Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing an Advanced Reader Copy. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Historical romance has been one of my most favorite genres to read ever since I read “Almost Heaven ” by Judith McNaught. After that spectacular introduction to this genre, I have read many books in it, those by her and other writers. However, of all the books I have read, “A Matter of Temptation” by Stacy Reid is the only one which came closest to giving me the same feeling that I got when I first read “Almost Heaven.”
As in “Almost Heaven”, the hero of this story, Viscount Simon Creswick, is also an intellectual genius with a highly logical and rational brain. He is the kind of guy who can departmentalize his feelings and emotions into different slots in his brain so he can exercise an iron control over them. This unusual ability allows him to analyze the norms and practices prevalent in the regressive society he lives in and form a clear understanding of what is unfair and how it needs to be changed.
Then there is the spirited and impulsive Wilhelmina Crawford, whose love for adventure and passion is the prime cause of her elopement with an unsuitable man and her subsequent shunning from polite society. She is not anything like the other women in the society; she is loyal, strong, intelligent, clever and fiercely independent. A bad judgement of her twin brother’s becomes the reason Mina aka Wilhelmina comes into Simon’s life and turns it upside down. The sparks fly between them and completely overwhelms them both.
How will they both navigate these newfound feelings and emotions? Is their path towards each other completely free of obstacles? If not, what are those roadblocks and how do they manage to overcome them? Read the book to know the answer to these questions.
To start with, I absolutely loved how the characters have been written. Both of them are very unique people and so the way their relationship progresses is very interesting to read; at the same time, it flowed completely naturally too. How they both feel about each other initially sets a good base for their mutually growing feelings, and the author develops it ever so beautifully, bringing it, very believably, to its natural conclusion. There are a lot of intimate scenes as well, and people who like to read steamy books will definitely love them.
Reid’s writing style is descriptive and totally absorbing. She uses a lovely and flowery language that is very easy to follow; it isn’t so complicated that it takes us away from the story. She just pulls you into the story, directly into the hearts and minds of her clearly-defined characters. I also liked how she used these characters to bring the changing world of 1860s England in front of our eyes.
This is a wonderfully-written love story of two unique and likable individuals and I can’t recommend it more, particularly for romance lovers.
This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.
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