Beloved Avenger

This is a dark romance that will not appeal to all readers, but I loved it. It has a brooding, obsessive hero who's trying to mix love with revenge. His name is Clifford--a la Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights?? That should tip you off to the tone of the story. The heroine is passive aggressive and exceedingly stubborn (to her detriment). As the story unfolds, the hero's revenge motive ends up all but destroying his chance at happiness and both characters are brought low by their individual poor choices and inability to trust. For me, this story has a bittersweet angle because it really is tortured. I wasn't bothered by the "forced seduction" scene that is key to the plot, but readers who are sensitive about this issue should probably pass on this book. It's not a gratuitous scene, it's perfectly believable in the context of the story, and it moves the plot forward and sets up the ensuing conflicts in the book.

On the back cover: There was no mistaking Sir Clifford Moore's sardonically handsome features as he stood at Almack's staring at her. Emily shivered at the sight of the thin scar on his left cheek. That had not been there before. She kenw then that he would never forget -- could never forget -- what her family had done to him. And that he would take his revenge any way he could. Moore was surprised to see what a beauty little Emily had become. How ironic -- and fortuitous -- that the family who had stolen his inheritane had now offered him the perfect means to exact vengeance. This time it was Moore who held the power -- and Emily was in no position to defy his wishes, whatever they might be. This was a frustratingly sad story. Clifford loved Emily from childhood but hated her family for what they did to his. Emily thought of Clifford as her dearest friend when she was 10 but now at 20 she's confused, hurt and bitter when he suddenly returns. He finds a way to punish her father and thinks he can "win" Emily as his wife, but little does he know that Emily will have nothing of it. The rest of the book is about Clifford's constant, unrelenting effort to make Emily his. They both argue constantly with never a kind word. Add a mean-tempered sister-in-law who wants Clifford for herself and you've got trouble. Her son, Richard, and Clifford's Black friend, Heath, add nicely to the mix. I just had to take one star away for the frustration of it all.

If you can find it, buy it; I believe it is now out of print. I love stories with pirates. This one is one of the best. Lucian, the pirate finds that his arch enemy's fiance Sarina is aboard a ship he raids. As he wants revenge on the guy, he intends to steal her virtue. The enemy, a conniving jerk, only wants her money so she is better off without him. The book captures you right from the beginning. The ending was everything I wanted it to be. I understand this was the first historical romance by this author. The second is Beloved Intruder which I found and am now reading (so far very good). I will not stop until I find all of Ms. Van Nuys' books. She has an incredible gift of story telling. As I said, I'm current reading my second Joan Van Nuys book and have another unread yet in my book shelf. They seem to all have completely different story lines, therefore, I don't think they need to be read in any specific order. If you find them, get them, you won't regret it.