Review: Great Characters, Entertaining & Suspenseful Storyline!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2014
No one is safe as one woman's journey to revenge continues in this second installment in the Disgraced Lords series.  When two people marry out of guilt and desperation you'd expect things to end badly, but for these two strong-willed people love unexpectedly flourishes just as danger comes knocking.  With their lives hanging in the balance they realize that love is the most important thing in a marriage and that they'll do anything to keep the other safe as they join together to find out who wants them living in shame and misery.After being framed for murdering a young noble in a duel over a mistress, Sebastian feels indebted to the young man's family and will do anything to make amends....including marrying the woman all of the ton thinks of as endlessly nagging.  As he doesn't want anything to do with love she seems to be perfect for a wife.  He'll take care of her family in exchange for wedding and bedding her for an heir and in exchange he'll carry on as a bachelor in any bed he desires.  The moment he sees her walking down the aisle though everything changes and he realizes there's more to her than meets the eye and against his will he becomes drawn to her.  He soon wants to bed only her and becomes a more responsible man because of the belief she has in his kindness and honor.  When she's put in danger by manipulative members of the ton who have their own plans for revenge, he realizes her importance in his life and puts his life on the line to get her back in a pulse pounding and desperate race to the story's conclusion.  Sebastian was a sexy and charming hero who had trust issues because of his parent's miserable marriage full of vengeful infidelities.  Love means heartache and he wants nothing of it.  He's a loving brother though and cherishes his two sisters.  Seeing this proves he has a heart and made him even more endearing and had me rooting for Beatrice to win him over.Beatrice is her family's only hope to stay out of the poor house as she bravely goes to the devil himself to force him into marrying her out of guilt.  She doesn't expect him to be so sexy though and is surprised by how warm he makes her feel.  After what Sebastian did to her brother she's angry with herself but can't help being drawn to him.  Though his offer of marriage without love saddens her as she hoped for more when she finally married, she knows an old and plain spinster like her should be grateful.  As they spend more time together she discovers more about her husband, the truth of what happened that day at the duel and the danger he's in from an unknown enemy, and stays by his side helping him get one step closer to his enemy and falling in love with him.  I adored Beatrice from the very start as she did whatever necessary to save her family.  She knew what the ton thought of her and didn't care as her actions were in care of her family.  She was open with Sebastian, loyal, and understanding.  She never jumped to conclusions but made them talk through their issues.  She's strong-willed and a perfect match for Sebastian as he needed someone to make him see the truth about the taint his parent's marriage left on his soul which allowed for an immensely satisfying HEA.The romance between Sebastian and Beatrice was steamy from the very start as their verbal banter was as sexy as foreplay.  Their sexual interludes were equally hot and nicely paced throughout the story.  I enjoyed seeing Sebastian learn that his feelings were in fact love and was awed by the emotional depths he went to to express himself to Beatrice.  Along with the immensely likable main couple we get reintroduced to the other Libertine Scholars as they come together once again to help one of their own.  Each of the men are unique in their personalities and compelling in the glimpses we've gotten of each thus far and I look forward to their stories being told.  The mystery continues to be suspenseful with little headway made this time around as to the vengeful woman's identity.  The mystery was perfectly interwoven into the scorching and burgeoning relationship between Beatrice and Sebastian to keep the reader engaged on every level and I'm on edge to learn more about the woman's identity and what nastiness she has planned next as no one seems safe.  Ms. Evans continues to entertain and delight in this compelling series and I can hardly wait for the next installment as the brief glimpse we get of it at the end of this book sounds amazing!