Review: Ohh WOW!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 9, 2013
Loved this book!Ashleigh was raised to be the heir to her grandfather, and is pretty unconventional. She plays poker, and can cheat like a champ. She's great at chess. She rides her stallion in breaches and races for fun. She wants to learn how to fence, she's smart, funny, and completely beautiful. (She reminds me a lot of one of Judith McNaughts characters...can't remember the name! But I should add that this book packs the emotion of MCNaughts books too).Nicholas is a Duke who doesn't want marriage, hes been burned and distrusts all women. But, He's a gentlemen who adores his grandma, and so doesn't refuse her anything...including allowing Ashleigh to remain a guest.Our H/h meet when she's out riding and they're instantly attracted to each other, and he's sure she's just someone out to ensnare him into the marriage trap, he walks away wanting to find her and propose an illicit affair. Turns out he finds her sooner then he hopes...at dinner that night as his grandmas guest. He realizes she's off limits but to battle the attraction he starts to ignore her, she recognizes it for what it is, and is pretty forward in getting him to acknowledge there's something there. She recognizes herself as being in love with him from the beginning and they have a few stolen moments together where his kisses do nothing but reassure her that she's right, and so she keeps after him. Our hero though is very mistrustful, and there are some purely innocent moments that occur which serve to heighten his distrust. Eventually their relationship comes to a breaking point and in a jealous rage she shouts out that he isn't the only one she's had. At this point she's still innocent of all wrongdoing, and his mistrust blinds him to how great she is. Every time they get close again, something innocent happens to set him off, or he gets to comfortable with her and runs off before he allows himself to depend on her love.The book has a lot of emotion, and I even tear'ed up at the end. You really felt him falling for her, it was totally packed with emotions...often suppressed, but they were there; honestly I think Ashleigh fell blindingly fast, but she held fast to her feelings throughout the book- I think once I just shut my mind off to the fact that this was a 17 year old girl and a 29 year old man, I became ok with her feelings being legit and really enjoyed the story!Awesome book, and highly recommended. If you like McNaught you'll like this....