Surrender, by Amanda Quick

Back to writing about what I read in February, two more JAK / Amanda Quick coming up. Yes, I really did read quite a lot of her. I'm beginning to get tired of writing about her!

Ok, first: a Quick book: Surrender, which was an A- for me.

From the dazzling ballrooms of glittering London society to magnificent, cursed estate in the distant wilds of Yorkshire, comes the deliciously wicked story of a thoroughly unconventional courtship -- and a thrilling midnight rendezvous that could only lead to love... At four and twenty Victoria Huntington thought herself quite adept at fending off fortune hunters... until she came under siege from Lucas Colebrook, the darkly disturbing new Earl of Stonevale. Amidst the brightly plumed birds of the town, Lucas was a hawk. And when he held out the lure of moonlit rides and wild, reckless midnight escapades, Victoria found herself powerless to resist.

But becoming Stonevale's companion in adventure was far more dangerous undertaking than Victoria could ever imagine. For the attractive Earl would use her every weakness to woo her, to win her, and ultimately to wed her. And soon the amber-eyed lady would find herself ensconced in a crumbling mansion deep in the English countryside... where the real reason for her hasty marriage becomes all too apparent...and where the ghosts of her dark-stained past are waiting to rise up in a terrifying plot that will threaten her life, her honor, and the only man she could ever love.

I left this one to read til almost last of all her Quick books because I vaguely remembered it as being similar in some ways to Seduction. I thought I would hate Lucas, the hero. I didn't. Yes, he started to pursue Vicky for her money, but it saved him in my eyes that I did believe that he didn't marry her for it. He was already in love (or in lust!) with her.

And Vicky's reaction when she realized what had happened was perfectly appropriate, IMO: a bit of sulking, but then she resigned herself to the inevitable. I do admire it when people are strong enough to realize that sometimes it's futile to fight, and do their best to make the best of things. Vicky did, but she also didn't give Lucas an inch more than she had to. I loved that she didn't cut off her nose to spite her face for pride, and that Lucas really suffered because of what she was doing. He really needed to hear her words of love and not feel she was simply doing her duty, and I thought better of him for caring and admitting that he cared.

The suspense subplot wasn't too good. The villain's motivations, especially for wanting Vicky dead, didn't make any sense. However, this part of the book was nicely light, and mostly disappeared when Vicky and Lucas were in Yorkshire, so that's ok.

This isn't my favourite Quick, but it's close.