Rebel Love

Heart's Temptation #2

by Scarlett Scott

A determined woman Lady Bella de Vere's matchmaking mother has vowed to win her a duke and nothing less. But Bella secretly yearns for her brother's enigmatic American friend, Mr. Jesse Whitney, even if he's determined to treat her as nothing more than a younger sister. A man with a past Jesse's been through the fires of hell and back. He knows he should stay far away from his best friend's beautiful sister, but she sees past his façade to the wounded soldier within, and he's sorely tempted to take what should never be his. A love like no other Their kisses are scorching, their passion undeniable. But Jesse's bitter past refuses to relinquish its hold on him in more ways than one. Is he strong enough to fight the most important battle of all and win Bella's love forever? Full-length novel

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Romance, Regency Romance, Regency, Adult, Historical Fiction

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2014

About the author

USA TODAY bestselling author Scarlett Scott writes steamy Victorian and Regency historical romances with strong, intelligent heroines and sexy alpha heroes. She lives in Pennsylvania and Maryland with her Canadian husband, their adorable identical twins, a demanding diva dog, and one zany cat.

For Scarlett's latest releases, exclusive excerpts, contests and more, visit her website, http://www.scarlettscottauthor.com

Reviews

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be careful of what you wish for

Bella loved Jesse from the moment she first saw him. She was way too young but after four years she is ready to grab her man. Jesse has ptsd from the Civil War and baggage did to an earlier betrayal of a lover. He was pushed into the war and was fighting at the age of 15. He hated it and everything about it. His lovers other lover, a man in his own unit, shot him in the back and left him to die. Then he took off with the woman Jesse thought he loved. Now that's a backstory. A sad and terrible one. But Bella chases him and they finally make love. One time only. Then a month later he is called home to Virginia in America because he has an unknown daughter from the old lover, and she's dying. He writes her a letter, he does try and find her too, and leaves. He writes her all the time in America waiting for his ex to die. There is no love left there either. He wants to go back. In the meantime, Bella was pregnant and miscarried the baby. She never got his note and none of the letters because her EVIL mother was stealing them. She didn't find that out until after Jesse returned. It was heartbreaking to read about the pain she was experiencing. The rest of the story was their life after marriage and his nightmares. I really love this author and I liked this book too. I just didn't love it. But I am going on to the next one in the series. This is safe and free in KU.

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (These scenes were a bit light compared to her later work)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine (and a brief section from the heroine’s mother)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: very soon in, about 2%
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, a few months later?
Format: read an e-book version through kindle unlimited
Why I chose this book: It was our book of the month in Upturned Petticoats and Undone Cravats group on FB – I read book 1 awhile ago because I wanted to start chronologically with Scott’s work so I was looking to continue the series!
Mains: This a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)

Should I read in order?
This might be all right out of order, but the events of book 1 happen concurrently in the first part of the book and then the mains of book 1 do have a decent amount of page time so I think it’s best in order!

Basic plot:
Lady Bella wants Mr Whitney, but her mother demands no less than a coronet….

Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian – 1880
- bespectacled, book loving heroine
- brother’s best friend
- house party
- ex-soldier hero
- English heroine / American hero – he’s from Virginia
- longing – from both!
- hero has dimples
- age gap – he’s older by 15 years
- overcoming parental objection
- medium steam – 3ish full scenes. They are explicit enough but definitely light in language compared to her later works

Ages:
- heroine is 21, hero is around 36

First line:
Maman wanted to marry her off.

My thoughts:
So – I LOVED the first half of this book. I thought it was so cute and I am a fool for any kind of longing that goes unrewarded...it’s not really unrequited since it’s on both sides haha. And I loved so many scenes, and found so many quotes I adored…

But then about halfway through, it switched and I just didn’t like it anymore. It went to tropes I really dislike. They had a separation. A lack of communication. There was a child thrown in the mix as well as a pregnancy. And I was just annoyed with both of these mains. It didn’t get better for me and eventually I just wanted it over with.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of book 1 for similar reasons. But I plan on continuing this series. Eventually I want to read all of Scotts work – I read one from her later series and really loved it so I get these earlier novels might not work for me. I do think they will work for most people though. The writing is fine – it’s more the busier plot that got to me and some tropes I just don’t love….

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 3
Average rating: 3.67
Favorite book: Her Errant Earl

Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘darling’.

