Lauren Royal, Lord Temptation

Lord Temptation

Lauren Royal

Signet, Jul 2005, $6.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0451215923

They first met when Alexandra was eight years old when her brother brought him home from school. Over the next seven years, Griffin Chase came home with his friend Tristan Nesbitt to the delight of Alexandra. When she turned fifteen, Tristan informed her that his Uncle Harold is sending him to Jamaica to oversee the property he owns there. Alexandra is heartbroken as she knows he is the man she loves, but being perfectly behaved, too young and treated as Tristan's younger sibling she says nothing.

In 1815 Tristan returns to England as a Marquess where Griffin asks for help to revive the family vineyards as he has done with his own. Alexandra, who never made a match during her seasons due to family deaths, realizes her teenage puppy love remains fully intact as an adult. However, Tristan has no plans to marry anyone; Griffin has selected Lord Shelton for his sister; and Alexandra remains a compliant model of behavior. The paragon concludes that she must break the codes of ethics to gain Tristan's attention as a husband and lover not a brother, but he insists never his bride though she has owned his heart when he was just a Mr.

LORD TEMPTATION is a wonderful Regency romance starring two likable lead protagonists whose love for one another has been kept secret until the second time around. Griffin wants Alexandra as his wife, but when she was too young he was too common and now that he has a title his scandal makes him unsuitable for her. Though typical of the sub-genre, fans will enjoy Alexandra's chase after the man she loves.

Harriet Klausner