Just Finished:

Synopsis: Penrose, Cornwall ~ September 20th ~ To Do
~ invite the dowager duchess and the other ladies in the club to stay
~ prepare for Quinn’s arrival
~ pretend you haven’t loved him . . . forever

He had once been her cherished childhood companion, and then the man she had lusted after in secret, but Georgiana Wilde hasn’t seen the recently widowed Quinn Fortesque since the day he married another woman and shattered her heart. Then fate intervenes and brings the man she dreams about each night back to her . . .

Returning to the estate on family business, Quinn would like nothing more than to turn the land over to Georgiana and leave the memories of his former life behind. But then the brooding marquis finds himself under the spell of the hidden beauty he once left behind. With her barely concealed passions, Georgiana melts his coolly guarded heart. Suddenly his well-ordered world is in danger of crashing down. And it all begins with just one kiss. . .

My Thoughts: This is the second book in The Widows Club series.

I’m a sucker for unrequited love or lost love stories. This is why I bought this one, and also its predecessor, A Dangerous Beauty. Not being one to read series books out of order, I quickly read Book 1 in the series and enjoyed it immensely, so I had great hopes for The Kiss.

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS ~ READ AT YOUR OWN RISK***
The Kiss, however, started off slowly for me and it took me quite awhile to warm up to it. I liked Georgiana. She had a spunk and energy that I really appreciate in a heroine. She also had wounds that she hid away from everyone and managed her life quite well in spite of them.

I enjoyed Quinn very much. It seemed he not only came home to claim the Marquis title but also to make sure there were not doubts that Georgiana should be considered the legal Marchioness, due to her ill-fated marriage to his cousin, Anthony. Even when he found out through the usual means that he marriage had never truly been consummated.

As with the prior book, there did seem to be a lot of misunderstandings and assumptions in abundance in the tale as well. Quinn assumed Georgiana loved Anthony; Georgiana assumed Quinn could never love her; Quinn accused Georgiana of wrong-doing; and Georgiana just let him assume incorrectly about her. Those things always seem to drive me crazy, but I can be forgiving up to a point if the story is good enough. This story was good, but not so good that I didn’t tire of these misgivings in the end.
****END SPOILERS****

Again, a host of wonderful side characters added to the depth of this book and also lay the groundwork for several more Widows Club books to come. I was also glad to see much of Luc and Rosemunde (from A Dangerous Beauty), Ata, and Grace. Added to the mix is Farleigh, Quinn’s precocious 9-year-old daughter who was a delight in every page she was in.

Verdict: This was Good. It took me a bit of time to warm up to Quinn and Georgiana, but after I did I enjoyed it. It’s going to be a long wait until February 29 when Grace’s book Love with a Perfect Scoundrel is released.

Labels: Avon, Good, Sophia Nash, Widows Club Series