The Dangerous Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

I actually started reading this one when I read the first two stories in the trilogy (The Pirate Lord and The Forbidden Lord) but I just hated it. I now realize that I was just tired of the characters and didn't care enough about the hero in this story to give the book much credit.

Now that I have had more time away from all the characters I met in the earlier books I could appreciate Ian's story fully and realized that I actually enjoyed it.

We met Ian in The Forbidden Lord, where he is Jordan and Sara's childhood friend. At the age of nineteen Ian disappeared to the Continent under the cloud of a possible scandal. No one really knows why he left but his very young Aunt died just before he left and thus the rumor was that after having an affair with Ian, she killed herself and Ian fled to the Continent over the guilt.

This gossip does not help Ian in his current endeavor which is to find himself a wife. Seems his father was not very happy that his only son and heir had runaway from home, so he put a clause in his Will that would strip Ian of the properties that being the Viscount St. Clair entitled him to if he did not produce an heir by the age of 30. Ian just turned 29, which leaves him with very little time to get married and get the deed done.

Felicity Taylor has a secret. She is the infamous Lord X, the author of a gossip column in the local London newspaper. When her father died with mountains of debt Felicity found that her ability to write stories and tell tales was the only thing between her and the poor house. With four brothers to support she turned to writing just to stay a few steps in front of the creditors (who are moving in fast).

When her friend Katherine finds herself on the precipice of an engagement to Lord St. Clair - arranged by her parents, of course - Felicity decides that she needs to do something to help her friend who is helplessly in love with a childhood friend. Lord X to the rescue! Or not...

Felicity writes a column exposing the possibility that Ian has a mistress and a bastard child. This based on the rumor that a mysterious woman has moved into one of his townhouses which he is seen visiting. Of course, Ian is furious, especially since the column has prompted his possible fiancee to elope with her true love. Now he has to start his search for a wife all over again. Ian is out for blood, determined to find out who is this meddlesome Lord X and put a stop to his gossip.

He does in fact find out and there starts a battle of wills where they both pull low punches. Felicity accuses Ian of going 'too far' with a kiss when they are discovered in the balcony at Sara's (from The Pirate Lord) house. Ian threatens to expose her secret to one and all. Between cat fights and kisses, Ian decides that since Felicity chased away his current prospect she either needs to find him a wife, or do the job herself.

As I said earlier, I really enjoyed the story when at first I really couldn't even bring myself to care.
This was my first trilogy by Sabrina Jeffries and I will say that it has solidified her on the list of one of my favorite authors.


Grade: B

The Forbidden Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

This is the second book in the Lord Trilogy that began with The Pirate Lord. This is the story of Sara's brother, Jordan. It picks up right at the end of the previous story.

When Jordan attends a ball in honor of his brother in law at the residence of Lord and Lady Dryden, he confuses Emily Fairchild, the daughter of the local rector, as a merry widow who wants to spend the night with him. It is not until he has swept her away in a carriage that he realizes that she agreed to go with him because she thought he was her escort and cousin, Lawrence. Doom seems to be inevitable when he also realizes that if someone sees them he will have ruined her.

Emily had no clue that the man she had invited to leave the ball was Lord Blackmore and she immediately understands the situation that they have become entangled in. As they figure out how to extricate themselves from the possible repercussions of the situation Jordan steals a kiss that will haunt their senses for a very long time.

Two months later Emily's friend, shy Lady Sophie, tried to elope with a mysterious man, but her plans were spoiled when her father, Lord Nesfield catches her sneaking out of the house. The mystery man escapes but Nesfeild is determined to find out who he is and ruin him before he has a chance to try the elopement again. He concocts a plan with the help of his sister Lady Dundee. They will bring Emily to London and have her pose as Lady Emma Campbell, daughter of Lady Dundee, so that the man might approach her and inquire after Sophie, who has been sent to Scotland. They hope the interloper will ask Emily to help them elope, thus exposing the man.

