Indecent by Darcy Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From Rags to Romance
Indecent opens with a satisfying scene in which our kidnapped heroine, Prudence, displays she has a very fine backbone as she verbally defenestrates her kidnapper, who has accidentally plundered the wrong woman. Indeed, Prudence says everything I as a reader was hoping she would and does everything short of physical harm (the only tiny disappointment in a great first chapter; I was hoping she would kick him where it hurts, because he certainly seems to deserve it, at least initially).
Darcy Burke’s magic, of course, is that within the span of a few dozen pages both Pru and the reader will have forgiven the truly repentant Bennet, penniless Viscount of Glastonbury, who really does seem to have committed kidnapping out of sheer desperation rather than a rakish or evil streak.
Indecent takes the “forced proximity” trope to an interesting extreme. For the first third of the novel, we are trapped with Prudence and Bennet at the inn, due to all manner of misfortune, from rain to violent trees. While they are eventually extricated from the inn, this sequence leaves the reader convinced of Pru and Bennet’s ultimate suitability for one another. The love they share is, as the adorable innkeeper’s wife keeps saying, so plain to see, whether they see it yet or not.
It was a nice surprise when the story wound up having more intrigue and minor mysteries than I had anticipated! As the fourth book in a series, I found it very easy to enjoy without having read any of the others though it did leave me wanting to go back and “meet” characters like the intriguing Lucien from the start. My first Darcy Burke but won’t be my last!
One Sentence Summary: A very realistic romance with convincing chemistry and complex characters
Steam Level: Steamy
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