Review: Very satisfying!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 16, 2013
A country lady disappointed in love...a London lord who doesn't know what he's been missing until he finds it.When the sophisticated London Corinthian Damian Ashby, Lord Clinton, is accosted by his less than memorable distant cousin Lady Theresa at a betrothal ball in the metropolis, he finds her blue eyes enchanting, but her lack of sophistication and subtlety and her country manners and dress are entirely objectionable to him. But little does Damian know that the lady only sought out his company in order to distract the gossips from the continuous looks of pity directed towards her person.For the man that Theresa thought she was destined to marry chose another, and here she was pretending to wish the engaged couple happy at a ball to celebrate their imminent marriage. To make matters worse, one dance with the top lofty wastrel Damien Ashby only added to Theresa's humiliation and misery.Weeks later, Theresa summons Damian to her father's home. The Earl of Granville is dying, and as the earl's heir, Damian is expected to learn the running of the Granville estate and make the acquaintance of his future tenants. The earl would also like Damien to make a match with his daughter, as Theresa will otherwise be left homeless and destitute due to embezzlement undertaken by the earl's former estate manager.With their recent prejudices formed at that detestable betrothal ball and their mutual dislike for a marriage of convenience, both Damian and Theresa focus on their duty and obligation--she to introduce Damien to the tenants and teach him the running of the estate; he to stay long enough to appease a dying man and look for a suitable estate manager to run Granville. But much to the surprise of the unsuspecting lord and lady, each finds the other to have unknown depths and newly discovered appeal.At 47 pages, Susana Ellis has penned a delightful Regency short that makes for an ideal lunchtime read or a quick bedtime story. Plot timing and pacing is impeccable, and Damian and Theresa are believably characterized and likeable despite their initial prejudices against one another. As early impressions crumble and new assessments of character are made, this couple finds an easy camaraderie that develops naturally into a satisfying love story.I thoroughly enjoyed this Ellora's Cave Blush Cotillion Quickie, and though its sensuality level is designated as sweet kisses only, there are a few anatomical descriptions and male bodily responses that those who only want squeaky clean reads could find mildly objectionable. Personally, I found those references added just the right amount of earthiness to a handsome, single male who was known to have dalliances with the ladies. Therefore, it made his developing attraction to the heroine and her charms very real as he progressed from mere animal attraction towards discovering the perfect woman for him. Very satisfying!Reviewed by Angie Just Read...for TheRomanceReviews.com