"Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain, is big, bad, and dangerous to know. No respectable woman would have anything to do with the "Bane and Blight of the Ballisters" --and he wants nothing to do with respectable women. He's determined to continue doing what he does best -- sin and sin again --and all that' going swimmingly, thank you....until the day a shop door opens and SHE walks in.
Jessica Trent is a determined young woman, and she's going to drag her imbecile brother off the road to ruin, no matter what it takes. If saving him--and with him, her family and future--means taking on the devil himself, she won't back down. The trouble is, the devil in question is so shockingly irresistible, and the person who needs the most saving is -- herself!"
(from the publisher)
my thoughts:
Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels is a hugely popular novel, often topping the list of polls at the #1 spot for all-time favorite romances. Naturally, I wanted to see what all the buzz was about, and now I understand what sets this book apart from all the other conventional romances.
The core of the story is a beauty and the beast theme....with lots of suprises! Not sure I'm a fan of everything that happened in the plot, but it sure was a book like no other.
Jessica Trent is a refreshingly unique character and I enjoyed her from the start. Although she's a spinster, it's not for lack of beauty or brains. She's just been busy being smart and sensible in handling her family's financial affairs as well as raising her insipid brother and a passel of male cousins. Having a really-cool-grandmother as her confidante in matters of men, Jessica is very frank about sexual matters and is completely unashamed of her instant attraction to.....Sebastian, the Lord of Scoundrels!
Sebastian Ballister, on the other hand, is Satan personified. Deeply wounded by his abandonment as a child and the torture he experienced at the hands of bullies, he's hidden his pain by wearing a protective armor. He revels in his reputation for debauchery and fully expects the world to quake in fear when he bellows. He views women as strictly entertainment for his depraved amusement and discards them at will...until a pert little woman named Jessica walks into his life and makes his world wobble on its axis.
These two characters take the reader on one of the most maddening and unusual journeys I've ever experienced in a romance....it's funny and sexy and, at times, shocking; I lost count of the times I said, "Well, I didn't see THAT coming!" Expect the unexpected in this entertaining romance!
4/5 stars
Title: Lord of Scoundrels
Author: Loretta Chase
1995
Avon Books
357 pages
genre: historical romance
