Tempted

Tempted / Scandal #1

by Pamela Britton

Alexander Drumming, the Marquis of Warrick, is no saint. Descended from a long line of rakes, he has vowed to stop dallying with the fairer sex. But now he needs a woman-an extraordinary woman to tame his wildcat of a daughter. Intelligent, spirited Mary Callaghan is the perfect nursemaid for the child, but one look at her bedroom eyes and luscious lips and Alexander is tempted to seduce one last woman.

For Mary, masquerading as a nanny and enticing the master of the house is all in a day's work-until stolen kisses and passionate caresses distract her from her perilous game. Soon two people who know the risk of mixing danger and desire find themselves on the brink of a shocking scandal, and Alexander is about to discover what happens when he lets an enemy into his house...and his heart.

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

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

With over a million books in print, Pamela Britton likes to call herself the best known author nobody’s ever heard of. Of course, that’s begun to change thanks to a certain licensing agreement with that little racing organization known as NASCAR.

Nowadays it’s not unusual to hear her books being discussed by the likes of Jay Leno, Keith Olbermann, or Stephen Colbert. Flip open a magazine and you might read about her, too, in Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, or Southwest Airlines’ Spirit Magazine. Channel surf and you might see her on CNN, ESPN, ABC or NBC.

But before the glitz and glamour of NASCAR, Pamela wrote books that were frequently voted the best of the best by The Detroit Free Press, Barnes & Noble (two years in a row) and RT BOOKclub Magazine. She’s won numerous writing awards, including the National Reader’s Choice Award, and a nomination for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart and the Holt Medallion.

When not following the race circuit, Pamela writes full-time from her ranch in Northern California where she lives with her husband, daughter and, at last count, twenty-one four-legged friends.

If you'd like to chat with Pamela you can find her on her myspace where she loves to hangout with her readers.

Reviews

[Rachael*Caribbean*girl*bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead

It's been days so basically.....


The h is a circus rider called by her smuggler dad to dupe the H who's arresting his crew. She's to act as his nanny and provide updates to her Father on where the H plans to hit next. She's determined to do no such thing and decides to basically fail the interview,only she's tempted by the money and so agrees.
The H comes from a long line of no good men, he's spent his whole life trying to be the opposite of his ancestors including his father. He needs a nanny for his daughter however and when he realizes she's in danger both his daughter and her tempting new nanny will have to accompany him on his travels.


*********
I read this author years ago and liked her work......apparently not anymore

This guy was a HUGE asshole with a gigantic stick up his ass. What I found funny was he was so sanctimonious but he had a child out of wedlock!!!!! What does that say about his supposed "good" character. I hated him and he didn't deserve the h
The h started off pretty good, she was sassy and funny but her woe is me this guy is rich and won't want me attitude started to wear on me. In the end she forgave him way too easily.
It's been days and just writing this review brought all my annoyance back
The end

[Marcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think we should bring back saying “I want to bed them”

While not prize worthy high brow literature I found myself burying my face in the pages no less than five times. Zany and sweet and exactly what I wanted it to be.

[adoree · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai tout simplement adoré les personnages. L'entrée en matière était particulièrement savoureuse. Ce livre est rempli d'humour et quelques situations cocasses me font toujours rire aux éclats.
L'histoire est bien construite. Le tout est mené avec brio.

[Maria Ines Alvarez · Rating 1 out of 5]

if is historical romance i do not like it to read phrases that we use nowadays.. it just shatters the illusion for me.

[Cielo Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

RATING: 4.6/5.0



Hi~ ☆(◒‿◒)☆

I would just like to remind anyone reading this that this review really do have some spoilers so if you're the type to hate spoilers, better not continue okay? Okay.



SYNOPSIS:
The Dukes of Wainridge, since the first one, were always notorious for their liaisons to the opposite sex. And then came along the heir, George Alexander Essex Drummond, marquis of Warrick, who unlike his ancestors, was principled and was not that interested in seducing women. Instead, he became an upstanding gent, finding a task on the government to capture smugglers. He was so good at it, especially on a town full of smugglers, that they thought to give him a lesson. A particular smuggler was given the task to do so, and what more effective way to do it than to sent to get close to the marquis. As luck would have it, there on the news an advertisement from the marquis himself looking for a nurse for his daughter. In came Mary Callahan, daughter of the smuggler. Though Mary didn't want to pretend to be a nurse, she did so because of the money offered to her. Then a few days later, a letter was sent that Alex's daughter was in danger of being kidnapped.



THE COVER:
It was pretty. I like it, though I think if you put in a pile of regency novels it would not really stand out because of the color scheme and the theme of the cover.



