A Tale of Two Books II

Time for another discussion of a book I liked and one I didn't. Here's my previous post on the subject.

The book I like is To Tempt A Saint by Kate Moore. To Tempt A Saint is the fast-paced, gripping story of the battle between good and evil, with good sadly making only a few inroads. The imagery is beautiful, the story is gripping and Ms. Moore knows the Regency era and Regency London well.

To Tempt A Saint is Book One of a trilogy about the three brothers, Xander, Will, and Kit Jones, the illegitimate sons of aristocrats. The book opens with Xander saving the life of the Prince Regent while someone kidnaps his youngest brother, Kit. Three years later, Xander, now the knight Sir Alexander Jones, along with Will, a Bow Street Runner, still search for the missing Kit. Xander is positive Kit is alive in St. Giles, the dark, dank, thieves' and murders' section of London. He seeks money to buy a gas works to light the gloomy evil of the area and find Kit.

Destitute, twenty-four year old Cleo Spencer lives in poverty with her younger brother because she cannot access her money until she reaches thirty or marries. She proposes to Xander and he accepts in a devil's bargain to solve both their problems.

Against the background of the increasingly desperate search for Kit, Cleo and Xander fall in love. Their quest uncovers the stench of the city's dark underbelly that reaches high to the kingdom's most powerful men, including Cleo's uncle, who aid and abet human misery for their own benefit.

This book is one for my keeper shelf. I loved everything about it, but especially Xander. Xander is the type of hero I love--a decent man whom the world has kicked around, and it's made him a better man. I look forward to Books Two and Three.

The book I didn't like is by an author whose previous works I love. She wrote this latest book under a new name because she adds more heat.

Unfortunately, the added heat comes at the expense of the story. There is so much added heat the story is dripping with it--multiple sexual references and innuendos per page, complete with a duke of slut as the "hero", a man approaching thirty who still spends all his time wenching and drinking like the overgrown adolescent he is.

Although the heroine is somewhat non-traditional--this author's trademark--she is so sex-starved she finds the hero attractive, which reduces her stature and appeal.

Although extraordinary physical specimens, both hero and heroine are unattractive. I read about eighty pages of the library copy and gave up. I'm glad I didn't spend my money on it.

Thank you all,
Linda

I bought To Tempt A Saint. I read the library copy of the other book.