Quotes


She attempted a smile she could not quite feel. “You have been a boon, truly.”
“You would call your own mother a baboon? Dear Lord, how am I to find a husband for an uncouth girl such as this?”
Her mother addressed the ceiling of the carriage as if she were having a direct audience with the Lord Himself.
Bella would dearly have liked to offer some choice words of her own on the matter, but she wisely refrained. Instead, she counted to five in her head, took a supporting breath, and attempted to correct the dowager. “Maman, I said you’ve been a boon, not a baboon.”
---
She was a parsnip in reverse, she’d decided some time ago. Thick skin on the inside, sweet and soft on the outside. She preferred it that way, for then, everyone underestimated her.
---
“Am I in danger?”
Her fingers wandered from his jaw to his mouth, so manly yet firm. His breath was warm as it fanned against her skin. His eyes fastened upon hers. “Yes,” he said simply, and then she was in his arms.
---
“Think nothing of it,” she repeated his careless words, her tone grown cool. “You say it as though we were discussing nothing more than a speck of dust on the family silver. You kissed me, held me in your arms. Surely it is of more consequence to you than that.”
His eyes flashed with dark emotion. For a moment, his gentleman’s mask slipped to reveal passion hidden beneath his imperturbable facade.
---
Bella couldn’t help but notice how broad and muscular his chest was, dappled with whorls of blond hair. His stomach was taut as a drum. Her mouth went dry. He’d been stripped of his gentleman’s airs. He seemed savage, filled with raw emotion. An answering heat burst into flame inside her. She rather liked the stranger in his place who looked at her as if he wanted to devour her.
A feral grin curved his lips. “It isn’t a friend I’m in need of, Bella,”
She knew she should not ask, but she had never been very good at doing as she ought. “What is it you need?”
He stopped inches from her. “You have by the time I count to fifteen to get out.” Even as he spoke the words, he reached out to caress her waist with a possessiveness he’d never before shown.
Without her corset’s rigid barrier, she could feel his large hands splaying over her, the power and heat so barely contained. Bella took a deep breath and cupped his face. “I won’t leave you,” she vowed.
“One,” he muttered, already working at the double line of buttons on her bodice. “Two.”
Her body was on fire with longing. She wanted very much to kiss him, to comfort him. To make him whole. “Jesse,” she whispered, emboldened enough by the intimacy of the setting to use his given name. “You needn’t exercise your knowledge of arithmetic on my behalf.”
“Fifteen,” he skipped ahead.
---
A warm sensation of victory stirred within her. “You want me?”
He caught her hand in his and pressed it between them, allowing her to feel the ridge of his cock. She gasped, stunned that he would be so bold with a ballroom of guests not far away but nonetheless eager.



Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- heroine slaps the hero
- hero has some PTSD about the war
- hero is recovering from a hurtful relationship 15 years ago – she betrayed him and it resulted in him being shot
- hero had the existence of his child kept from him for 15 years
- illness and death on page
- the heroine kisses someone else after she’s been with the hero (its consensual...she thinks she was abandoned)
- pregnancy happens on page
- heroine has a miscarriage – the event happens off page, but the aftermath is on page and her grief
- there is a brief mention of the possibility of an abortion
Author content warnings? Didn’t see any


Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: Nope
How’s the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? Yes. The heroine falls pregnant in the story, but loses the baby (the aftermath is on page) and the hero discovers he has a child from a prior relationship and becomes her guardian about ½ way through the book
7% - kiss
11% - kiss
20% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her
She shivered, aroused to be on display to him, to watch his eyes worship her. And then he buried his face between her legs.

30% - kisses
31% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her, missionary

“Hush, darling,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her breast. He looked up at her and grinned, his dimple flashing for a moment. “You must be as quiet as you can or else we’ll have the dowager storming in to rescue you from this horrid American.”

56% - kiss with the heroine and another man
71% - kisses
78% - kisses
81% - 🔥 handy to bj (incomplete), missionary
”Do I meet with your approval?” she asked innocently.
“Christ yes,” he said on a groan, rising to his feet and surging toward her.
She stopped him with a staying hand on his chest. “No you don’t. It’s my turn now.”



Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs


Full break down on what my ratings above mean here:
Overall: How I felt about it everything considered!
Readability: How ‘readable’ was the book? Did I fly through it? Did I have to tell myself to pick it back up repeatedly? Were any passages confusing? (I will probably score like (1) is literally unreadable due to formatting/typing errors, etc (2) There were lots of errors that made it difficult to read OR It was extremely confusing and I had to reread passages to make sense of it OR I disliked it so much I had to bribe myself to keep reading (3) I didn’t really want to keep reading and would have preferred to abandon the read and start something else OR some minor continuity issues/confusion (4) I liked it fine, maybe a minor error or 2. I was happy to pick it up when I had time. (5) I never wanted to put this down. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading it. I hid in the bathroom from my kids to read. I threw inappropriate food at my children for dinner so I could read instead.)
Feels: Totally subjective to each person but did the book give me any tingles? Any butterflies? Did it rip my heart out (in a good way?)
Emotional depth: How well do I feel I know the characters at the end? How much did I feel their emotions throughout the story?
Sexual tension: Again, subjective, but how strong was the wanting and longing to me between the characters? A book might have strong sexual tension without a single touch.
Romance: Was there romance? Did romantic things happen? This can be actions/words/thoughts of the characters and again is subjective.
Sensuality: This is how the intimate scenes are written. Kisses and sexual scenes – how sensual were they? Were they on the mechanical side? Was there emotional pull tied in? Were the details explicit or flowery? These are subjective but generally (1) too short to get a good judgement (2) not all what I'm looking for - very vague or flowery prose (3) either not explicit enough or not enough emotional pull (too mechanical/physically descriptive without the emotions) (4) what I love in a scene (5) absolute perfection - perfect balance of emotional longing and explicit descriptions
Sex Scene Length: How long the bedroom scenes are (generally (1) is 1-3 sentences (2) is a few paragraphs to a page-ish (3) is about average, a few pages (4) more well developed scenes, quite a few pages with descriptions (4) the majority of the book takes place in the bedroom. This is always hard to tell for me on audio!
Steam Scale: Generally, each flame is a scene. If scenes are super close together I sometimes combine them. If a scene is super short or so vague I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t count it. There’s some levels of grey but generally the number of flames is how many sex scenes there are (I max out at 5 so I’ll put a + after if there’s more than that)


Find me
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Book Clubs
The Ton and the Tartans (Historical Romance)
Upturned Petticoats and Undone Cravats (Historical Romance with Steam Requirements)
A Love Less Ordinary (Science Fiction, Paranormal, Monster, Fantasy)
Modern Manuscripts (Contemporary Romance)
Words for the Wicked (Contemporary Romance with Steam Requirements)
Vintage Romance (Old School Romance – published 2000 and prior)

[Lady Nilambari Reads HR · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Highlights
- Very unexpected, especially from Scarlett Scott.
- Eh, mildly boring story.
- Next to nothing w.r.t romance.
- Teensy bit of steam.
- A boat load of misunderstandings.
- Never really got to know the characters.
- Bella was mildly interesting. She deserved better.
- God knows what Jesse was.

*Pftt.

[Sangria · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was good....surprisingly romantic.

Been awhile since I read a good HR w/ a great story. I liked both leads. I thought the addition of our H w/ ptsd from the civil war a realistic deterrent to the romance.

We meet our H as a friend of Thornton’s. (Book 1) His sister our h is a Lady. He is a Virginian whose made his millions w/ her brother. She’s has always had a crush on him. The first part. It’s a house party. The romance is sweet & unrequited. I enjoyed watching them fall.

The second part was angsty & heartbreaking but also very realistic. I really felt drawn into the time period this author wrote. I loved the way she wrote the characters as well. All of them, the supporting as well.

I’ll definitely be reading more from this author. A boon, she writes with just enough heat in her stories. I like that as well. New author for me. Surprised I’ve never read her before. Recommend.

[Edwina " I LoveBooks" "Deb" · Rating 2 out of 5]

THANK GOODNESS THIS WAS FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!! or I would have returned it for a refund!!

I was so looking forward to Lady Bella de Vere's story with Mr. Jesse Whitney. Even though I don't usually read stories of untiled gentlemen. I thought maybe he would inherit a title from a distant relative. But No the man is a ex Conferate Soldier who fought in the Civil War to Keep Slavery!! This is not my kind of hero. As far as I am concerned he should be tormented with his dreams of the horrors of war for the rest of his live.

I like Bella and felt so sorry for her. She had been groomed all her life to marry and Duke. But feel in love with a Mister. She is the daughter of a Marquess and her brother Alex from bk.1 A Mad Passion is the Marquess of Thornton.

Jesse gets some news about a 15 year old Unknow daughter from a previous love. He races back to Virgina to get his daughter before her mother dies and she is left alone. But in the meantime he leaves Bella in a fix. She pregnant and she loses her baby. I hate sorries when there are miscarriages. It would have been better and a great scandal if she carried the baby to term.

