Rosamunde is the stereotypical widow whose husband was a total douche. Of course Dr. Hero - in this book played by a duke named Lucifer - will heal her with the power of love, but not until the author has dragged the story out by 100 pages with a Big Misunderstanding.

The novel starts off well enough. Luc feels bad at how his father bollixed her life up so he endeavors to befriend her. He takes her on walks, horse rides and other platonic adventures while honoring a self-imposed "no touching" rule because of her fear of men and sex.

Then, for someone sexually abused by her first husband, she sheds her fear of intimacy very quickly - in a matter of minutes - and manages mindblowing orgasms her first go-around. It whitewashes the deep emotional scars that accompany sexual abuse and, frankly, made the hero seem more predatory than nuturing.

Sexual tension thereby resolved, what to do with the other half of the book? Toss in two-dimensional villains, a bizarre bout with blindness, and denial of love at all costs then stir over low heat.

I finished this book only out of a sense of duty. At page 220 I wanted to close the book at walk away. What could have been a lovely story about two damaged souls slowly healing each other turned into an exasperating exercise in misunderstandings. ( )

4.5 Stars! The review that follows is a partial review. To read my full review, please visit:
http://tbqspersonalbookpalace.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-dangerous-beauty_05.ht...
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Not many books can make me laugh and sigh at the same time. Very few books make me want to re-read them—right after finishing the last page! But A Dangerous Beauty is such a book!

Charming, witty, funny and passionate—this romance novel has it all! I found myself laughing, actually laughing, many times during my reading of it. And when I wasn't laughing at some witty sentence or remark, I was sighing over the romance. Luc and Rosamunde perfect for one another—her is a sarcastic cynic, she a disgraced widow that society (and her family) shunned long ago. They both have their issues, and they both need to heal.

I applaud Rosamunde for surviving all the troubles her husband caused. And I was glad to see her finally realize she didn't need to hide from the world, that she had done nothing to be ashamed of. Watching her fall for Luc, something that scares her more than life with her husband ever did, was truly magical.

Luc had a sense of humor that I loved—perhaps because I can relate to it, being very sarcastic myself. I would have loved to see him in action, insulting many of the people of the ton without them even realizing it! The quotes from his book were simply divine—very witty as well!

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This review is property of The_Book_Queen (TBQ's Book Palace). ( )

historical romance, regency, series