THE CHARACTERS:
Mary Callahan was a talkative and provocative woman. I think she gets a kick on making Alex speechless and all. Lord, the way the woman go. She also has that defiant nature to her and that disdain of command, the way she talks to her superior, the person giving her employment. She has the guts. She does not talk in a refined manner too, but with a commoner accent and acts naively about how she would comport herself in polite society. Regardless of this flaws, I surprisingly like her. She was amusing, and has a strength and that vulnerability to her that makes me want to cheer her on. At first, I was really set on not liking her, but then she grows on you and warmed my heart towards her. She's adorable and lovely and truly perfect.

George Alexander Essex Drummond, marquis of Warrick, was a stuffy old man. Well, not exactly old, but so frigging attached to rules and etiquette that I would really like to rattle him like Mary does. What I'm not okay though about him is that he doesn't act like a leader should. I mean, look at how Mary ran roughshod over him. For example, when he barged into Mary's room because the woman was late for work and she was sleeping there naked. She didn't apologize, he did. It was weird to think a guy who could flush out all that smugglers could not argue his way around someone. And I thought he's smart, the way he could outsmart those smugglers. Regardless, stuffy-shirt was not a bad hero at all. He did develop his character all throughout the book, so good for him.

Rein, earl of Sherborne and cousin to Alex, was an interesting mix of gallantry and rakishness that I find irresistible. He was also manipulative that it made me itch to best him at his own game. If there is another book regarding him, I would be truly happy to read it.

Gabby was a brat, no arguing about that. I wish there was something I could've love about her though. Unfortunately, the times she appeared was a trial to me and I just hoped some miracle could've have happened to make her into someone even bratty adorable.



THE PLOT, THE WRITING, THE WHOLE SHEBANG:
It was surprisingly good. The plot was very interesting indeed to me. The writing was good; good in a way that it is easy to understand and the flow of the story was flawless. However, the trial of Mary's language (common-folk speech back then). I find myself wincing from time to time, though I love Mary, I do. It's just that I'm not accustomed to it.

I thought, "a nurse and child scenario!" but alas it was not so. The interaction between Mary and Gabby was full of disagreement that it became tedious. I wished that there's something that could've made these two friends or something. Their initial meeting was so good that I was disappointed that no taming and forming bond between the two occurred. Even though there's some connection that happened between Mary and Gabby when Mary returned to the house to get her things, it was so abrupt and little that it's disappointing.

The kidnapping and smuggler scene was also few and feels inconsequential (though I think for the hero and heroine, it was a big deal indeed). Few in a sense that it's only on the half of the book. I think the other half was spent on the Rein's house and how Mary and Alex would stop circling each other already. It seemed inconsequential because the hero and heroine didn't even encountered the men involved. They were not chased or followed. Also, the smugglers were caught. The problem solved itself so I felt like what the heck was all the fuss about.

The way Alex tried to leave that awful reputation behind, because truly, he's the decent sort, and then he finds himself tempted to debauch one of his servants must be appalling. It also made the book amusing. Mary did rattle him, and rattled was he. The way those two do go on made me smile a lot.

The way people live those times was highlighted, when Mary and Alex find themselves in a cell and given a mock trial, and by what Mary herself experienced when she was sixteen and when in the presence of the nobility. It was appalling and brilliant at the same time. It gave the book a life of its own.

Alex was such an oaf on the latter part of the book that I want to bash his head. He's hurt by how Mary was treated, but again and again, he's done the same thing that I want to hurt him too. He can't even realize that he loves her. It was frustrating as hell. I also wanted him to realize that Mary was a virgin when she came to him, but no such thing happened. I wish that he have known, or something happened for him to know that Mary was an innocent and doesn't deserve any scorn she's been given. Also, when he turned Mary out because she didn't tell him that she was not a nurse and her father was a smuggler...I'm done.

The last chapter was, okay, marvelous. That Alex was willing to show the ton that he is in love with a circus performer was beyond romantic. His points upped there.

The ending was bewildering to me, though. I had a hard time understanding the epilogue, and still think that I don't perfectly understand it so don't ask me. I wish there was a better one, though, on how they did go on after that.



OVERALL:
Regardless of my seemingly long list of grievances towards Alex (and the book), it was surprisingly good. Mary touched a part of me, that I'm willing to give this one a high rating. I couldn't deny though that some ideas where underdeveloped (like the nurse-child scenario and the smuggler-kidnapping one), but the way those two resolved their attraction for each other was very good. The banter between them was also amusing, so plus points.

And that's it. I would recommend it because of simply one thing: I like it, and wish for you to like it too. It's a long way from the usual regency romances out there (a commoner with no social grace at all and a stuffy duke with no inclination to rakishness), but go ahead and give it a try.

