Mallory Byron has spent the last year mourning the death of her fiancé, Michael Hargreaves, who was killed in battle during the Napoleonic Wars. Her large, close-knit family is worried about her; it’s been over a year since Hargreaves was killed but Mallory continues to avoid social gatherings and family events and none of them is quite sure what to do or how to help her to start to put her grief aside and move on with her life. But there’s one person who might be able to get through to her and help her to start living again, Adam, Earl of Gresham, a family friend of long-standing who has always been especially close to her. Adam's jealousy & Mallory's need for closure were not unfounded (this is coming from my psychologist's viewpoint.) I know you think you have reason to mistrust me, but you don’t,” she said. “I know you’ve been jealous of Michael, but I understand now why that is. You believe I was forced into our marriage, that I didn’t choose you with a free and open heart. But you’re wrong, Adam. I did want to marry you.” Michael attempts one last time to get Mallory to leave with him while she's at her family's home. At this point Michael has started to grate on my nerves at his insistence. No matter how much Mallory tells him no. I literally was half-yelling at my book at this point like, "Ok dude, enough is enough." Even though I completely understood his situation and why he was behaving as he was. (I also had my annoyed moments with Adam and his jealousy and demands at Mallory, but also understood why as well. The men in this one were definitely frustrating at times. 😆) Finally he tries to kiss Mallory once more, she decides to just stand there and let him, he notices there is no spark or feeling. So, obviously dejected and resigned, he bids her farewell and wishes her happy. Even though it was a sad situation I was happy that he didn't continue on the same path and create a bad ending between them. But instead it ended well, albeit sad. Rather than responding, he lifted a brow, schooling his features into a calmness that hid the violent need still coursing through his body.

She paused. "Carrying it around with you, you mean. Oh, Adam, I knew there was a reason I didn't take it with me." Acquaintance Rape and Degrees of Consent: "No" Means "No," but What Does "Yes" Mean?. (2004). Acquaintance Rape and Degrees of Consent: "No" Means "No," but What Does "Yes" Mean?. Harvard Law Review, 117(7), 2341–2364. http://doi.org/10.2307/4093340

Plot and characters: The fiancé suddenly turning up alive was (while certainly not impossible) a ridiculous addition to the story. I truly believe that just because you love someone who is going through something, it doesnt mean you have to put up with their moods. Not even getting into the plot details and spoilers, the timing wasnt right for this romance. The author knows this too because they’re forced into the marriage through scandal. Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including: The romance though was flat. I was surprised it felt like it but when these two made appearances in previous book, they actually gave a great chemistry between them. However, the funny thing is the chemistry was great between Mallory and her supposed dead fiancé when it was none in previous book.

This is a really good ‘friends to marriage/lovers’ romance, but what makes it somewhat unique and refreshing is that in this, it’s the hero who’s been madly in love with the heroine, his best friend’s younger sister, in secret for years, instead of the other way around, like is so typically the case in many romances. This book is the fourth book in the series about the Byrons of Braebourne. Because Goodreads recommended it to me first, I decided to read it first before reading the other books in the series. This book is about the love story and marriage between Mallory - the only girl in the Byron family who had her own story - and Adam Gresham, an Earl who was a friend with the Byrons, especially Mallory. Mallory, my love, he whispered in his head, as he gave in to what he craved and deepened the kiss. Parting her mouth, he claimed her with a long, slow, sultry ease that was just this side of heaven.But that's not all when the unexpected person suddenly returned, threatening to destroy their happy marriage. Adam showed his jealousy at this particular person from Mallory's past, and I must admit it was his absurd jealousy and control over Mallory's life that made me sometimes cringe and not able to give this book a 5-star rating. But in the end, Mallory let Adam know who she really loved with these words that made me swoon, and there we have the happy ending we all wait for:

Of course once they have sex -which she finally agrees to as a result of his blatant emotional manipulation- she of course winds up loving it because all women need a penis, apparently. But a taste couldn’t begin to be enough, yearning roaring to life inside him, burning in his veins as blood beat between his temples and pooled lower in his belly and between his thighs. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2014-02-21 15:00:22.162176 Bookplateleaf 0004 Boxid IA1910608 City New York Donor So it had been a sympathy kiss, had it? His embrace driven not out of any real sense of desire for her, but rather from a need to distract and cheer her.Setting: As I said, the setting is pretty thin. I have come to expect this from the majority of romance novels, which seem to be written mainly for 'fluff' purposes. (Which is the main reason I read them, so this doesn't bother me in and of itself.) However your mileage may vary. For all she knew, maybe he hadn’t enjoyed their kiss at all. And if that were true, what must his touch be like when he really wanted a woman?

