The Romanceaholic

Expected Release Date: Available Now!
Publisher: Harper Collins
Imprint: Avon
Author’s Website: http://www.annacampbell.info/
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: No
Steam Level: Hot

Official Blurb:

The dashing, licentious Marquess of Ranelaw can never forgive Godfrey Demarest for ruining his sister — now the time has come to repay the villain in the same coin. But one formidably intriguing impediment stands in the way of Nicholas’s vengeance: Miss Antonia Smith, companion to his foe’s unsuspecting daughter.

Having herself been deceived and disgraced by a rogue — banished by her privileged family as a result and forced to live a lie — Antonia vows to protect her charge from the same cruel fate. She recognizes Ranelaw for the shameless blackguard that he is and will devote every ounce of her intelligence and resolve to thwarting him.

Yet Antonia has always had a fatal weakness for rakes. . .

The Marquess of Renelaw has never forgiven Godfrey Demarest for ruining his sister twenty years ago, and yet his plans for revenge never came to fruition because of Demarest’s elevated position in society. The time has come, however, to take his revenge on Demarest’s beautiful daughter — now that she’s out in society, he plans to ruin her so that Godfrey will understand what it’s like to see someone you love ruined beyond repair while being powerless to help them.

Antionia once had hopes for a wonderful life. She was beautiful, rich, and titled, and seemed to have the future in the palm of her hand. That is, until she was deceived by a handsome poet and well and truly ruined. Cast out from her family in disgrace, she was taken in by her cousin, Godfrey Demarest, to be the companion of his daughter, Cassie.  So as not to risk being recognized, Antonia hides her beauty behind ugly, shapeless dresses, dark glasses, and some hideous spinster caps, and is so viciously protective of Cassie’s reputation that’s she’s become known as the Dragon.

What worked for me:

• I loved Renelaw. He worked so hard to be bad, but deep down, he was a marshmallow.  I adored how quickly he started to fall for Toni, and how he eventually became the one to pursue her.
• Normally I dislike stunningly beautiful heroines, but I really liked how beautiful Antonia was, and how well she hid herself in plain sight from society. Counting on the fact that nobody really pays close attention to spinsterish chaperons, she manages to keep her identity a secret right under the nose of the ton.
• There were some truly hilarious moments in this story.  Antionia is wildly attracted to Renelaw, but refuses to let things get too far — even to the point where she brains him with a fireplace poker! His reaction to this was absolutely hysterical, and I think I fell in love with him right there.
• I really, really liked that Cassie wasn’t a spoiled, bratty, empty-headed fool like so many “young charges” are in historical romances. She’s still young, so I admit she does have her moments of immaturity, but she’s also intelligent, observant, calm under pressure, loyal, and loving. I do hope that I get to read a book with her as the heroine in the future.
• The love scenes were absolutely delicious and plentiful, without being gratuitous.  One thing that is important to me in love scenes is that there be some emotion behind them, and let me tell you, Ms. Campbell definitely delivers.
• I really liked the details of Toni’s past scandal.

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  It wasn’t as in some stories, where she was caught giving kisses in the garden. Instead, it was true ruin – running away and living in sin with a man for a full month before being found by her family.
• I also enjoyed the epilogue. To be honest, it almost felt like a regular chapter, except of course for the fact that it was set some time in the future rather than immediately following the events of the previous one.

What didn’t work for me:

• I wasn’t thrilled with the outcome of Renelaw’s dealings with Johnny. While I understood the reasoning,

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  I still wanted to see Johnny truly punished for what he’d done.
  . The same goes for Demarest as well.
• There were a few cliches that were a bit distracting, such as

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  the fact it took a serious injury to make someone realize that they were in love
  , and while I was glad that some things were wrapped up so nicely at the end, it almost felt a bit too perfect an ending in some ways.

I’ll be honest, I think this is my favorite historical novel that I’ve read this year, and that includes several that I’d been anticipating for several months.  While it’s not completely without problems, the characters were multifaceted, the emotions felt real, and the romance was incredibly satisfying. A very enthusiastic 5/5 Stars

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