Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: Lord of Fire

July 15, 2008

Lord of Fire - Gaelen Foley

12:43 PM |

BACKCOVER:
After years of preparation, he has baited his trap well, luring the depraved members of Society into his devil's playground so he can earn their trust and uncover their secrets. Yet no one in London suspects that Lord Lucien Knight is England's most cunning spy, an officer who has sacrificed his soul for his country. Now an unexpected intruder has invaded his fortress of sin, jeopardizing his carefully laid plans--and igniting his deepest desires.
Beautiful, innocent Alice Montague finds herself at the mercy of scandalous Lord Lucien. But as he begins his slow seduction to corrupt her virtue, Alice glimpses a man tormented by his own choices, a man who promises her nothing but his undeniable passion. . .

The background for this wonderful historical love story is the time when Napoleon has been imprisoned on Elba and the threat of war is still lingering.
Lucien Knight is a secret agent for the English Crown with many secrets to hide. He uses the country estate he's inherited from his father to attract other spies and pry information from them.
Alice Montague is a lovely, gently bred, young woman, living a quiet life but feeling restless, longing, wanting and waiting for something but she doesn't quite know what.
Circumstances brings them together in a time that is dangerous and they find in each other what they were unknowingly looking for: the soul mate that answers to their deepest desires. But before they can truly live in peace they have secrets to unveil, enemies to destroy and relatives to fight.

Alice is much more than meets the eye and a perfect match for Lucien. Underneath her meek and placid behavior there’s a fiery and passionate woman who will not let anything or anyone rule her. She is caring and sweet but she has a will of her own.

Lucien totally took me by surprise and from the first moment my heart broke for him. He is intelligent, cunning, wicked and sly, he knows how to seduce and manipulate but he's also lonely and lost, looking for someone who will see him as more the other Knight twin, next to his twin Damien who is a celebrated war hero. Lucien feels disconnected with Damien. He tries to come across as cynical and hard but deep inside he's very lonely and feels he will always be less than Damien for various reasons.
With Alice Lucien is completely thrown of his usual game of seduction and manipulation. He wants her to really want him. All of him, his good and his bad sides. Alice sees in him who he truly is and accepts that.
The same thing goes for Alice. People see her timid ways as prudish virtue but Lucien sees her inner desires and her longing for freedom. He sees her goodness and wants to revel in it.
There were numerous scenes between Alice and Lucien that brought tears in my eyes, speaking to my deepest emotions.

The secondary characters are complementary and a true addition to the main couple and the plot. There is Caro, Alice's sister-in-law, who is a selfish and malicious woman but without her Alice and Lucien would never have met. There's Damien, Lucien’s other half, the eldest of them. He has his own secrets and issues and I'm very curious to learn more about them in his own book. There's Harry, Alice's sweet little nephew who melts everyone’s heart, there are Lucien's young rogues, 5 young men in training to be spies just like Lucien and of course there's Lucien's archenemy, Claude Bardou, a French spy and the only one ever to capture and torture Lucien.

This book mesmerized me from the first page to the last. Gaelen Foley wrote a compelling historical romance that brings you back to London in the 19th century. A story with characters that have depth, background emotional motivation and a lot of issues to work out.

This series by Gaelen Foley is an undiscovered treasure on my bookshelf. It has, at least the first two books, everything I want in my romance novels; a couple that is perfectly matched, both emotionally as romantically, a thrilling, exciting plot, the historical facts are masterfully embedded into the story and the author knows how to keep my attention throughout the entire book, from the beginning to very end.

The emotions in this book had me in a very firm grip. Most present was the heartfelt loneliness both Lucien and Alice felt and the way they find the other to fill in the missing pieces in their lives. It's a heartwarming story with loneliness, pride and redemption as the main themes.

Every thing was right in this book: the plot, the characters, the pace, the emotions, the romance, the passion and the combination of all of the above put together. I was captivated, moved and entranced by it all. Even more than with the first book in this series, which I really adored.
The Knight Miscellany Series is one to treasure and a keeper on my bookshelves!

Quotes:
Alice and Lucien:
"Why must you kiss me?"
"Because I cannot bear waiting for you to kiss me."
"You actually expect me to kiss you?" She retorted in breathless indignation.
"Expect it? No. Desire it? Yes" He gave her a lazy half smile. "With every fiber of my being."

Lucien and Alice:
"You are mine now. Forever. Everything I have is yours. My body, my heart, my name."
"Lucien, my dark angel." She cupped his face between her hands and stared into his eyes. "I want your secrets."
"No, you, don't"

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