There were to many things I personally don't like to read about in this story. A person fighting on the side of Evil Confederacy is one of them. I didn't feel a bit sorry for Jesse he got what he deserved in is torment of nightmares.

[Kat Ryker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know that I shouldn't have been doing it, but I was laughing through most of this book. The Dowager and her mispronunciation of words had me completely enthralled. Mosquitos the size of horses and illnesses that could make a man's ears fall off (I think I got that right, I was too busy chuckling to really read that part closely).

The book was long, and there were some places where it could probably have been shortened a bit, but overall it was a fine bit of writing. The H and h weren't as steamily (is that a word?) attracted to each other at the beginning as I would have liked. I think their connection suffered from too many words, but that's just a guess. There was something missing between the two of them, but I'm not sure I can put my finger on it. The sex between them was hot when it happened, so I couldn't complain on that score.

All that said, I read it in a day, I laughed almost all the way through it. I want to hang with the Dowager as she actually was an interesting character. And the rest of the family would be fun to hang with to, especially Thornton and That Woman.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story in the ongoing saga

I do love it when a series is as delightful As this series has been. Today we have Bella and Whitney’s story. The ups and downs and finally the triumphant end. Why don’t wonderfully romantic and sexy love story. Sex scenes you will want to read over and droll over. I can’t wait for the next book in the series

[Jason Gerringer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring until 47% in on my kindle

Well..the first 47% of the book was all about Jesse and Bella having a case of the hotts for each other . Every other chapter was the same . I want you but can’t have you ..I want you but can’t have you . I almost gave up on the book . It was excessive ...I unsweet the point and felt the connection within a few chapters .

For an easy to read book it was painfully boring to get through .

But you get to around the middle things take a turn (for the worst ) and it gets better .

Then all the issues are solved at 75% in and they are married . So the rest of the book was ...rather dull for the most part as well. I did like the ending though .

This book has potential , I would have removed some of the chapters because they served no purpose except to fill in pages to make the story longer.

A little rearranging and this book would have been a breeze and far more enjoyable to read .

This read was pretty clean with only two saucy scenes that you get in the first half of the book. Nothing more than a few pecks on the lips/cheek for the second half of the book.

[Lana Birky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner in Book 2 of this series - I really enjoy Scarlett Scott's style of writing. Lady Bella de Vere has been in love with her brother's handsome, wealthy, American friend for years, & Mr. Jesse Whitney has only treated her as his friend's little sister. Bella has been trained all her life by a stern, strict Mother who is determined that her daughter shall become a Duchess.

Bella & her Mother are invited to a country house party where she & Jesse are thrown together. Jesse finds himself aware of what a beauty Bella has grown into; a flirty, witty & fun woman who he is entirely too attracted to. Will Bella & Jesse find their HEA - many reasons for him to fight the chemistry between them. He has horrible nightmares from the war, Bella is his friend's little sister, he had a bad love experience 15 years ago.

I highly recommend this read to all romance lovers - it has humor, revisits past characters, it is fun, spice, and romance - what more could you want in a good read?

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like the last book in this series, it starts off good and completely derails half way through. Surprise! Random teenage daughter! Surprise! H can’t walk down the hallway and tell the h he’s having to travel ACROSS THE OCEAN FOR MONTHS! Surprise! Miscarriage! Just loads of unnecessary soap opera drama.

[Kirsten Bransford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh.

Trite, boring, this book had little to recommend it. Very little humor, no sizzle. I read it to the end only because I was taught to never leave a book unfinished.

[P Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Second in the series. I have enjoyed all of the characters and !lol forward to reading book three. Happily ever after love stories written by a talented writer.

[Bridget Love to read Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew what a ride! This book somehow I missed and have read others in the series!
We have Lady Arabella DeVere only sister to the Marquis of Thornton who has just gone through his own scandal!
But Jesse Whitney is Thornton business partner and best friend and lusting after Bella his only sister was not done!
But Jesse can’t stay away at house party whet there seems a lot going on! Does anyone notice their time spent together?
Yes Dowager Bella’s mother is not having two scandalous children so she uses her spies within the household to do the unthinkable!
This causes an huge rift between Jesse and Bella that lead to irreversible damage!
When Jesse returns from an emergency in Virginia with more than baggage it definitely seems if these two will never have a future!
I loved seeing the growth of Bella who thought she knew love but never understanding true sacrifice! Love is an action word and she and Jesse will have to prove it in the days and months to come! Bravo well done!

