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Heart of Deception
Amid the treachery and turmoil of Elizbethan England, Rafe Fletcher returns from war to rescue his kinsmen accused of plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth and place Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. Racing to save his relatives' lives and restore the family's honor, Rafe has only one hope to find the truth: to infiltrate a cutthroat gang of thieves ruled by the notorious brother-sister team of Nick and Vivian Swift.
Rafe thinks Vivian will be easy to hate. But unlike any woman he's ever met, Viv draws him with a tantalizing power he finds irresistible. Proud and daring, Viv awakens a fire deeper and more consuming than any Rafe has ever known. To taste the passion of the fiery beauty's embrace, however, could expose his secret and finish his family. And for Viv, succumbing to her own exquisite desire could mean downfall too, for she harbors her own dark mystery. Rafe and Viv know that to give in to love may cost them their very lives. Yet how can they resist?
Rafe thinks Vivian will be easy to hate. But unlike any woman he's ever met, Viv draws him with a tantalizing power he finds irresistible. Proud and daring, Viv awakens a fire deeper and more consuming than any Rafe has ever known. To taste the passion of the fiery beauty's embrace, however, could expose his secret and finish his family. And for Viv, succumbing to her own exquisite desire could mean downfall too, for she harbors her own dark mystery. Rafe and Viv know that to give in to love may cost them their very lives. Yet how can they resist?
496 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 30, 2017
3.3 stars
Anger rose to the fore, and he pulled away from her. "Nothing has changed. You still want to rule me."
Her eyes went black when he thwarted her, a darkness that could devour him. Then a small flame flickered in their depths. Silent laughter. "Maybe I want you so much because I can't rule you."
"That won't stop you from trying."
"Or you from resisting." Her lips curved, the small taunting smile mocking herself as well as him. "Are you afraid of losing?"
"No." A lie to add to all the other lies. Already too much had changed because of her.
"Then savor the struggle, my rebel." Viv laughed openly now. Her gleaming eyes invited him to join in the mockery.
This story reminded me that writing is a craft and when, it seems, authors are given time to research and develop their stories, they can transport you to different worlds. What a hidden gem this turned out to be.
The suspense/mystery storyline is more the focus than the romance; in fact, our leads have an instant attraction and later use the word love a bit out of the blue. But what a mystery storyline it was, there is a plot to poison Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots. Christopher Marlowe makes an appearance along with others as the hero's family is jailed for suspected treason. Our hero leaves the war in Netherlands and meets up with his friend (epic bromance complete with watery eyes, hugs, and friendship flashbacks) to try and find out who set his family up. I'm not going to lie, the cast of characters is large, complete with code names, and the tangled weave is difficult to follow and unravel but dang if it didn't interest me.
Even though the story starts off and initially seems to want to be from the hero, the heroine steals the spotlight and thunder. The backstories going on here, y'all! It almost felt like the heroine's part was first written for a male character and the author decided to switch it up and create one badass woman; one of the most real in her honesty, sexual desires, and sense of self. This was published 20yrs ago and it makes me want to weep with how many written heroines today fall very short of her.
This story has a fair bit of violence and I kind of want to call this a medium erotic, it's not the focus of the story but the sex scenes are descriptive and naughtily hot but not in the tone of cheap porn. This had a very All Through the Night by Connie Brockway feel to me, probably why I liked it.
Anyway, the focus in the mystery/suspense, the cast of characters gets a bit wide, fairly quick romantic relationship development, the end wraps up a bit quickly (the mystery was doled out fairly slowly only to have the players and explanations throw out in a rush), and a character with a paranormal (psychic) ability added very late in the game. However, this was very well written and the depth of the main characters, especially the heroine, was amazing. If you ever come across this book, snatch it up.
*I just saw that the author wrote a book featuring the character with a paranormal ability, so maybe not so randomly throw in as much as series bait.
Anger rose to the fore, and he pulled away from her. "Nothing has changed. You still want to rule me."
Her eyes went black when he thwarted her, a darkness that could devour him. Then a small flame flickered in their depths. Silent laughter. "Maybe I want you so much because I can't rule you."
