This is a pretty formulaic historical romance, but a surprisingly enjoyable one. The heroine is a scandalous widow, a viscountess who married a man much older than her. The hero is a newly titled earl, after the death of his father. They are brought together to search for the hero's sister who runs away from home. What I liked about this book is it's focus on the progression of the h/h's relationship and the fact that all of the action takes place outside of ton society. While several or most of the characters are cliched, I could not put this book down. Pretty good for an author's first book.
Slow beginning, but the pace increased exponentially thereafter, not slowing down until the climax of the story. Many cliches in the story with a too good heroine, the prostitute with the heart of gold, boxing underlord with a soft spot, destitute people who are inherently good, and villains who are inherently evil. Despite the cliches I didn't find myself rolling my eyes. I really enjoyed the burgeoning love between Deirdre and Tristan that I found to be sweet and romantic. I enjoyed reading about Deirdre's shock at the beauty of Tristan's masculine body, which came off as a truly innocent fascination and realization. And the description of Tristan being both elegantly aristocratic, yet towering in stature, but wonderully built, you can almost put yourself in Deirdre's shoes and feel his massive form towering over you. It was a fun read that went along like a pleasant movie.
Not just a run of the mill historical with only aristocracy, but including the difficult life of the common people of england and the children abandoned to the streets. I read this book twice.
