals her true self; fun loving, tenacious, self-sufficient and strong-willed. They made the perfect couple. I enjoyed the delicious push-pull between them and their rapier-sharp repartee. Leo’s definitely hard to resist with his wickedly seductive words and actions.

The heat of his breath fanned over the shell of her ear. “Perhaps I wish to hear your memories of our wickedly delightful nights together. I have missed you more than you can imagine all these years.”

I was pleased that Genny didn’t capitulate too soon and Leo has to work hard to convince her of his sincerity. When the two finally get together, there are some sizzling hot love scenes, particularly the one in the maze! But my favourite scene takes place in Leo’s greenhouse. There’s not even a kiss but there is something so beautifully romantic about the whole scene. It’s somewhere very special to Leo:

“It’s my private place. I don’t want people who don’t appreciate this as much as I do tramping through here, breaking flowers, and wearing down paths.”

and the fact that he wants to share it with Genny creates a real moment of emotional connection between them.

When Leo reveals details of the wager with Tristan, it causes a rift with Genny but, luckily, Ms Clare doesn’t drag this out and it was quickly resolved without lots of angst and soul-searching.

There is a wonderful array of fascinating secondary characters, all just begging for their own stories; the infamous Jezebel, Dowager Countess of Fallon, the enigmatic Hayden, Duke of Alsborough, the affable Tristan, Marquess of Castleigh and the not-as-naive-as-she-appears Lady Charlotte.

I loved the snippets of gossip from The Mayfair Chronicle which precede each chapter. They reminded me so much of Lady Whistledown’s observations from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels.

This is a delightful, entertaining romance and I’m really looking forward to reading the other books to come in this series.

How I imagine Leo ~

How I imagine Genny ~

RATING: ★★★★

SENSUALITY RATING: HOT

Read January 2013