"That won't stop you from trying."
"Or you from resisting." Her lips curved, the small taunting smile mocking herself as well as him. "Are you afraid of losing?"
"No." A lie to add to all the other lies. Already too much had changed because of her.
"Then savor the struggle, my rebel." Viv laughed openly now. Her gleaming eyes invited him to join in the mockery.
This story reminded me that writing is a craft and when, it seems, authors are given time to research and develop their stories, they can transport you to different worlds. What a hidden gem this turned out to be.
The suspense/mystery storyline is more the focus than the romance; in fact, our leads have an instant attraction and later use the word love a bit out of the blue. But what a mystery storyline it was, there is a plot to poison Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots. Christopher Marlowe makes an appearance along with others as the hero's family is jailed for suspected treason. Our hero leaves the war in Netherlands and meets up with his friend (epic bromance complete with watery eyes, hugs, and friendship flashbacks) to try and find out who set his family up. I'm not going to lie, the cast of characters is large, complete with code names, and the tangled weave is difficult to follow and unravel but dang if it didn't interest me.
Even though the story starts off and initially seems to want to be from the hero, the heroine steals the spotlight and thunder. The backstories going on here, y'all! It almost felt like the heroine's part was first written for a male character and the author decided to switch it up and create one badass woman; one of the most real in her honesty, sexual desires, and sense of self. This was published 20yrs ago and it makes me want to weep with how many written heroines today fall very short of her.
This story has a fair bit of violence and I kind of want to call this a medium erotic, it's not the focus of the story but the sex scenes are descriptive and naughtily hot but not in the tone of cheap porn. This had a very All Through the Night by Connie Brockway feel to me, probably why I liked it.
Anyway, the focus in the mystery/suspense, the cast of characters gets a bit wide, fairly quick romantic relationship development, the end wraps up a bit quickly (the mystery was doled out fairly slowly only to have the players and explanations throw out in a rush), and a character with a paranormal (psychic) ability added very late in the game. However, this was very well written and the depth of the main characters, especially the heroine, was amazing. If you ever come across this book, snatch it up.
*I just saw that the author wrote a book featuring the character with a paranormal ability, so maybe not so randomly throw in as much as series bait.
September 25, 2010
This was more of a mystery than a romance. It was a good story but a little too heavy with details for me.
I had to take notes while reading to keep track of all the different names and activites. I prefer books that don't make me concentrate and work so hard. Readers who love mysteries would probably enjoy this more than I.
Rafe's grandfather and brother are imprisoned due to suspected treason, sending defective weapons to the front in Queen Elizabeth's army. Rafe's best friend was killed in connection with this. Rafe goes undercover to work for Nick and Vivian Swift who control the underworld in a section of London. He believes they were involved. The back story of how Nick and Vivian became crime bosses is also told.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: nine. Setting: 1586 London. Copyright: 1999. Genre: historical romantic mystery.
I had to take notes while reading to keep track of all the different names and activites. I prefer books that don't make me concentrate and work so hard. Readers who love mysteries would probably enjoy this more than I.
Rafe's grandfather and brother are imprisoned due to suspected treason, sending defective weapons to the front in Queen Elizabeth's army. Rafe's best friend was killed in connection with this. Rafe goes undercover to work for Nick and Vivian Swift who control the underworld in a section of London. He believes they were involved. The back story of how Nick and Vivian became crime bosses is also told.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: nine. Setting: 1586 London. Copyright: 1999. Genre: historical romantic mystery.
December 30, 2022
Historical romance set during the time of Elizabeth I of England. Both main characters are not aristocratic - he is the son of an actor, she is the Queen of Thieves in London.
The story was ok, the pace rather boring, even though there were many twists. I did not like the romance- it was unbelievable and superficial. I would say, the two mains were obsessed with each other, they had no basis for love - their relationship was too distrustful. It made my skin crawl. Not romantic at all.
The story was ok, the pace rather boring, even though there were many twists. I did not like the romance- it was unbelievable and superficial. I would say, the two mains were obsessed with each other, they had no basis for love - their relationship was too distrustful. It made my skin crawl. Not romantic at all.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews