Unwrapping: Review of TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you already know what a huge fan of Victoria Vane’s stories I am … well, if it’s possible, I’ve become an even bigger fan after reading TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS.

***I’m happy to say I purchased this one for my personal reading but am happy to share my honest and unscripted thoughts with you.

Blurb for TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS:

A reluctant heiress resigned to her fate… Mary Elizabeth Edwardes has one of the largest fortunes in England, but has no desire to leave her quiet country existence… and even less to acquire a husband she cannot choose for herself.

A dissolute nobleman bent on retribution… Trapped in a duplicitous existence since scandal destroyed his fortune and family name, Lord Hadley Blanchard has spent the better part of a decade posing as a disaffected exile while spying and seducing in the service of the English Crown.

A dangerous game of seduction, and intrigue… When summoned from abroad by a former lover, Lord Hadley perceives an opportunity for vengeance at last. By employing the full measure of his seductive charm, he woos the ward of the man who destroyed his life, little knowing that winning Mary's fortune will mean risking his own treacherous heart.

 

**AUTHOR'S NOTE
TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS was very much inspired by the dark and romantic novels of the 18th century in which virtue vs. vice and plots to despoil virgins were very popular themes, books like Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson or Les Liaisons Dangereuses by LaClos. Similar to these classic tales, my story features an innocent country girl who, unlike the former heroines, is neither insipid nor naive, but still inadvertently becomes a pawn in a deadly game of revenge and intrigue.

 

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Mary Edwardes is unhappy after being informed by her guardian, Sir Richard, that her choice of husband has been placed in his hands. Mary has no desire to marry at all, much less marry someone whom she has no choice in consideration. Now, under Sir Richard’s insistence, she is placed in the care of Lady Barbara Blanchard, a beautiful widow who will teach her all that she needs to know to win a proper husband in London.

 

Lord Hadley Blanchard wants only to regain what rightfully belongs to him as the proper Earl of Blanchard. He wishes to regain the title and estate stolen from him based on false accusations against his father through the ruthlessness of Sir Richard. If only he had the proof in the form of the ledgers that would prove that Sir Richard was, in fact, the one involved in bringing about the worst financial scandal to ever touch the British Isles.

 

Drawn back to London by Barbara’s promise that she has a plan to not only gain revenge against Sir Richard but to ensure their financial solvency once more, Hadley comes across a breath of fresh air in the form of a lovely young woman being tormented on the dance floor by her dance teacher. Only after he learns that Mary is the victim in Barbara’s plan to pull the girl into marriage with Hadley so that they may steal her money and rid themselves of Sir Richard, does he begin to rethink his own motives.

TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane is an exceptional historical romance, filled with intrigue, backstabbing motives, vicious intentions, and stars a man who thinks himself beyond redemption but is instead a hero in the making. My only regret is that there wasn’t a bit more satisfaction when Hadley comes to Mary’s rescue. I would’ve been much more vengeful, but that’s all I will say because TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS is a must read if you love historical romance with plot twists aplenty and truly evil villains.  Unlike the humorous and devilish Devil DeVere series penned by Victoria, of which we so enjoy, this venture into historical romance pulls from the darker side of Georgian society and may not be for everyone, but I think you may be immensely surprised. Victoria warned me more than once about its darkness but I found it most enjoyable and not nearly as dark as I expected.

 

I highly recommend TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane if you love strong characters, intriguing plot lines, and most importantly an excellent story with a heroine who needs saving, and hero who will have you cheering for him to redeem himself. Victoria weaves fiction and history together so expertly that you don’t know where reality and make believe begin, and end. Read TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane and be amazed.

 

***Be sure to read Victoria’s Tidbits at the end to understand the real history involved in this story – not to be missed and always interesting.

 

Happy Reading Everyone!

 

TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane, Entangled Publishing, available now in ebook formats.