Review: Engaging Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 3, 2013
***Received from Story Cartel for an honest review***This is part of Karla Darcy's "Pride Meets Prejudice" series but can be read as a standalone.Bella flees her controlling Uncle after learning he intends to force her to marry his son, who is more a friend than a love interest to Bella. On her way to London, she stumbles upon a man left for dead and nurses him back to health. That man is Lord Tristram Wyndham, who was attacked while traveling to his country home, Dragon's Keep.The attraction between Tristram and Bella is sweet and gradual but it grows into a strong love and passion by the end of the story. I enjoyed Tristram's initial resolve to keep beautiful, resourceful Bella at arm's length and to try to view her as a child. But his attempts are thwarted by his mother, who has decided Bella will be Tristram's new wife, and by the tantalizing glimpses of the woman Bella truly is. I loved Bella. She's witty, smart, resourceful, and stubborn. She sees the good man Tristram is and adores the affection he has for his son Colin.The most engaging aspect of this story was how both Tristram and Bella had no desire to marry--Bella simply because she had no desire to, and Tristram because of what transpired between him and his late wife before she died. And yet it was thoroughly entertaining to watch them fall in love with each other all while denying their need/want to marry.The honest downer was the slow start of the story. That's not to say it wasn't interesting, but it just didn't move fast enough for me. Once past the beginning though, the story moved at a marvelous pace.I'm a huge Karla Darcy fan, and I've enjoyed every single book in this series, and this one is no exception.