I enjoyed Marisa and Maitland's developing relationship. I was very disappointed with her injury, but it makes sense that the Scholars not win every round against the Unknown Villainess. ( )

This is the 4th novel ion Bronwen Evans’ Disgraced Lords series. Someone is out to destroy this group of friends who bonded as young men in a group they called the Libertine Scholars. They are being targeted, not because of anything they have done but because of something their father’s did. No one they love is safe from their opponent.
In this book, after a night at a ball, Lady Marissa wakes to find herself in bed with her brother’s friend Maitland Spencer the Duke of Lyttleton. Neither of them remember how they got there – they were drugged. The scandal forces them to marry. Something Maitland had already thought about once before since Marisa is the younger sister of his friend Sebastian.
Maitland is known as the “Cold Duke” because he rarely shows emotions but Marisa is doing her best to break his cold façade to reach the passionate man beneath. Maitland’s father had been a monster – preying on men, women and children before contracting syphilis and Maitland is afraid that if he lets go he will become just like his father.
Maitland and Marisa begin their marriage as practically strangers but Marisa wants more wondering if there is something wrong with her since her husband doesn’t seem interested. Meanwhile, he is extremely interested but is afraid of being out of control.
While the couple works out their bedroom problems, they are also faced to confront the danger the whole group is facing. When Marisa is kidnapped – Maitland realizes how much he loves her.
This is a fast paced story and it isn’t really necessary to have read the previous novels to understand what is going on in this story (it helps to know who the characters are but you have enough information to enjoy it as a stand-alone book). I highly enjoyed reading this story and would recommend it to anyone who loves historical romances with a little danger involved.
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A complicated hero. An inquisitive heroine. A hidden menace that threatens everything they hold dear including their lives. Bronwen Evans has created a world with darkness hiding in the shadows. A Whisper of Desire is a story of complex pieces. Ms. Evans is the consummate puppet master as she leads her audience through concealed clues and mysterious faceless adversaries. Every breath and every step brings into focus the scattered clues. A thriller that is as seductive as it is addictive. I received an ARC of Whisper in the Dark in exchange for an honest review. ( )

3.3 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Marisa has been anxiously awaiting a proposal from Lord Rutherford but when Maitland, the Duke of Lyttleton her brother's friend, finds him in the garden with another woman, he decides to make his move. Maitland has had his eye on Marisa for a while and when they find themselves in a compromised situation, he finds himself getting what he wants, married to Marisa. "The Cold Duke" is now her husband and Marisa is feeling a little off kilter but when they discover their hot chemistry, she can't wait to explore the benefits of marriage more. However, with a husband determined to keep a certain amount of physical distance and a mystery person out for revenge, Marisa and Maitland have the odds stacked against them and their happily ever after may take some redefining.

A Whisper of Desire is book four in the Disgraced Lords series, I didn't read the previous and would say you could get away with it also, but there were definitely times that I felt lost and felt myself barely hanging on for the ride. The first chapter is jammed pack with somewhat hurried explanations to what has already happened in the series; past characters make appearances but what really seems to connect the books is a revenge storyline. The group of friends, the Disgraced Lords, have a mysterious person trying to wreak havoc and revenge on their lives but they can't figure out who or why; this edition gives us somewhat of a name, Fleur de Lily, but no one can associate that name with anyone or anything.

Marisa started off as a somewhat vague character as her only purpose seemed to be our hero needing a wife for the romance aspect but gained substance as the story went on. She was the one who pushed the sexual side of the relationship as her sensual nature (and very, very modern bent, our Lady doesn't pause in using the word bitch at one time) comes to the forefront. Later on in the story she dabbles over into martyr territory with her sudden desire to save all the orphan children of the world. Maitland arrived with some heavy backstory, his father died of syphilis which was greatly earned; his father's depraved acts are teased and reiterated here and there. Maitland is of the mind that blood tells, so he likes to keep a strong leash on himself, which includes only sleeping with his wife a certain amount of times during the week. With Marisa's stronger sensual side, you can see what conflict hits their relationship.

Through her brother, Maitland and Marisa were aware of each other but their marriage is where they get to know one another. They poke and prod each other a bit as Marisa feels Maitland isn't attracted to her and Maitland tries to keep a clamp on what he feels are his baser needs and indulged, could have him turning out like his father. This all occurs as the mysterious revenge storyline circles around mainly bringing in Arend, Maitland's friend and another Disgraced Lord. Maitland's stepmother was another more central secondary character; she started off adding another dimension to the story only to end up overcrowding it with a fantastical and needless arc. Honestly, the first 30% of this story accomplished or had more in it than most whole books include. This aspect in turns made the story wild, crazy, fun, hard to manage, and fast paced.

