Review: I love a story where the hero has to work for the lady's love!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 19, 2013
When Lord Marcus Finley falls in love with Lady Phoebe Stanhope, the timing couldn't be worse.  Marcus is a callow youth of 20 being exiled to the West Indies because of his bad behavior and she is a sweet young thing of 15 with a tendre for Marcus. Desperate to secure her affections, Marcus makes a clumsy advance to Phoebe and scares the daylights out of her which results in her socking him in the nose and knocking him to the ground. After eight years have passed, Marcus returns to London and is determined to win Phoebe's hand. He has matured into a respectable person and realizes the grave error he made all those years before.  Unfortunately for him, Phoebe's dislike of Marcus has turned into a virtual phobia and she cannot even stand to hear his name or contemplate ever seeing him again.Through a set of unusual circumstances, Marcus is able to rescue Phoebe from a couple of sticky situations without her knowing who he is so when they finally meet face to face he is able to make some progress with his suit.  When his identity is revealed, Phoebe is reluctant but willing to give him the opportunity to prove he has changed. Watching Marcus try to juggle private time with Phoebe against society's rules combined with family expectations makes for an interesting read.I enjoyed this book and really liked the main characters.  Marcus is a self-centered boor in the beginning until he realizes that he needs to make changes or he will never get his heart's desire.  Phoebe is a beautiful but feisty woman who is not willing to marry for the sake of being married.  She is holding out for love and has been raised to defend herself.  The family members on both side add to the humor and help advance the romance between Marcus and Phoebe. As in all historical romances, there is an evil villain in the background and this one is really nasty right up to the end.I discovered that Ms. Quinn has other books she has written and I am going to have to read those since I enjoyed this one so much.