Review: I REALLY LIKED IT!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 12, 2013
Story Rating ~ 4 StarsCharacter Rating ~ 5 StarsRomance Rating~ 4 StarsHeat Level ~ 3.5 StarsOverall Rating ~ 4 Solid StarsWhat a surprise this book was to me. It reminded me of the historical romances from the 80's and you know what? I REALLY LIKED IT!!This is a story about a young woman, Jane, whose mother and father have both passed away and is being raised by her grandfather. Jane had always wanted to be a doctor and her parents stood by her on this, but not her grandfather. She lied to her grandfather in order to go to Belgium and help the wounded soldiers after the battle at Waterloo. This is where Jane meets Ned Kellington, the younger brother of a Duke. She was being attacked by several men and he was just in time to save her from being raped. After Ned dispatched these men, Jane noticed he had a bad wound on his leg. She finds a cave and once they settle in, the doctor in her has to take care of his injury, which without medical attention could very well have taken his life. This is when Ned starts to feel a strong attraction for Jane. Jane wants the chance to finally know what sex is all about so she lies to Ned about her name and tells him that she is a widow. Ned realizes that she is a virgin, but Jane pushes and the deed is done. Afterwards Ned asks her to be his mistress and of course Jane wants no part of that. The next day they walk to a town and shortly after that they part. Jane's grandfather sends a footman to bring her home. She leaves without letting Ned know that she is going. Ned of course looks for her everywhere, because he is a gentleman and wants to ask her to marry him.7 years later Ned runs into Jane again, when he is sent to visit the woman who he has been betrothed to since birth. He has no desire to wed this woman, even though she is very beautiful. Once he spots Jane, she is all he can think of. Jane on the other hand is holding a VERY big secret from Ned. This is where the story really takes off.I loved both Jane and Ned's characters. Jane is smart, pretty and treats everyone with kindness. She is willing to help the people in the village when someone is hurt or sick, even knowing they don't have anything to pay her with. Ned is a real hero; he is handsome, kind, strong, giving and also treats all others as equals even if he is a brother to a Duke. There are also plenty of secondary characters in the book and they were all very well done.When Jane's life is threatened Ned takes her to London with him, and the reader is introduced to his family. However, once in London the threat to Jane is not over. As the story moves along there is quite a bit of action and mystery behind who's doing these things and why. We also meet a few other characters that add another layer to the story and made the read more interesting. It's VERY exciting when they track down the villians and find out just why they have been after Jane.The ending was excellent and there was a wonderful epilogue that tied up everything nicely and left me smiling!Overall this was a really good read and held my interest all the way through. The characters were wonderful, and the ending was everything I hope for in my romance books. The heat level was just a bit higher than most romances and these scenes were very well done. There are 4 more book's in this series revolving around Ned's family and I look forward to reading them too.