Book Review: A Season of Ruin by Anna Bradley

aseasonofruin
ISBN-10: 0425282643
ISBN-13: 978-0425282649
Publisher: Berkley (August 2, 2016)

Blurb:

Lily Somerset’s plan for the London season is simple: courtship, marriage to a respectable gentleman, then the comfortable existence of a proper Lady. That is, until one tiny misstep leaves Lily on the edge of social ruin, forcing her to depend on a wicked rogue to save her reputation.

Robyn Sutherland doesn’t save reputations—he sullies them. He’d rather be drawn and quartered than find himself spending the season as Lily’s escort. But he has no choice but to stay until her tattered standing is mended.

What begins as a ruse to deceive London soon flames into an uncontrollable passion. Robyn calls to the wild spirit that lurks beneath Lily’s prim exterior, and Lily awakens the hero’s heart within Robyn. But can these unlikely lovers trust themselves enough to let desire overrule reason?

Review:

Lily Somerset is quiet, demure, and likes everything in order. There are rules to follow, and no matter how boring, unnecessary, or irrational – she follows them.

Robyn is quite the opposite. He believes in having fun, and he doesn’t bend to raised eyebrows and not-so-subtle whispers. He does what he wants, and he’s more than willing to suffer the consequences as long as it doesn’t involve marriage. That would just put a not-so-welcome kink in his kinky plans.

When Robyn and Lily are caught in a compromising position after he mistakes her for his married lover, he’s forced to put his selfish ways aside and protect her reputation. She’s his sister-in-law and his brother will have his hide if he doesn’t do what right by his wife’s sister. However, Robyn is not as selfish as he leads people to believe. Bad parenting has him believing he doesn’t deserve true happiness, and he feeds the societal beliefs instead of proving everyone wrong.

Robyn soon learns that Lily is a lot more passionate than she’s willing to openly admit. She is struggling with her parent’s death, and she feels that if she keeps everything in order and does’t bend the rules she’ll never suffer another heartbreak as devastating as her parent’s deaths. However, always following the rules is difficult when she’s with Robyn. He awakens her passion and makes her face who she truly is and what she really wants. They’re not as opposite as they think, and he finds his greatest pleasure in teasing her out of her shell. What starts out as an attempt to correct a mistake turns into a strong connection neither of them is able to break.

Lily and Robyn are introduced in the first book, A Wicked Way to Win an Earl. It’s not obvious in the first book that they will wind up together, as Robyn was preoccupied with Delia, Lily’s sister who married his brother Alec. Lily and her sisters have a scandal attached to them. Their titled mother ran away with their non-titled father (five daughters were born to the union including Lily and Delia), and was disowned by her parents. Their mother was betrothed to Robyn’s and Alec’s father, and when she abandoned him it left him greatly humiliated and the main topic of gossip.

Lily’s and Robyn’s story is a great continuation of the series. The characters are well-developed and Robyn’s charm is unmistakable. It was fun to witness Lily evolve. Her difficulty in spreading her wings and abandoning her restrictive behavior made her realistic, and her inability to continue to deny what was in her heart also made her realistic, as well as likable. I enjoyed the tug of war between the two. They each had something to offer the other, and their personalities balanced them out. Lily teaches Robyn to behave more responsibly, and Robyn teachers Lily to have fun and enjoy life. It was great catching up with Delia and Alec, and I’m anxious to see which Somerset sister will find her match next.

Rating system: Cups of Coffee (the less the better)

0: You won’t need any coffee to stay up for this one. It’s intriguing enough all on its own.
1: You’ll stay up late, but not all night. Brew one cup.
2: You’ll read as long as you’re not tired. If you are, two cups should do the trick.
3: I hope you got plenty of rest; you’ll need it, or at least 3 cups.
4: If the cable goes out, read the book. It’s better than nothing, I guess. Oh, don’t forget your brew!
5: Find anything else to do- it doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t waste your coffee. Too much caffeine is bad for you.

My rating: 1/2 cup of coffee

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