This is Roslyn Loring's story. She is the middle sister of the Loring family. She is also the most idealistic of the three. She wants a love match. The problem is that she imagines a marriage where she and her husband will never ever fight or argue. She almost loses the man that has come to love her because of the idealism. I am glad that she finally realized that marriage isn't perfect for anyone. There will be disagreements along the way. Roslyn is very compassionate and loving. She is also stubborn and shortsighted about so much. For all her flaws she is still a likeable person.

I was happy to see Andrew “Drew” Moncrief, Duke of Arden, get his happily ever after. He is a wonderful man that has a mother that would freeze a volcano. Drew is a caring man that treats his tenants with caring a respect. He is a progressive in his politics. Plus he takes care of his servants going so far as to move his old nurse into his family estate when she becomes too infirmed to take care of herself. Drew has been hurt in the past and he has closed off his emotions as a result. He is really shocked when he realizes that he has fallen in love with Roslyn.

We see more of Lady Winifred Freemantle in this story and get more of her background. I was surprised that she is such a caring woman. She is also a hopeless matchmaker that is driving the two younger Loring girls crazy. She does have good instincts so far. I have to wonder if we will see more of her in the future books.

This is a well written story with some really wonderful characters. There are some very tender moments that will endear you to all the characters in this story. There are also a few sad moments so keep the tissues handy. I love Ms. Jordan’s writing style. While this is a historical romance and as such usually tame in the terms of sex there are some really hot love scenes in this story. This is a great addition to this series and makes you look forward to the next book. ( )

Another terrific book in the series. The story is very well crafted with a superb secondary story as well. Very touching. ( )

Great book, lots of passion and steamy scenes. ( )

Roslyn Loring suffered greatly through her parents' antagonistic marriage. While she yearns for marriage, she fears nothing more than a marriage of convenience. Only a love match will do, and Roslyn has long since discovered that men are far more likely to love their mistresses than their wives. So Roslyn enlists her courtesan friend Fanny and famed lover Andrew Moncrief, the Duke of Arden to assist her in capturing the heart of her future husband.

Drew doesn't believe in love. Anybody who has experienced the coldness of his mother cannot be surprised. Yet the more time Drew spends with Roslyn, the more he begins to question his stance against marriage. The passion that simmers between them is hotter than anything he's ever experienced, and he actually respects her and enjoys her company to boot... What's not to reconsider?

I was a little worried that we were going to have another 'seduced into submission' plotline, but nothing could be further from the truth. Neither Roslyn nor Drew find it easy to resist the passion between them, but Roslyn is aware from the beginning that the physical can be, and often is, completely separate from the love she so desperately needs. While the love scenes are amazing and steamy, some of the books loveliest moments come when Drew decides to woo Roslyn without seducing her and without touching her (much).

The personalities and overarching motivations are convincingly drawn (though in Roslyn's case a little sketchily if one hasn't read the first book). Both characters were flawed but strong, deeply honorable and did I mention the attraction practically jumped off the page? Yum. The side plot with Winifred was quite nice, although it was a little Christmas Carol-like. That part definitely required some suspension of disbelief, but I still liked it.

After To Bed a Beauty, I'm really excited to read Lily's story. I have a weakness for hoyden heroines (what? How did you guess?), and I've been looking forward to Heath's story as well. He seems like fun. I was also delighted to hear that there will be stories about Haviland, Eleanor, and Tess forthcoming, and that Fanny will get a secondary romance. Yay!

Also posted at my blog ( )

Became bored half way through and could not force myself to finsh. ( )