Lord of Temptation: A Regency Romance

Three and a half stars. Lord Hawkridge is penniless, desperately trying to rectifying the profligate spending of his predecessors. He is building a dock and needs capital to fund the latest stage whilst trying to pay off some of the estate's creditors. When he goes to his illegitimate older brother's home for dinner he is astonished to run into Faith Digby, the commoner he fell in love with over a decade ago. When Faith and Hawk fell in love he didn't realise the extent of the marquessate's financial difficulties, he was about to propose marriage when his guardian made the situation clear - marry an heiress or live in abject poverty. Since then Hawk has been searching for an heiress to marry without finding anyone who compares to Faith. When he sees her again he knows he is as much in love with her as ever before. Faith was devastated when Hawk made love to her and then sent her a letter the following day breaking off their relationship. Now over a decade later she can't believe she still has feelings for the man who broke her heart. Hawk is torn, he is still in no position to marry or start a family, much as that is his dream, but his love for Faith is strong. When he finds out Faith is an heiress are all his problems solved? Or does this just make things more complicated? Can two former lovers turn a marriage of convenience into a love match? Hawkridge is quite selfish to begin with, all his thoughts are of the marquessate, his mother and the docks. He has no time or compassion for anyone else. When he discovers Faith is an heiress he thinks more about her dowry than anything else. I truly disliked him and was just waiting for his comeuppance (I may have cheered). When he blackmails Faith into marrying him with no care for the woman he (allegedly) loves I was incensed. So it is a tribute to Erica Ridley that by the end of the book I was a little bit in love with Hawk myself. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

What does one do when you are 18 years old and you find that you have been left with your father’s mess to clean up? Hawk did what most young men of that age do - he listened to the people he thought knew better than he did. Only to find that he should have listened to his heart after all, especially in the wake of the hurt he left behind. Hark’s decision leaves Faith with her own set of problems, however she is fortunate in having loving, supportive parents. Ten years later when they meet again, both Hawk and Faith have more hurdles to overcome that most people do in a lifetime. If I think back to when I was 18, and having watched my children growing up and the choices they made at 18, one can only ache for Hawk. Both Hawk and Faith have immense courage and it takes all the lessons they have learned in their maturing process to overcome their issues. I loved both the main characters in this book, and it was a delight to see the growing bond that grew between Hawk and the brother we were introduced to in the previous book in this series. Although this book is part of a series and many of the characters appear in this one too, it is nevertheless a standalone with a happy ending. I received a copy of this book through NetGalley as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.

A romantic love story that shows there can be a second chance at love. When Zachary Nash and Faith Digby fell in love, neither had a title or riches but as often happens things change. Zachary become Lord Hawkridge when his father died and was left with a hugh amount of debt. He breaks it off with Faith and breaks her heart. Years later, Faith comes into her own and goes from a commoner to a textile heiress. But as fate often does, they meet again and Hawk wants to resume his relationship with Faith even though he has not quite paid off his debt. This is a story of strong emotions, secrets that are well hidden and learning to trust again after heartache. Hawk realizes how much he has lost due to his sense of duty to his family and estate while Faith has devoted herself to protecting and teaching orphans at a boarding school she has half ownership in. Secrets come to light and the two try to find their way to a happy ever after but it is a long road they travel. Part of a series, this can be read as a stand alone but why do that? The entire series is wonderful as all of the stories by Erica Ridley so do yourself a favor and read them all!!