A Persistent Attraction

Amanda Halverston first met Mr. Rhys Stanton when they helped to put an end to the white slavery ring run by her sister Cassandra’s late husband and his partners. Months have passed and though she doesn’t think much of the man, the rush of awareness that comes whenever she encounters him is disturbing.

An anonymous extortion letter and the events illustrating the seriousness of the villain who penned it, has her turning to the only person that she can. Rhys, however, has a price to his assistance. He demands that for every day of his help he receive one chance to seduce her.

Desperate times lead to desperate measures and the bargain is struck. Soon enough the condition to his agreement raises the question of who is succumbing to whom.

The storyline is interesting and amiable enough. It is amusing to watch Amanda and her hero dance around their desire and the eventual concern they have in engaging each other’s interest. Rhys’ manner of baiting the heroine and the subsequent bouts of guilt for having done so also brings forth a chuckle. This is not to say that there are no difficulties.

Society views Rhys as a rake who regularly indulged in questionable entertainment in the past. Hidden from the public are his dangerous exploits in duty to crown and country. Heroic actions aside, several of the situations one finds him in are less than believable. Strong physical malady or injury does not deter this man from becoming randy and coupling with the heroine. The only concession is position and vigor of activity on his part.

Likewise, infiltration of a shadowy group is remarkably easy and does not cause suspicion. The rite of acceptance in this malicious cluster isn’t much of a test of loyalty under the circumstances given.

Amanda is so repulsed by what she had seen and learned of her sister’s previous marriage that she turns her back on the idea of marrying and potentially being under the control of a man. She is said to be knowledgeable in protection of self and implied to be a very capable young woman but this is not particularly proven to us. She is repeatedly shown to be in need of saving, leaps to conclusions, and in a fit of pique takes silly chances instead of staying alert to danger.

There were also a few proofing errors that took one out of the story. Happily, the suspense element wended nicely through the tale with small hints wrapping together well in the end.

Those who have read the previous book, A Carnal Agreement, will enjoy seeing some of the characters from that book making an appearance in this one. The glimpse we were given of Rhys’ reaction to Amanda left us positively itching for their story. While the heat in love scenes in this second book is not as intense as those in the first, the winning of each other’s hearts and working through emotional obstacles is very satisfying to watch.

A PERSISTENT ATTRACTION makes for a pleasant mystery romance read in a regency setting.

May 2008