[Colleen Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this story so much

I really enjoyed this story of Bella and Jesse. He was a wonderful Hero, so handsome, kind, honest, loyal, protective and honorable. Bella so sweet, strong, lovely, and honest. Their love story was a long journey, with many bumps along the way. At times I felt they would not ever get together, but very interesting. There were some pretty steamy scenes, adding to the story. I have enjoyed this series, and recommend it. It is best, in my opinion if read in order, because of reoccurring characters. I am going to start the next book in series.

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was generally well written (SS style is undeniable) but I was annoyed by two things.
One was misunderstanding/ lack of communication factor between Bella and Jessie.
The other thing, there were plenty of inconsistencies. For instance, marchioness dowager was called duchess, duke is titled sir (not his grace) by Bella. In one scene the dowager is said to never lose composure and two pages later she is shouting and shrieking at servants. She also slaps Bella with no apparent reason.
First 40% of the book is really boring and repetitive.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an infatuation

Bella has loved Jesse since she first met him as a young girl. Now she's twenty-one and her love is even stronger. Jesse's ten years older that Bella, who is his best friend's sister. He's an American and fought as a Confederate in the Civil War. He carries the nightmares from his experiences and he doesn't know if he's capable of love anymore. He's attracted to her and can't stay away. Trust can easily be broken. This series is totally addictive.

[Michelle Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were aspects of this novel I enjoyed and then there were parts that I couldn’t stand.


However, any novel that includes a hero who was or is a Confederate solider better also have incredible character building and a breakthrough moment about slavery and racism. This hero did not. And so, I can’t give this rating anything above one star. Why? Because anytime there is an opportunity to assert that slavery was inhumane and immoral and the author chooses not to, then the book is racist.

[Brangela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Story

I did not think I would have liked this story as much as I did. Having a non titled , orphaned soldier who had served in America's Civil War was brilliant. The clash of cultures, coupled with a damaged man and a naive young English Lady was perfect. Add in the formidable Mother from Hades, a hateful newly discovered daughter and you have a winner. Oh did I mention that it was also funny and HOT ? Sigh

[Amy R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than 1st in series !

This was such an improvement on the first book in the series. You wanna get “the feels” when you read a good book and this one definitely delivers.

Well written and well edited, this book severely edited or limited the dialogue of the unfortunate dowager character that did not further character development or enjoyment in book 1. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

[WLL413 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had promise but it wasn’t as fun as the first book. Also, there were some in consistencies between the books, which drives me crazy.

The author also never really addressed Bella’s mother not giving her the letters…There should’ve been a big forgiveness scene, or at least a mention of it.

[Laura Braley · Rating 4 out of 5]

swoonworthy

Another delightful book from Scarlett Scott - and I loved having a hero from my upstart state!

I do feel the dowager got off way too easy for all of her interference - Bella, and even Thornton and Cleo, should have made her grovel. Most of the hell they went through was because of her.

Still and all, another fabulous story!

[Caroline Sanderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it had it all for me! A great love story with a tortured hero and a heroine who is fighting against the loveless marriage her mother wants her to have. Wonderful dialogue between the main characters and the supporting characters with plenty of humour. Lots of angst but the main couple get their HEA in the end - loved it!

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book

This was a good story and the after effects of war are still the same. When my brother came home from the Korean War they called it shell shocked but he really never got over. If you hadn't live with this you never know.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story of Bella and Jesse. Jesse had a lot of issues to overcome. Bella has been in love with him for years as he is her brothers best friend. Great story - loved the characters. Another great one by SS. Thank you!!

[John Boles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rebel Love

This book is another outstanding love story by Scarlett Scott. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I have all of her books I've read so far. Happy endings do it for me. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Rosa garnica-gentry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

As always Mrs Scott takes us to on a up and down to a emotional rollercoaster ride: hot passion, pain, betrayal, PTSD, emotional and physical lost, secrets, manipulations but loves wins always, I enjoy the series,.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

👌👌

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from the first page until the very last. It has been a very rare occurrence that I could just pick up a book and read it in one day; but, I was captivated by these characters and their amazing love story instantaneously.

[AprilGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

A well written novel with an excellent storyline, a lovely main couple with a good intermixing of characters from the other novels in the series.
Longer than my preferred reading length but well worth the read nevertheless.

[kattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rebel Love

I loved this story, I recommend everyone to read this book. I look forward to reading more of her books. Kattie.

[Tom Prejsner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance novels

Thank you for sharing these books . Please write more series . I love reading romance novels. Thank you very much.