Don't Tempt Me

The first in this series was disappointing so my hopes were not high but this book is a delight. Good story line, endearing characters and witty narrative. Read this in one sitting, then reread it the next day. Definitely a keeper.

Loretta Chase is back in rare and commendable form with this Regency-era Historical Romance. It has all the mainstays of a Chase romance: lively and clever heroine, the tortured hero who needs her (but does not know it yet), and plenty of laugh-out-loud humor. Even though I, personally, enjoy reading the same great story again and again in romances, I found Chase's plot to be refreshingly different. I've never read anything even remotely like it....A gentleman's daughter returning to the fold of society...not knowing how to carry on, but wanting to reclaim her lost years....And how genius it was to meld her innocence and lack of reserve (because she's been out of society) with her provocativeness (because she's been in a harem). Because this book has a "harem" backstory, it could have easily veered into the vulgar, but Ms. Chase maintains just the right balance of sensuality and tasteful allegory. She also masterfully glosses over what could have been a very dark and horrifying experience for the heroine without causing the reader to feel like we were spared an emotional punch. All of the demons are there, yet the light and funny tone of the book prevails. Overall, I like to think of this as a "recession-buster" novel (although, like all of Chase's books, it will remain timeless, I'm sure). It simply sweeps the reader away and makes her feel good. Like a fairy tale, the protagonists have no struggle with money (as we may in "real life,"). In fact, they are indulgently rich...they buy out the dressmaker's shop, and the heroine receives a giant diamond ring. They attend lavish parties in finely appointed carriages and on expensive horses. It's a nice escape; and, most of all, the conflict in the book does not "string-out" the reader until the bitter end. The characters enjoy their happily-ever-after well before the last chapter, and you actually get to see them function as a helpful, useful, generous husband-and-wife team whilst they resolve external conflict. I had a smile on my face the entire time I read this book.

I agree this was not one of Loretta Chase's more romantic endings. I turned the last page and was waiting for a sweet epilogue to put a bow on this gift of a book she wrote. Even so, the characters were phenomenal, the dialogue terrific and compared to the gazillion romance writer out their today Don't Tempt Me is a must read!

It's a Romance - a highly entertaining, suspend-disbelief, Hot romance. Loretta Chase is one of the few romance authors who seldom, if ever, disappoints. And she's hit it out of the park with this one. Very briefly, the initial premise is unbelievable, so the reader must begin by taking a big breath and just going along with the plot - Zoe Lexham - blond, beautiful, spunky, and the daughter of an English peer - has escaped from the harem where she was held captive for twelve years - and is returned to the bosom of her excitable family. The question then arises of how to re-introduce 'the harem girl' into English society and secure a suitable marriage. Enter Lucien deGrey, the Duke of Marchmont, and the answer to any clever maiden's prayer. Lucien is charming, sexy, and has the romance hero's requisite hidden sadness. All the elements of a successful romance are here: chemistry, humor, witty repartee, suspense in a minor key. If you are looking for the latest Orange Prize nominees, don't look on the romance shelf. Romance novels are the banana splits of the book world - made to formula, not especially nourishing, and - when done well -addicting. So just throw your reservations to the winds and let Chase entertain you on a hot summer's day at the beach or warm you up on a cold winter's night before the fire. But read and enjoy 'Don't Tempt Me'! As we say in Alabama, it's a HOOT!

I found this book engaging from beginning to end. I didn't expect to because of the reviews so far, but this was much better than I thought it would be and a very pleasant surprise. I really knew the characters and their personalities stayed consistent throughout the book....no thinking, well that character would not have said or done that. I love it when an author does this because it allows one to really know a character, and I was able to do so with the hero and heroine in this story. They were such a good match..they seemed a perfect complement to one another. It was fun to watch the Duke and the harem girl, our heroine, develop their relationship and to see how they handled the obstacles they had to overcome. The hero had a hardened heart because of suffering so much loss in his life, including that of the heroine who had been kidnapped from her family when she and the hero were children, and close friends. It's the story of a lifelong love in which the two remember each other but also get to know one another again. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! If you are on the fence, you should get it...definitely worth it.

Zoe Octavia, the spirited, hoydenish daughter of Lord Lexham, is kidnapped at the age of twelve while on a family trip to the middle east. She spends twelve years in a harem, learning to negotiate the passions and perils of being a pasha's plaything. Back in England, Lucien de Grey and his brother have been raised by Lord Lexham after the tragic death of their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Marchmont. Lucien enjoyed and encouraged the antics of the wild child Zoe and, having never truly recovered from his parents' death, he is shaken badly by her disappearance and suffers more when his older brother dies, leaving him a lonely young duke. Lucien responds to these blows by shutting his heart away, caring for nothing and thereby protecting himself from hurt. Instead, he leads a shallow life as the darling of the beau monde. "He avoided deep thoughts and allowed no strong feelins to churn inside of him." When Zoe, with her intrepid spirit, escapes from the harem and returns to England, a twenty four year old beauty with an education in, as she puts it, "the arts of pleasing a man," Lucien finds himself once more intrigued by her. Lots of feellings begin to churn inside him. A reviwer below complains that the plot is not really interesting. On the contrary, it is perfect to display Chase's fabulous wit, sparkling dialogue, passionate characters. As with Esme in THE LION'S DAUGHTER, Zoe's "outsider's" view of the London beau monde is hilarious. As with Jessica Trent of LORD OF SCOUNDRESL, Zoe is intelligent, forthright and clear-headed, never letting silly misunderstandings or society's scorn stop her from stating her mind and reaching for the man who she loves. And as with all of Chase's novels, the only bad thing about them is that they end. I will re-read DON'T TEMPT ME and her other novels while awaiting with impatience the next.) (As an aside, the habit some publishers have adopted of tacking on excerpts from other books at the end of a novel is annoying to me. I imagine I have several more pages to enjoy the characters I am reading about when - boom - the story ends and I am stuck with bits of some other books. This is also unfortunate for the poor writers whose excerpts cannot withstand comparison to Chase's work. Their stilted writing and silly characters - in sad contrast to what I have been reading - insure that I will not bother to try those books.)