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Lady Isabella Willoughby widowed these last three years, has always been in love with the inscrutable Marcus, Lord Roth, one of the most powerful members of the House of Lords. Patient and proper, Bella and Marcus have been good friends through the years, but now Isabella is ready to let loose and capture the object of her desire – if only for just one kiss. Wealthy, handsome and brooding, Marcus not only serves in the House, but has a network of men who serve to protect and remove those who would cause harm. Lately, his network has been breached and someone is killing off those close to him. As Lady Isabella begins her campaign to bring forth her wild side, expecting more from him than friendship, Marcus is about to break his one simple rule of not falling in love. Unfortunately, not only must he guard Bella from his enemies, but her heart from discovering his dark family secret. *** I am becoming a huge fan of Ms. Mallory who has a remarkable talent of creating memorable and likeable characters, not only those who are pre-destined for one another but are immensely appealing to the reader. It was amusing the way the author let the very prim and proper widow Lady Bella break out of her self imposed proper little world to try to entice the man she’d always loved. Having run out of patience when Marcus never gave her any encouragement, Bella had initially settled and had a good but not passionate marriage. She was determined to change her life and sedate looks with daring clothes and by attending some of the more risqué entertainments to make her good ‘friend’ Marcus sit up and take notice! Marcus definitely took notice and didn’t like it one bit that Bella was attracting the attention of persons he considered opponents as well as enemies. With an underlying element of danger, Marcus convinced himself he was ‘protecting’ Bella from her own foolishness. He’d never been immune to her charms but held a dark family secret that he knew from Bella’s own personal history, would cause her heartache and pain should he encourage their closeness. The author did well with keeping the intrigue and danger at the forefront as Marcus succumbed to the desires of the one woman he’d tried to keep from being hurt. Ms. Mallory kept the intrigue, fast-paced action and sensual seduction going strong throughout the story striking a perfect balance of danger, titillating humor, passion, along with a heartwarming ending. Fabulous entertainment is in store for Regency fans! Marilyn Rondeau – Reviewers International Organization (RIO) |
What Isabella Desires
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