Good reads to you! （★￣∀￣★）

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

🤣Romcom🤣
This book was so funny and I totally laughed out loud many times (don't often do) even my husband inquired what I laughed at. Older style but sooo intertaining. If it weren't for work I probably would have finished this in a day or two. Definitely a must read for Adults.
Romcom
little 🔥
forbidden love (He's royalty with a child, she's poor)
Outspoken women (Time women were proper)
I very much recommend and normally don't do romance

[Lynne Tull · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely a fairy tale. I do not think during this period that an heir to a dukedom and the daughter of a smuggler would ever make a match. I can't even imagine the 'nurse' for the daughter would ever think to talk to her employer in this manner. There is a connected book "Scandal". I will read it to see what crazy thing happens in Rein's story.

[Himanish Prabhakar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like it that much though. I'm disappointed.

[Ratchel Bwire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Marquis needs a 'Mary Brown Callaghan' in his life. it's a beautiful romance where love wins between a commoner and an earl. A very good read.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, but one that will probably not linger in the memory.

A famous bareback circus rider is persuaded by her father to apply for the post of governess to the revoltingly ill-mannered daughter of the customs official who is coming close to shutting down the father's smuggling operations.

Mary, the smuggler's daughter, reluctantly accepts the position and so begins her life with Alex, the customs official. A romance develops between the stiff, upright Alex and the foul-mouthed, world-savvy Mary. Knowing that their differing social status precludes a marriage, and unwilling to demean herself by becoming Alex's kept woman, Mary calls off the relationship. Not to worry, all works out in the end with Prinny, star of stage, screen and hundreds of historical romance novels, giving the match his blessing. Huzzah!

There's nothing wrong with the story or its development, but I found almost all the characters unsympathetic or two-dimensional. Ms Britton uses enough shows and tells to give insights into these characters, but somehow they don't work. As the leading romantic character, Alex comes across as wimpish and indecisive. His cousin Rein is nauseatingly obnoxious right up to the ending, where he suddenly reveals a flash of near-humanity (a hook for another book in the series, surely). Alex's daughter Gabby is so annoying that she degrades almost every scene in which she appears. And so on and so forth.

Good story, poor characters.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! It's funny and the characters leap off the page. I really liked that the heroine was not a gently-bred noblewoman, and in fact had had a fairly rough life. Thankfully the author didn't bog the reader down with too much depressing back story. I wanted to know more, but I know it would have made the lighter, funnier parts less so. I will definitely be reading more by this author, particularly if it involves the cousin, Rein.

*possible spoilers*
I only wish that the relationship between the heroine and the child had been shown more on the page. Not chapters worth, just a few more lines. I think that the author missed an opportunity to play with their characters a bit more. After all, the heroine is hired to be a nurse, but spends what feels like half the book away from the child, so the scenes where both are together should be more dynamic, like the opening one. Instead the child is hiding or asleep, leaving the heroine to spend all of her time talking to the father. Nurse and child have a moving interaction close to the end, but I didn't see enough of the development of their relationship, so it felt like a bit of a leap.

Everything else was perfect, and even with my nit-pickiness, I wish I could write as well.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexander Drummond, the eighth heir to the Wainridge dukedom, is the first in his lineage to prefer chasing miscreants to maids. An upright Customs Board official, Alex has a knack for outfoxing smugglers, but he doesn't suspect that the newest addition to his household, the spirited, straight-speaking alleged young widow Mary Callahan, is both the daughter of a vengeance-minded smuggler and the Royal Circus's famed female stunt rider Artemis.

The mayhem that ensues after the uncommon commoner is hired as nursemaid for Alex's difficult daughter encompasses kidnapping, daring escapes, several magical scenes of Cockney-to-courtly transformation, crucial cameo appearances by the Prince Regent (later George IV) and, eventually, some spectacular yet sensitively portrayed sex scenes. Britton's (Seduced, etc.) unusual characterizations, command of upper- and lower-class dialects and delightful sense of humor make this Regency-era romp much more than just great winter cruise reading. This is the kind of book that romance fans will read and reread on gloomy days.

[Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I got a kick out of Mary giving Alex a hard time and shocking him from time to time. I wasn't sure I was going to like the ending but it came out okay. I wish it had been a little more detailed (the ending, I mean) but it was okay.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main female protagonist, Mary, is a bit of an inconsistant & unlikeable character (foul mouthed virgin). That said I enjoyed the book; something a bit different.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the heroine and the mild intrigue. But mostly, I liked the clashing of classes. The social commentary was well done.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was filled with humor and lots of swearing but it was so very much enjoyable. The main characters were fun and interesting to follow about, and the daughter certainly had personality.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very humorous however also very fictional. Probably would not read again, but did enjoy this one round.