Starting in the middle of the series with book four definitely hurt me, the hero's desire for marriage felt too immediate, I couldn't help feeling I maybe missed our couple's beginning relationship steps in previous books; their attraction felt immediate, however, the bonding work was done in this story. The revenge plot was a big part of the story but felt all a little mystifying to me as I didn't have prior background knowledge beyond the hurried explanations in the beginning and basically, no answers were given here. I am incredibly interested in Arend and Isobel's (somewhat of a friend of Marisa's) story as Arend was deliciously broodingly darkly dangerous and had biting chemistry with Isobel (their book looks to be one away yet).

I had never read a book by this author before but I admired her desire and ability to add a ton of ingredients into the pot and her courage in writing a “struggling” happily ever after. I don’t include spoilers in my reviews but when Maitland and Marisa ride off into the sunset, just know they are leaving a storm behind and venturing into a night most written romantic couples never see. This book was fast paced, jammed pack with story (sometimes overly), and more naughty than your average regency romance read. The sexual scenes were dirty and liked to make appearances, be aware too, that there is open talk of voyeurism, M/M, and M/M/F. A Whisper of Desire had a more modern bent but for readers looking for spicier historical fare, this was entertaining.
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Received via Loveswept in exchange for an completely unbiased review.
Also posted on Silk & Serif

A Whisper of Desire is a continuation of The Disgraced Lords series and A Touch of Passion with focus on the latest member of The Libertine Scholars to garner attention. Lady Marisa Hawkstone and His Grace Maitland Spencer are caught in a compromising position orchestrated by the villainess in an attempt to ruin them both. The marriage of necessity quickly becomes a marriage of desire and lust, but can it become something more? Can Maitland over come his horrific past and dark fears in order to fall for the sweet and innocent Marisa?
I love how Bronwen can write realistic and consistent character that are so completely different like Marisa and Portia and appear to exert so little effort in doing so.

The beginning of A Whisper of Desire reads more like a erotica novel than a historical romance which was a bit jarring after my previous experience with Bronwen's work. I was expecting a slow romance with some intrigue and danger related to the villainess' desire for revenge against The Libertine Scholars, yet what I got was a well written overabundance of sexual activity for a good 75% of the book. The main characters struggle with creating a healthy and satisfying marital relationship while dealing with their own insecurities and woes. In retrospect, this is an excellent novel for people who enjoy "married life" romance because it depicts a very realistic picture of marital issues and struggles, especially in this time period.

I struggled a bit with the first bit of this novel mainly because I was expecting something like Greyson and Portia's story with strong heroines and confident heroes. Maitland was interesting in his own way: socially awkward, horrific past and serious emotional baggage. I could empathize with Maitland and his narrative made me tear up more than once. I think that the search for the villainess and Maitland's story saved this novel for me because I really disliked Marisa.

I felt like Marisa was often naive and rather dull witted. She often didn't make obvious connections and was rather superficial. She's also weak, allowing an ex-lover of her husband to invade their honeymoon phase and at times act as the Lady of the house while Marisa complains to her family instead of getting rid of Priscilla. I concede that my opinions are a bit biased since I prefer strong willed, independent female characters and Marisa was written with an entirely different kind of reader in mind. And it's fine because Marisa's character is well written and stable. Her behaviours were realistic and organic considering what kind of person she was portrayed to be.

Personally, I didn't really get pulled into the novel until the villainess came back into the story to unfold the second part of her grisly plans for Maitland. We get closer to understanding her motivations, plans and thought process while The Libertine Scholars come a step closer to capturing their foe. Actually, I'm really excited for the next book to see how her next plan works out and how The Scholars fair. I want to learn why the villainess wants revenge and more information on Fullerton because he's rather interesting.

All in all, A Whisper of Desire was adequate and deserves three stars based on the writing, excellent developments concerning the villainess and Maitland's tortured rebuilding of himself and his history. The novel felt more like a romantic filler rather than a real addition to the story concerning The Libertine Scholars' fathers' sins, but still a decent read.
I think this is a great novel for readers who want an emotional romance read rather than a suspenseful romance.
This book will appeal to readers who enjoy historical romance, erotica or are enthusiastic about martial relationship struggles. A Whisper of Desire is a light read with realistic characters and part of a series that appears to have a strong base. I definitely recommend The Disgraced Lords Series for lovers of historical romance or suspenseful romance because Bowen can really spin a tale! ( )