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Heart of the Diamond
Blake Dylan, The Earl of Diamond, has a heart of ice. The time has come for him to return to England and enact his plan of vengeance, even if it means wedding the daughter of his sworn enemy. Lady Nicole Langley has vowed she will not marry unless for true love. When she is lured into a compromising situation with a handsome stranger her worst nightmare begins. Now, to save them both, Nicki must wage a campaign to win the heart of the Diamond.
502 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 28, 2013
A Revenge so Sweet! An Entertaining Regency Romance
Heart of the Diamond is a sweet Regency Romance, with a yummy alpha hero and an unorthodox heroine who meet each other in bizarre circumstances engineered purely for revenge, but which lead to an endearing and intriguing fast paced romance.
In Carrie Brock’s romantic tale the heroine, Lady Nicole Langley, has managed to avoid matrimony – a state she has no desire to enter into. However, she finds that her father and stepmother have arranged a match with a man very much her senior. In a desperate attempt to seek help, she sets out in the middle of the night to meet her childhood sweetheart and neighbour, Teddy Bartholomew, who has sent her a note to say that he has returned home from America. However, instead she finds that she has been tricked and compromised by Blake Dylan, the new owner of Teddy’s home, Rosewood Manor. Nicole’s father, the Duke of Billington, is reluctantly compelled to accept Blake’s offer of marriage for his daughter to safeguard her honour.
Blake Dylan, who is now the Duke of Diamond, on his father’s death, has recently returned from America where he spent the last six years after being banished there. He is seeking revenge on those responsible for his banishment, namely the Duke of Billington and Teddy Bartholemew. He has already sabotaged the Duke’s business interests and he has won Teddy’s ancestral home from him in a card game. His final act of revenge will be to trick Billington’s daughter into marriage, which will have the added benefit of depriving Teddy of the woman he intends to make his own.
Nicole is a first unaware of the hatred that exists between her father and Teddy and Blake. Whilst she is furious at the situation, she begins to find herself becoming attracted to Blake, for despite his cool and calculating exterior, he can at times be quite charming. She suspects that he has been badly let down in the past and wants to be the woman that heals him. However, once Nicole discovers Blake’s role in her father’s financial ruin, Nicole begins to question Blake’s integrity and fears for her future with such a cold hearted vindictive man, who professes to shun love. When her childhood love Teddy returns from America more truths emerge and Nicole is forced to make choices relating to her future happiness. She fears that Blake will not be appeased until he manages to completely destroy her father, which she cannot let happen. Already enamoured with Blake Nicole strives to melt his icy heart.
Nicole is not your typical simpering Regency miss. Instead she is unorthodox, outspoken and headstrong. Having witnessed her own mother’s unhappiness before her death and her father’s remarriage to his former mistress, she is wary of entering a loveless marriage. She is devoted to her family, although her relationship with her stepmother is strained. Blake is taken aback be Nicole’s natural beauty and lack of artifice. He does not hold Nicole responsible for his misfortune and only intends to use her as an instrument for his revenge, not wishing to inflict any undue hardship on her. He does not believe in love but he begins to find Nikki’s behaviour more and more endearing as he gets to know her. She begins to thaw his icy heart and he is forced to examine his feelings when Teddy reappears and competes for her attention despite the couple’s coming nuptials.
Despite Blake’s Machiavellian actions in tricking Nikki into marriage for revenge, I did find him a sympathetic character. From their first scene together it was evident that there was a great deal of sexual tension between them. However, there are many twists and turns in the plot along the way which make for an entertaining tale. Some of the scenes, particularly those which portray Blake and Teddy vying for Nicole’s attention are highly amusing! We are introduced to a wider cast of characters as the plot progresses and these are well drawn and help the plot progress to its conclusion.
I found Heart of the Diamond to be a sweet Regency Romance with engaging characters and an intriguing plot. I recommend this novel to lovers of Regency Romance with an unorthodox, likeable heroine, a yummy alpha hero, who attempts to be a blackguard to exact his revenge, but really is quite honourable and a cast of entertaining characters.
Reviewed by Tina Williams
A copy of this book was made available to me by the publisher Blue Star Books for the purpose of providing a fair and honest review.
Heart of the Diamond is a sweet Regency Romance, with a yummy alpha hero and an unorthodox heroine who meet each other in bizarre circumstances engineered purely for revenge, but which lead to an endearing and intriguing fast paced romance.
In Carrie Brock’s romantic tale the heroine, Lady Nicole Langley, has managed to avoid matrimony – a state she has no desire to enter into. However, she finds that her father and stepmother have arranged a match with a man very much her senior. In a desperate attempt to seek help, she sets out in the middle of the night to meet her childhood sweetheart and neighbour, Teddy Bartholomew, who has sent her a note to say that he has returned home from America. However, instead she finds that she has been tricked and compromised by Blake Dylan, the new owner of Teddy’s home, Rosewood Manor. Nicole’s father, the Duke of Billington, is reluctantly compelled to accept Blake’s offer of marriage for his daughter to safeguard her honour.
Blake Dylan, who is now the Duke of Diamond, on his father’s death, has recently returned from America where he spent the last six years after being banished there. He is seeking revenge on those responsible for his banishment, namely the Duke of Billington and Teddy Bartholemew. He has already sabotaged the Duke’s business interests and he has won Teddy’s ancestral home from him in a card game. His final act of revenge will be to trick Billington’s daughter into marriage, which will have the added benefit of depriving Teddy of the woman he intends to make his own.
Nicole is a first unaware of the hatred that exists between her father and Teddy and Blake. Whilst she is furious at the situation, she begins to find herself becoming attracted to Blake, for despite his cool and calculating exterior, he can at times be quite charming. She suspects that he has been badly let down in the past and wants to be the woman that heals him. However, once Nicole discovers Blake’s role in her father’s financial ruin, Nicole begins to question Blake’s integrity and fears for her future with such a cold hearted vindictive man, who professes to shun love. When her childhood love Teddy returns from America more truths emerge and Nicole is forced to make choices relating to her future happiness. She fears that Blake will not be appeased until he manages to completely destroy her father, which she cannot let happen. Already enamoured with Blake Nicole strives to melt his icy heart.
Nicole is not your typical simpering Regency miss. Instead she is unorthodox, outspoken and headstrong. Having witnessed her own mother’s unhappiness before her death and her father’s remarriage to his former mistress, she is wary of entering a loveless marriage. She is devoted to her family, although her relationship with her stepmother is strained. Blake is taken aback be Nicole’s natural beauty and lack of artifice. He does not hold Nicole responsible for his misfortune and only intends to use her as an instrument for his revenge, not wishing to inflict any undue hardship on her. He does not believe in love but he begins to find Nikki’s behaviour more and more endearing as he gets to know her. She begins to thaw his icy heart and he is forced to examine his feelings when Teddy reappears and competes for her attention despite the couple’s coming nuptials.
Despite Blake’s Machiavellian actions in tricking Nikki into marriage for revenge, I did find him a sympathetic character. From their first scene together it was evident that there was a great deal of sexual tension between them. However, there are many twists and turns in the plot along the way which make for an entertaining tale. Some of the scenes, particularly those which portray Blake and Teddy vying for Nicole’s attention are highly amusing! We are introduced to a wider cast of characters as the plot progresses and these are well drawn and help the plot progress to its conclusion.
I found Heart of the Diamond to be a sweet Regency Romance with engaging characters and an intriguing plot. I recommend this novel to lovers of Regency Romance with an unorthodox, likeable heroine, a yummy alpha hero, who attempts to be a blackguard to exact his revenge, but really is quite honourable and a cast of entertaining characters.
Reviewed by Tina Williams
A copy of this book was made available to me by the publisher Blue Star Books for the purpose of providing a fair and honest review.
August 27, 2013
I never thought myself to be one who would enjoy reading a Historical Romance novel, however Heart of the Diamond by Carrie Brock has officially won me over!
I would say the unexpected heroin in this novel is the young Lady Nicole Langley (Nikki), who is not about to be sold off into a prison they call marriage. While clumsily going about circumventing her pre-arranged marriage, she stumbles upon a most worthy adversary and unexpected courtship that will change the lives of all she holds dear.
The Earl of Diamond (Blake) is definitely your arrogant, swoon worthy, rough around the edges gentleman, that is hell bent on vindicating his honor at all costs. What he doesn’t realize is that while the past can determine your future; what you do in the present can right the wrongs of your past and set you down a new path that leads to honor, friendship, and above all love!
I thoroughly enjoyed the world Carrie Brock painted of a [tastefully] lustful romance that knows no bounds!
I would say the unexpected heroin in this novel is the young Lady Nicole Langley (Nikki), who is not about to be sold off into a prison they call marriage. While clumsily going about circumventing her pre-arranged marriage, she stumbles upon a most worthy adversary and unexpected courtship that will change the lives of all she holds dear.
The Earl of Diamond (Blake) is definitely your arrogant, swoon worthy, rough around the edges gentleman, that is hell bent on vindicating his honor at all costs. What he doesn’t realize is that while the past can determine your future; what you do in the present can right the wrongs of your past and set you down a new path that leads to honor, friendship, and above all love!
I thoroughly enjoyed the world Carrie Brock painted of a [tastefully] lustful romance that knows no bounds!
August 2, 2013
I liked Heart of the Diamond, it was a nice romance the characters were likable and the plot was interesting. There were a couple of unexpected twists that added nicely to the whole. All in all a good solid addition to the genre I look forward to other works by Carrie Brock. This novel would appeal to fans of Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and the like. For the complete review and more see Penny Dreadful Books and Reviews. *Note - This book was provided to the reader in exchange for a fair and honest review.
June 6, 2013
Such a classic romance! Loved this book. Brock has orchestrated this story, with all its drama, twists and turns (and love!), perfectly. I highly recommend this book for those that enjoy reading a less erotic and more emotional and "classic" romance. Five stars!
July 17, 2014
Really enjoyable read. Well paced, lovely characters and just a heartwarming romance!
February 24, 2014
Wow!
Beautifully written love story that held my interest from the first chapter. A must read for historical romance novel lovers.
Beautifully written love story that held my interest from the first chapter. A must read for historical romance novel lovers.
September 8, 2016
I like it, i liked the characters, Blake and Nicky, Mina, Shelby so smart, and that twist at the end, well done Carrie, but 500 pages? that was so so so much
historical
January 7, 2019Blake Dylan, The Earl of Diamond, has a heart of ice. The time has come for him to return to England and enact his plan of vengeance, even if it means wedding the daughter of his sworn enemy.
Lady Nicole Langley has vowed she will not marry unless for true love. When she is lured into a compromising situation with a handsome stranger her worst nightmare begins.
Now, to save them both, Nicki must wage a campaign to win the heart of the Diamond.
Lady Nicole Langley has vowed she will not marry unless for true love. When she is lured into a compromising situation with a handsome stranger her worst nightmare begins.
Now, to save them both, Nicki must wage a campaign to win the heart of the Diamond.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews