Years ago, the author wrote a charming quartet of books, The Wallflower series, and reader who are hoping for more of the same will be disappointed. Ms Warren seems to have lost the ability to plot cleanly: This is a Regency Romance in which the Lady Thalia is a divorcee shunned by the ton; and the Lord Leo is a younger son intent on pursuing her. There is a lot of emotional baggage (so many issues including, but not limited to age differences and domestic violence) and the sex scenes are sub par even for a softer romance. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A young rake gets more than he bargained for when he tries to seduce an ostracized divorcee in this wonderful and heartwarming historical romance.

Opening Sentence: “This party is duller than a Sunday sermon,” Lord Leopold Byron complained, with a sigh.

The Review:

Six years ago, Thalia became a pariah among the members of the Ton. Her husband, Lord Kemp, put her through a messy divorce, claiming she was unfaithful. No one cared whether the accusation was true or not; they immediately sided with Lord Kemp. For the past six years, Thalia has had to deal with the stares, the rejection, and the rumors, but her pride has always helped her stay strong.

Lord Leopold Byron became infatuated with Lady Thalia the minute he set eyes on her. He is determined to begin an affair with her, and her reputation leaves no doubt in his mind that it should be easy to get her in his bed. No one is more surprised than he when it doesn’t prove that simple. The more time he spends with her though, the more he can’t get her out of his mind. Will Thalia ever give in to his advances, or will he have to admit defeat?

Historical romance was the very first genre I fell in love with. Over the years, I’ve drifted away from it, mainly because it’s hard for me to identify with an 18-year-old heroine, which is often what you find in historical romance. So, imagine my delight when I began this book and realized the heroine was in her early thirties. My delight increased as I fell in love with the hero as well, despite his slight cockiness at the beginning of the book. I had such a hard time putting the book down that I finished it in a day. Honestly, the only negative thing I can say is there is one event towards the end of the book that felt a bit too convenient but really, at that point, I didn’t care. I was too in love with the story to let that one event affect my enjoyment.

Chemistry is really important in a romance novel, and there is plenty of it between Thalia and Leo. Even when they’re mainly bickering at the beginning of the book, it’s obvious that there’s something there. As the sparks continued to fly, I often had a smile on my face as I read and found myself eagerly anticipating when they would finally get together. Once they do get together, the story somehow gets even better as you watch the feelings deepen between them. I really can’t gush enough about how much I loved the interactions between the main couple.

All in all, this was a great introduction to the work of Tracy Anne Warren for me. I went into the book a little hesitant, but wound up loving this book more than any other that I’ve read in recent memory. I’ll definitely be looking into more of Warren’s work!

Notable Scene:

Thalia’s jaw tightened. What was he doing bidding on her kitten trinket box? What possible use could he have for such a thing? Then it occurred to her. Was this his revenge for the other night? For her refusal of his overtures and the champagne she’d tossed in his face?

So much for wanting to start over.

“Nineteen,” she said, the word hard and precise.

He barely waited for the auctioneer to confirm her bid before he spoke. “Twenty-five.”

A little ripple of reaction went through the crowd, all eyes affixed to her and Lord Leopold.

Silently, she cursed.

Twenty-five? More than she wanted to pay. More than she could afford, if truth be known, since twenty pounds had been her top bid from the start. Yet it galled her, the idea of giving in to him, of letting him take something that belonged to her by rights and that had been stolen from her once already.

“Twenty-five going once, going twice–“

Was she really going to let him have her box?

“Thirty,” she said, throwing aside the last of her common sense.

Renewed murmurs echoed. Then all was silent as everyone settled down, waiting for the next bid. Even the auctioneer paused for an extra moment before diving back into the action.

“Do we have more than thirty, my lord?” Christie’s man asked. “Thirty-one? Will you go to thirty-one?”

And Lord Leopold’s eyes met Thalia’s once more, his own fierce and enigmatic as if the two of them were engaged in a battle that went far beyond the present moment.

She shivered, reading the barely concealed desire in his eyes. He wanted her, of that she had no doubt. And she sensed that he always got what he wanted, whether it be a porcelain trinket box or a woman who had taken his fancy.

“Fifty,” he said in a deep, smooth voice.

FTC Advisory: Penguin/Signet provided me with a copy of The Bedding Proposal. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )