In
the aftermath of her father’s suicide and the bankrupt state he left her
family in, it is up to Caroline Clemens to see to the care of her younger
siblings. Destitute and abandoned by her betrothed in her time of need, she
agrees to an unorthodox yet advantageous arrangement with the mysterious
Dominic Savage. As his mistress, she and her family will want for nothing,
Dominic will see to their comfort and education. In return, Caroline must
be available to him at all times, without question or hesitation.
Caroline agrees to give him her body readily – indeed, it is no hardship to
surrender to his masterful seduction. She balks, however, at releasing her
heart to him, even though it grows harder to protect by the day.
The Price of Desire
is the first story I have read yet by Leda Swann. The author’s writing
skill is without question – the plot was consistent, the writing fluid and
descriptive. The characters were well-developed and real to me within the
very first chapter.
My problem with this story came early in the story with one of the actions
by the ‘heroine’, Caroline. She did something so abhorrent to me early in
the tale that she was never able to earn my respect or empathy again. To be
perfectly honest, I would have respected the story much more if Dominic had
walked away from her with a “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” type
parting shot when he discovered what she had done. The only other way I
could see myself coming to terms with this character were if she were
suffering from mental illness and subsequently treated. I do understand she
was under tremendous stress at the time, but her actions were just not
redeemable in my opinion.
There were some other plot points later in the story that just didn’t sit
well with me, but none quite as big as this early flub by the leading lady.
Tying it all up was an ending that was, to me, pretty unsatisfying in its
brevity. I really think another chapter should have been devoted to tying
up the loose ends and making me believe why this couple could end up
together after everything that had transpired.
After reading The Price of Desire, I won’t automatically shy
away from another Leda Swann book, but it won’t be the first on my buy list.
Reviewed by Jennifer
