Tempted All Night

09/17/10

London, 1830

Tristan Talbot is a man who has spent most of his life trying to earn his father's approval.  Now as his father  lies on this death bed, Tristan has promised to get to the bottom of a stabbing death that has possible political ties to an infamous brothel.

Lady Phaedra Northampton is on a mission to find Millie, who is the sister of her beloved maid, Agnes.  Millie abandoned her child, ran off to London, and has since disappeared from the same infamous brothel.  Millie's child is also the illegitimate daughter of Lady Phaedra's brother, Anthony Hayden-Worth. 

Tristan and Lady Phaedra decide to work together - Tristan to fulfill the promise made to his father, and  Lady Phaedra to find and return Millie to the daughter she abandoned.

Let me start by saying I am an emotional reader, and tend to rate on how well the story sticks with me.  To some that may seem unfair.  I started this book on September 12, finished it on September 17.  Today is September 20, and I can remember very little about it.  Was it an unpleasant book?  No.  Nor do I feel it was a waste of time.  I liked the book, but I don't remember much about it.

It had intrigue, and I enjoyed that to a certain extent.  It wasn't hard to figure out who did what, where, when, or how.  To that end, it was a little disappointing.

There was slight humor between hero/heroine , and it was somewhat steamy.  It was also interesting to me that Tristan found himself in a rare situation.  Normally being the one to walk away from a woman, he found himself unable to do the same with Lady Phaedra.  Lady Phaedra was the one doing the walking.  I liked that.  I  thought it very interesting.

For me, it was hard to like Tristan.  He was the worst kind of rake - the kind that has no problem bedding another man's wife.  Did he redeem himself?  Yes, but it was nothing astounding.  As a personal preference - if I'm going to read about a man who cheats with a married woman, when his redemption comes, I want the earth to move.   It did not. 

3 Stars