Hungry? How could he possibly think of food at a moment like this? Then she recalled why he said he’d kissed her. Good points: As mentioned above, I liked the beginning of the novel. I liked the main characters (at least initially): Mallory (i.e. the main female character) was likeable in that she was someone who had suffered a great loss (i.e. that of her fiancé). Adam (i.e. the main male character) was initially (please note the use of qualification here) likeable as well as a young man with a bit of a wild reputation who has secretly been in love with Mallory for years. I like historical romance novels, and although I will admit the setting was a little thin (i.e. very few historical details such as the ongoing Napoleonic wars, for instance, despite the fact that the main female character's fiancé died at war in France), in general it was not done in a worse way than any other mass market romance novel of this type. I liked the initial situation/storyline of the novel, whereby Adam was trying to cheer Mallory up and get her to start living again after a year of mourning, while secretly trying to gently court her at the same time. Apparently, Adam had a habit of never staying with any one woman for long, his elusive behavior seeming only to enhance his already formidable appeal among the fairer sex. And now that she’d experienced his kiss, she could see that his reputation for pleasuring women was in no way an exaggeration. Fully two minutes had passed since he’d ended their own kiss and she was still worried the top of her head might blow off, her riding hat along with it. Mallory is in for quite the surprise when Adam admits he doesn't just want a marriage of friendship but of passion. He does his best to show Mallory the delights of the bedroom, and soon she is swept away by his expertise where she wants more. Slowly her love for Michael has lessened, although Adam worries that she will never love him the way he loves her. He will do whatever he can to erase the feelings she had for Michael until he is the only man she will ever want. But he and Mallory had known each other for far too many years to stand on formality at this point. If they had, she would never have cried in his arms today at all, he realized.

Adam and Mallory are great characters with realistic, complex insecurities, emotions, and human failings, and I loved them together. The close friendship, tender affection, and intense passion they shared were heartfelt and touching, and their love scenes were sensual and seriously steamy. One scene in particular that demonstrated Adam’s skills, commitment to Mallory’s pleasure, and possessive streak was yowza hot and had me fanning myself! Anyways the reason this ended up being a 3.5 star is simply because there was no conflict, no real drama throughout most of the book. Oh if you count the 'surprise' reveal near the ending that causes a riff between the married couple, that was 'meh' for me. It was predictable because you know how it would turn out given that it all plays out in the last few chapters. But even so, that alone wasn't enough to fully catch my attention which was really frustrating because I kept waiting, and waiting.......and waiting for SOMETHING to happen. I just kept finding myself thinking 'that's it?' while reading this. Real disappointing because I loved the characters. Loved Mallory, really sweet vivacious, smart whitty heroine who you can't help but love. And Adam was a yummy hero, total alpha male with a jealous-possessive 'I will not ever let her go' streak. Loved his passion and intensity when it came to Mallory. I just really REALLY wish the author spent more time giving more action, actual REAL angst and some more interesting conflict that the suspected marriage 'insecurities'. I know Warren's capable of it, I've seen it in her previous work. She drew a hiccupping breath, and tried, but didn’t quite manage to smile. “You’re right, I have rather used this first one up, haven’t I?” Accepting the second square of white silk, she pressed the dry cloth to her eyes and cheeks and nose, pausing at his gentle urging to give “one more good blow” despite the inelegance of such behavior. I can't believe I am saying this, but their relationship was just sex. I wanted to read the banter & the fun time they spent together that was mentioned. That would have been the romance.