Series: Society of Wicked Gentlemen (Book 2)
His lady in red…
Jacob, Duke of Westmoor, is feeling the weight of his
recently inherited title when a stolen kiss with a beautiful woman in his
gentlemen's club breathes life back into him. Until
he discovers she's a maid!
Unable to let the beautiful innocent go, he arranges for
Rose Nightingale to become his grandmother's companion. But living under the
same roof, their attraction becomes impossible to resist!
Good book. Jake is one of the owners of the gentlemen's
club. His life was recently upended when both his father and older brother died
in an accident, leaving Jake as the duke. It is a position that he never
expected to have and feels woefully unprepared for.
He is also carrying a boatload of guilt, as he blames himself for their deaths.
Haunted by his feelings, he finds the only place he gets any peace is at the
club, until the day he steals a kiss from an unknown woman.
Rose was a foundling, raised in an orphanage and trained
to work as a maid or housekeeper. She had been working at the club for a few
months and earned a little extra money by
repairing gowns for some of the working girls. On this particular day, she gave
in to the urge to try on one of the dresses and masks, only to be accosted by a
gentleman who steals a kiss.
There was no question about the sparks between Rose and
Jake from the very beginning. But Rose has been very careful all her life not
to give in to the passions that she believed got her mother into trouble (or
else why would Rose have been given up by her mother). I liked the practical
side to Rose and how she tried to resist Jake's advances. I was a bit
disappointed in Jake at first, as a nobleman making advances to someone who
worked for him. But I quickly came to realize that what Jake saw in Rose was
someone who wanted him for himself, not his title. I also liked that he saw
that she had potential to be more than a maid, and set her up as a companion for his grandmother. I ached a bit
for Rose as she felt unprepared for the
role because of her lack of education, but loved how she was such a quick
learner.
The development of the relationship between Jake and Rose
was full of obstacles. First and foremost was the difference in their stations.
He's a duke and she's a maid. That just
isn't done. There was also the promise that Jake had made to his dying father
to give up his "wild ways" and do the right thing for the title. As
they gave in to the passion between them, they also had to be careful not to be
discovered. The more time they spent together, the more their attraction
deepened into stronger feelings. But Jake still tried to deny those feelings,
believing that he had to follow his father's dictates as the only way to
alleviate his guilt. I shook my head at his plans for Rose as I really thought he knew her better. Rose's
feelings for Jake had grown into love. Even though she knew that it was
impossible, she had allowed herself to dream a little of what might be. I loved
seeing her stand up to him. I thought his turnaround was a little fast, but in
the end, he did the right thing and let
love win the day.
I think my favorite character was Jake's grandmother. Her
love for Jake was obvious, and she did her best to help him accept his future
as the duke. I enjoyed her interactions with the people around her. She had a
pretty discerning eye when it came to people, and I loved her comments on some
of them. I got the feeling that she saw a lot more than Jake gave her credit
for, and that she was doing her best to
push him and Rose together.
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