Series: Maiden Lane (Book 8)
HE CAN GUARD HER
Lady Phoebe Batten is pretty, vivacious, and yearning for
a social life befitting the sister of a powerful duke. But because she is
almost completely blind, her overprotective brother insists that she have an
armed bodyguard by her side at all times-the very irritating Captain
Trevillion.
FROM EVERY DANGER
Captain James Trevillion is proud, brooding, and cursed
with a leg injury from his service in the King's dragoons. Yet he can still
shoot and ride like the devil, so watching over the distracting Lady Phoebe
should be no problem at all-until she's targeted by kidnappers.
BUT PASSION ITSELF
Caught in a deadly web of deceit, James must risk life
and limb to save his charge from the lowest of cads-one who would force Lady
Phoebe into a loveless marriage. But while they're confined to close quarters
for her safekeeping, Phoebe begins to see the tender man beneath the soldier's
hard exterior . . . and the possibility of a life-and love-she never imagined
possible.
Very good book. I was hooked from the beginning and had
trouble putting the book down. It started with a bang, as an attempt is made to
kidnap Phoebe. James is there to save her and get her home safely.
Phoebe is young, pretty and wants to experience the same
things as others her age. But she is also blind, and her overprotective brother
keeps her pretty isolated. Her frustration is obvious in her attempts to elude
his control. There is a terrific scene where she blows up at him and lets him know just what she thinks of her treatment. In the time since James has become her bodyguard, he has borne the
brunt of that frustration. She has had no trouble letting him know that she
doesn't appreciate his presence.
James is a former officer of the dragoons who was injured
on duty. After leaving the service, he took a job as Phoebe's bodyguard. He is
determined to keep her safe, even more so after the kidnapping attempts begin.
I loved the relationship between them from the beginning.
Phoebe can be a bit snarky at times, reacting to the limits placed on her
activities. James is quite good at keeping his cool and not reacting to her
little jabs. In the six months that he has been her guard, Phoebe never really
noticed him much as anything but her guard, until the attempt to kidnap her. At
that point, she started to see him as a man. His strength, his protectiveness,
and, since she couldn't see him, his scent and his voice suddenly affected her
in ways it hadn't before. James had felt an attraction to her from the
beginning, but resisted.
I loved Phoebe's sudden interest in learning all about
him, and her persistence in pursuing her questions. She didn't let anything
stop her in her quest. This made it even harder for James to resist her. It all
came to a head one day when, in her frustration with him, she kissed him. She
was stunned by the way it made her feel. Though attracted to her, James knows
that she's far above him, it doesn't stop him from kissing her back. When a
second attempt on her occurs, James takes matters into his own hands and
spirits her away.
I loved their journey out of London. Phoebe is amazingly
resilient and doesn't let the circumstances keep her from her own goal of
getting to know him better. I loved seeing James start to unbend a little and
show her the man underneath the bodyguard exterior. James also begins to see
Phoebe's need for independence and tries to dial back his need to protect her
from everything. Though he knows their stations dictate that there can be
nothing between them, when Phoebe makes her own feelings clear he doesn't try
to push her away. I loved how he treated her as an adult who knows her own
mind. I loved seeing them take the next step, with her enthusiasm and his
desire to make her happy, creating some pretty intense scenes. Upon their
return to London, I loved seeing both James and Phoebe confound her brother
with their intentions. The scene where Max comes to see James is especially
fun.
There are a couple of things going on during the book. Foremost
is the kidnapping attempts on Phoebe and trying to find out who is behind them
and why. There are hints of who it might be, but enough doubt caused by other
happenings, that it is hard to be sure until the very end. I loved how James
had a better idea of the danger than Max did, and how he was proved right. The
final confrontation was intense, and I loved James's reaction when he found
Phoebe.
There was also a smaller side story of the reason James
had left home all those years ago. I loved how Phoebe got him to share with
her. Getting to know the people involved was great. There was a very tense
moment when James's past made a reappearance, but it ended with a surprise
twist.
This is the first of the Maiden Lane books that I have
read, but it won't be the last.
No comments:
Post a Comment