THE SCOUNDREL IN HER BED
Series: Sins for all Seasons #3
Genre: Historical Romance
Author: Lorraine Heath
Release Date: February 26, 2019
The bastard son of a nobleman, Finn Trewlove was a shameful secret raised by a stranger.
As Finn came of age he had secrets, too–the clandestine nights spent with an earl’s daughter.
But her promise of forever ended in betrayal.
Driven by a past that haunts her, Lady Lavinia Kent seeks redemption in London’s underworld, engaged in a daring cause inspired by the young man to whom she gave her innocence, and who then proved himself a scoundrel by abandoning her.
When their paths cross again, they can’t deny the yearning and desire that still burns.
As they discover the truth behind the deceptions that tore them apart, Finn and Lavinia must fight to reclaim what they’ve lost, no matter how dangerous—because love is worth the risk….
How could he be happy when all he’d ever wanted was her, and all she now wanted was the freedom to do as she pleased?
I’m a sucker for a good second chance romance, and this book definitely delivered on that front. Vivi and Finn’s story spans the course of several years. They meet when Vivi is just fifteen, fall in love when she’s seventeen, and fall apart in a devastating fashion only for their life to cross paths eight years later. But neither of them are the people they once were.
I loved the set up of the story. Finn, the bastard son of a nobleman meets and falls for a woman far beyond his poor reach. Vivi may be the daughter of an earl, set to marry a duke almost from birth, but titles mean nothing for her when she first lays eyes on Finn. The story unfolds in alternate flashes of past and present, allowing the reader to see how they met while they anxiously wait to see what caused them to ultimately fall apart.
Years later, Finn is no longer the starry eyed boy that fell in love with a girl beyond his standing. And Vivi is no longer the naive young woman that thought as long as she and Finn were together, nothing could harm them. Vivi has dedicated her life to hunting down of baby farmers and rescuing the young children and babies from a fate sometimes worse than death. I really loved her singleminded focus on finding these children. There’s a wealth of secrets hidden beneath the eight years they spent apart, but when their paths cross again, it doesn’t take long for those secrets to unravel and for the connection that was between them years ago to spark back to life. The mystery of what happens is stretched out in tiers, which I really enjoyed. You get one part of it fairly quickly, while the other part continues to unravel chapter by chapter.
I really loved the story and the characters, but ultimately I struggled to feel the chemistry between them. I just never fully bought into it. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it was a struggle from the moment they met to when they finally reconnect. I felt like I’m being told that they have this incredible connection rather than truly feeling it. And while I loved the two of them together, I couldn’t help but feel like I wanted something a little…more.
Did I enjoy this book? Absolutely! It was a page turner from beginning to finish. And while I did wish that I felt a little more of the passion, I still thoroughly enjoyed the romance.
