Helpful Score: 3
I thoroughly enjoy all of Jo Beverley's period novels, but this one has been my least favorite. The storyline was a little too farfetched and the main character, Portia, was virtuous to the extreme. She clearly had feelings for Lord Bryght, but took a hardline position of virgin to the extreme. It irritated me that her character repeatedly ran away from Bryght and she seemed to have a one-track mind regarding her brother and his gambling problems.
In a night shimmering with destiny, Portia St. Claire discovers that her brother's debts have made him a prisoner of dangerous men. The price of his life is her virtue - about to be auctioned off in London's most notorious brothel. Enter a dazzling midnight world of seductive lies and tender betrayals, where lords and ladies engage in forbidden liaisons. And where mysterious, handsome Bryght Malloren opens Portia's heart to a sensuality that tempts her to madness.
Jo Beverly is a born storyteller. Her novel of Georgian England is a seductove story of sin and redemption....
Tempting Fortune brings together an improverished noblewoman and a notorius gamester.
Enter a dazzling midnight world of seductive lies and tender betrayals,where lords and ladies engage in forbidden laisons. And where mysterious, handsome Bryght Malloren opens Portia's heart to a sensuality that tempts her to a madness.
I would rate this book 3 1/2 to 4 stars. Another good mystery.
I haven't read this one so here's the Publisher's Weekly Review:
When Portia St. Claire's half-brother gambles away the family estate, leaving them penniless, she sets off in search of a wealthy family friend, the Earl of Walgrave, from whom she hopes to secure a loan. Unfortunately, although Walgrave proves elusive, Portia has repeated, disturbing run-ins with handsome and notorious rake Bryght Malloren. Poor, plain and past the usual age for marriage, Portia recognizes that the well-connected Bryght is out of her league; moreover, she despises him as a gambler who, she suspects, contributed to her family's ruin. To her chagrin, she finds him strangely compelling. And Bryght, increasingly captivated, sets himself the difficult tasks of proving to her that they are truly soul mates and that he is not the rogue she thinks him. But circumstances and various scheming associates continually conspire to thwart Bryght's efforts. Beverley's latest fast-paced romp through 18th-century London is tremendous fun, and the hero and heroine are likable and satisfyingly complex. The chemistry between them is compelling, and the well-constructed plot keeps the pages turning. This is romance fiction at its best.
When Portia St. Claire's half-brother gambles away the family estate, leaving them penniless, she sets off in search of a wealthy family friend, the Earl of Walgrave, from whom she hopes to secure a loan. Unfortunately, although Walgrave proves elusive, Portia has repeated, disturbing run-ins with handsome and notorious rake Bryght Malloren. Poor, plain and past the usual age for marriage, Portia recognizes that the well-connected Bryght is out of her league; moreover, she despises him as a gambler who, she suspects, contributed to her family's ruin. To her chagrin, she finds him strangely compelling. And Bryght, increasingly captivated, sets himself the difficult tasks of proving to her that they are truly soul mates and that he is not the rogue she thinks him. But circumstances and various scheming associates continually conspire to thwart Bryght's efforts. Beverley's latest fast-paced romp through 18th-century London is tremendous fun, and the hero and heroine are likable and satisfyingly complex. The chemistry between them is compelling, and the well-constructed plot keeps the pages turning. This is romance fiction at its best.