At first Emily refuses to go along with such deceit but Nesfield threatens to expose a family secret that could ruin Emily and her father or even have her hung for murder. Of course, in London who should she meet but Jordan, the Earl of Blackmore, who recognizes her instantly.

He has been pinning over the innocent, rector's daughter, even though he denies it to himself. When he sees her he immediately is infatuated but Lady Emma is nothing like the sweet innocent Emily he left in the country. He is not sure anymore who is who. She looks like Emily, smells like Emily and definitely tastes like Emily but his Emily would never respond to his kisses in such a wanton fashion, or would she flirt so outrageously or would she tease him so mercilessly. So who the hell is this woman that has the face of his sweet innocent Emily?

At first I didn't think this story would be as good as its predecessor, and in fact, I did enjoy the first book more, but this one gets you caught up in the masquerade and has you wondering how they are going to get Emily out of this bind she finds herself in. I guessed early on who the Mystery Man was so it was nice to see love win out on two scores. But the real enjoyment came at seeing Jordan just crumble in the face of Love when he deemed it something that he would never risk.

Grade: B+

The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

I discovered this author when I read one of her novellas in an Anthology. If you know my reading habits you will know that I'm not too fond of Anthologies. I think they don't give the author enough time to develop a decent story or flesh out the characters enough so that the reader can connect with them. On the other hand, Anthologies are great for people that have a problem concentrating or for people that don't have much time. It's like instant gratification if you want to get some reading in but don't want to start something that will take you forever to finish.

Anyway, I'm deviating. After reading that novella I needed to see if her other work was as good. My reading group buddies tell me that she is very good and everyone had different takes on their favorites but everyone agreed the The Forbidden Lord was their favorite. The thing with that book is that it's part of a trilogy and I just could not bring myself to read the damn thing out of order so I patiently waited until I could get my hands on the first book of the set. On Tuesday I found it.

The Pirate Lord tells the story of Capt. Gideon Horn who sails the Satyr against any nobleman that might dare cross his path. Although born English he is raised in America and after privateering against the English during the Revolutionary War he decides to become a Pirate after the war ends. He is known as the Pirate Lord because he only takes on the ships of noblemen. His mother was the daughter of a duke and she had abandoned him and his father at a young age. He was told that she had ran back to her family in England because she missed being pampered. Gideon lived a miserable life with his drunkard of a father who beat him because he reminded him of the mother that had left them both.

Sara Willis is the step sister to the Earl of Blackmore. Her mother was no one special but after Sara's father died in debtor's prison, Sara's mother decided to become a reformer and work to change the system that led her to become a widow. She meets the late Earl during one of her visits to parliament and they fall in love. He supported her reformist ideas and they lived happily. When her mother died and quickly after the Earl, Sara decides to continue her mother's work by voyaging with a group of women that are being transported to New South Wales in Australia. Although a lawless country, Sara is determined to go with them to document their treatment and make sure that they are treated with dignity. Of course Jordan, her stepbrother, the new Earl, is adamant she not go, but he has never been able to control his stepsister and she sets off on The Chastity.

Gideon wants to retire but to do so he needs to find women that are willing to join him and his crew on a deserted island that will be their new utopia. With his reputation built on fear, it's that fear that is making his task difficult. No willing female can be found, until he hears that a convict ship filled with women is at port. Assuming that the women on board will be grateful of escaping the clutches of their jailers he kidnaps them and offers them marriage to his gang of ex-pirates. What he didn't expect was that these women have a mouthpiece and she is not one to be trifled with. As they bargain for an equitable arrangement over the rights the women will have he realizes that the spitfire makes him burn. Since he too is looking for a wife he decides he will have her.

This book was so much fun, I was sad it actually ended. There wasn't tons of sexual tension but more of a pin pong of desire running through them. The tender scenes grabbed you and the harsh past of Gideon made him sympathetic. He was a strong man but not without faults and yet when proven wrong he acknowledge it and tried to remedy the problem. These two were just perfect for each other. There were a few secondary romances between the sailors and the convicts that were also highlighted and added to the enjoyment of the book.

Grade: A