anasmith7186896

When the Ministry of Marriage arranges a match, all that matters is power, wealth, and prestige. In the business of marriage, there is no room for love. But even the most prudent plans can go awry.

Jane, Lady Roxdale, has endured one marriage of convenience decreed by the Ministry of Marriage. While she deeply regrets her late husband's death, she is relieved to be free at last. But when a dissolute rake threatens everything Jane holds dear, she must contemplate marrying a second time.

Disgraced libertine Constantine Black inherits his cousin Roxdale's land and title—while Roxdale's prim widow is left all the wealth. Constantine is not a marrying man, but wedding Jane is the only way to save the estate from ruin. Jane resists the smoldering heat between them, desperate not to fall in love with an unrepentant rake. But for the first time ever, Constantine wants more than seduction. He wants all of her—body, heart, and soul

I've decided to give this book a try because of the intriguing summary and the high ratings of some of my GR friends. Unfortunately, I didn't like it that much.

The plot itself has merits, and I like Constantine, but I never warmed up to Jane.

Constantine never expected to inherit his cousin's title and estates, but now when his entire life has changed, he hopes to finally prove, not only to other, but to himself as well, that he's more than a libertine. He's always been good with women, and now when he needs to marry Jane, to keep the estates from ruination, he will need all the skill he has. As I said, Constantine is an OK character, I wasn't terribly impressed with him, and I highly doubt I'll be able to remember anything about him in a week or two.

As for Jane, she was a lot harder to like. Her marriage wasn't happy and she has some trust issues, so she does have her reasons for being distrustful, but sometimes I just wanted to slap her. Constantine deserves better than a woman who doubts him over and over again. Of course his action at the end of the book were a mite annoying as well, but Jane was much worse.

And one more thing, the way they resolved their argument in the end: the public declaration of love, the possibility of being embarrassed and ruined, so that she could prove that she trusts him. Come on. She literally cornered him, being a gentleman he is, he couldn't have said no to her proposal. The entire scene was not to my taste.

I do like Jane's guardian the Duke (I can't remember his title right now). He's so arrogant and ducal. :-) And the idea of the Ministry of Marriage is unusual.

I will try the second book in the series Mad about the Earl when it comes out, but I do hope it's better than this one.

Rating:

2.5 stars