Review: Regency romance with passion, mystery and suspense!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 4, 2013
Sabrina "Sabre" Bittlesworth is easily the leader of The Haberdashers trio. She may be petite and beautiful, but she is also extremely outspoken and can wield a sword better than most men. Quincy "Quince" Telford, Duke of Beloin, a fairly level headed man who is not driven by his baser desires. But when his eyes fall on the lovely Sabrina while visiting her older brother, he mistakes her for something she is not and impulsively asks that she be his mistress. Now on top of dealing with someone black mailing him, this insult sets in motion a force that Quince has absolutely no chance of fighting off. A force named Sabre.We briefly met both main characters in book one as Sabre is Jack's best friend and Quince is Gideon's. I didn't see enough of Sabre for me t form an opinion of her before now, but I absolutely loved her in Athena's Ordeal. She is not afraid to go after what she wants. Sabre has her sights set on Quincy and she will not stop until she gets him. And she will get him, of that she has no doubts. I loved that her form of seduction was to plant herself into his daily life and basically take over running his household.In Trials of Artemis it was quite clear that Gideon and Quincy had a strong difference of opinions in regards to politics. However now we see just how completely opposite they are which is actually quite amusing. Physically Quincy is handsome and blonde with perfectly coiffed hair while Gideon is dark and brooding. Gideon has a reputation as "Lord Lucifer" due to how he spent many years indulging in drink and women whereas Quincy always prided himself on not using women and was usually the person pulling Gideon from the gutter.I was actually surprised how much I liked Quincy and my own feelings for him grew as the story went on. Normally, the dark rake is my preference but there was a laid back innocence about him that was just irresistible. While he tries his darnedest to resist Sabrina, it is only a matter of time that he gives in. And not just with his body but with his heart and soul as well. Both characters grow so much personally in this story which to me made their love even better.There is also the threat of Quincy's mystery blackmailer hanging over there heads throughout. This adds a layer of mystery and suspense to the story and brings new characters, like Sabrina's older brothers Robert and Charles, into the series. It was impossible for me to tell on which side of the coin Robert fell and it really kept me on my toes.While it ends with a happily ever after for our couple, there are a few questions at the end which set us up nicely for book three. Which, by the way, I cannot wait for. Make sure you read my interview with author Sue London down below for details on what's next for these ladies. If you enjoy Regency Era romance novels, The Haberdashers series is a must read for you.Read more of my reviews at [...] I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.