Series: Invitation to (Book 1)
One Good Lady Is About to Go Bad...
The only thing Miss Melissa Goodly has ever wanted out of a marriage is love. But any hope of that dissolves one wild night, when she loses herself in the arms of the most irresistible -- and unobtainable -- man in all of England. For when they are discovered in a position as compromising as it is pleasurable, she has no choice but to accept his proposal.
Avowed bachelor Anthony Craven, Earl of Wickham, never meant to seduce an innocent like Melissa. Yet now that the damage is done, it does seem like she'd make a very convenient wife. After all, she is so naive he won't have to worry about ever being tempted. Or so he thinks, until the vows are spoken and they are left alone -- and his new bride reveals a streak just as brazen and unrestrained as his own...
Good book with some deeply emotional scenes. Anthony is a well-known rake who has made it clear that he will never marry. His reputation has earned him the name Lord of Wicked. When we first see him, he is making a bet with his brother as to which of them will sleep with a particular woman first. Even more disturbing is his intention to "stir the pot" by dancing with the woman's innocent cousin.
Melissa wants nothing more than to find a husband she can love and who will love her. But her wastrel brother is determined to sell her off to the highest bidder for his own benefit. Though she knows that Anthony is not the man for her, she can't deny her attraction to him. Her dance with him leaves her flustered and even more enamored of him.
Thanks to interference and a bit of trickery, Anthony ends up in Melissa's bed instead of Cassandra's, which he doesn't realize until it's too late. Anthony may be a rake, but he is also an honorable man and proposes marriage. He's a little surprised when she resists, but he prevails. The dilemma he faces is how to resist his attraction to her.
Overall, I liked both Melissa and Anthony, though Anthony took a while to win me over. He comes across as very cold and manipulative at the beginning, as he deceives Melissa about his plans for their marriage. I began to soften toward him as more of his background was revealed, and how the horrors he experienced made him fear treating his own child the way he was treated. Avoiding the prospect altogether seemed his only option. Melissa was a terrific heroine. She is feisty and independent, determined to get the outcome she wants. She is also a kind and caring woman, as shown by the type of charity work she does. I liked the way she doesn't just sit back and accept others' decisions but stands up for her own needs.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Anthony and Melissa. The sparks between them are strong from the beginning. Anthony is determined to keep Melissa at a distance, but she doesn't make it easy on him, to the point where he uses some truly cruel methods to drive her away from him. I loved that Melissa isn't quite so easy to drive away. It takes her a few days, but she realizes that while his words say one thing, his body says something entirely different. I loved the way she used her intellect to learn the ways of love to win him over. It was great fun to see Anthony tormented by his desire for his wife, to the point of being unable to carry on the way he had planned.
There were several misunderstandings between them, brought about by their differing outlooks on life. Melissa tends to see the good in people first and foremost, and acts accordingly, while Anthony always sees the worst. The first major misunderstanding, regarding the London slave market, ended up showing that they had more in common than they knew. Sometimes their misunderstandings caused them to behave badly toward the other, but eventually, they would learn the truth and find ways to make amends.
One of the things I loved best about Melissa was her refusal to give up on Anthony. The more she learned about his past, the more she admired the way that he had overcome it, even if he didn't think so. I was in tears for her as he pushed her away in ways that did his best to destroy her dreams and make her hate him. Even though it broke her heart, she still couldn't stop loving him. I ached for Anthony, who was so consumed by guilt over things in his past that he couldn't see the things that he did right. He really wanted to be the husband that Melissa deserved, but believed that he was unredeemable. I loved that it was his friends Samantha and Freddie who finally broke through his walls, and how they showed him that he would never be like his father. Having seen the light, Anthony has to find a way to win back Melissa. I loved seeing him expose his vulnerability to her. Even more, I loved how she was able to make him see that it wasn't her forgiveness he needed. I loved the epilogue and seeing the huge difference in Anthony and the happiness that radiates from them both.
One of the most unusual things about this book is that it deals with a subject rarely seen in Regency romances - slavery. I don't think I've ever read a book that talked about the selling of black slaves in England during that time period. I loved that both Melissa and Anthony were involved in fighting it, though in vastly different ways. There was an element of suspense in the book also, as Anthony's fight became far more personal than he ever expected. My heart was in my throat as Melissa became the focal point of Anthony's greatest enemy. The final confrontation was intense with several twists before the ultimate resolution.
I thoroughly enjoyed Anthony's friends and relations and their determination to save him. Though Richard and his mother's methods were underhanded, they were effective. I liked Richard's obvious love for his brother and his efforts to help Anthony and Melissa after their marriage. Rufus intrigues me and I look forward to reading his book, as well as Richard's.
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