Good historical romance novel. I enjoyed it. A nice escape.

STORY BRIEF:
Ethan was a handsome rake having affairs with married women. Although he never slept with her, Sylvie lied to her husband saying Ethan raped her. The husband had Ethan beaten and his face scarred (with Sylvie’s knowledge). Ethan was wealthy and got his revenge by bankrupting the husband who killed himself. Sylvie and her daughter were forced out of their home and went to live in the slums of Paris. Women are repulsed by Ethan’s scar. He is celibate for most of the next ten years. He sees Maddie and is unexpectedly attracted to her. She is drawn to him as well. They have an encounter and a misunderstanding. She is insulted and returns to Paris. Ethan then learns she is the daughter of Sylvie. He wants to continue his revenge, hurting Maddie and Sylvie, so he travels to Paris. Maddie has been living in the slums, an orphan since age 14. She survives by selling cigarettes, waitressing and stealing.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Characters and events were interesting. There were none of my pet peeves. I liked Maddie’s actions. When they were on a ship, he told her to entertain herself during the days and not be underfoot. She said right, be overfoot. Then she did what he asked. She made friends and was happily occupied during the days. But to Ethan’s surprise, he missed her. He got what he said he wanted, but he ended up not liking her being gone. I also liked Maddie’s reactions to Ethan’s scar. Aside from his scar, Ethan has a powerful body, a seductive smile, and gorgeous eyes. He is a brooding alpha male. This is the third book in the series. I did not read the first two books which are about Ethan’s two brothers. I found this fine as a stand alone book.

DATA:
Story length: 356 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 5. Total number of sex scene pages: 27. Setting: 1846 – 1865 England, France, and Scotland. Copyright: 2007. Genre: historical romance.