Tempting Fortune, By Jo Beverley
Published By Zebra, December 2002
Grade: D
Back cover reads: Portia St Claire's brother has gambled and lost, throwing her into the power of ruthless men. Their price for his life is her virtue, to be auctioned off in London's most notorious brothel. To retrieve an incriminating letter, Bryght Malloren once broke into a house where he was greeted at pistol point by a resolute woman....a woman he could swear stands before him, masked and trembling, on a madam's auction block.....
Unable to leave Portia to such a cruel fate, Bryght turns the private wager into a very public game of seduction, one that confirms his reputation as a shameless rake and keeps all of London society breathless with anticipation. But on a night shimmering with destiny, truth, and passion, those who tempt fortune risk losing everything...including their hearts...
I should have loved this book. When I read the back of it it was just my thing. Dashing hero saves innocent heroine, then a game of seduction starts.
*sigh* The back of the book way over rated. Big time. I can't even tell you much about the book because in my attempt to skip all the boring parts, I missed most of the book.
It wasn't till page 122 before I paid attention to what I was reading. Portia's brother is addicted to gaming, and some thugs come to the door to collect payment. They have no money, so they tell Portia that she can help her brother by selling her virginity at a brothel. The thugs threaten to cut out her brothers eye as payment if she declines. They remind her that it's 'just a little peice of skin'.
At the whore house our hero, Bryght is there. He recognizes Portia and decides that it would be best if he tried to buy her because some of the other men bidding on her are less than worthy. One is rough, the other has the pox, etc. He bid, he wins, but they don't have sex. I think the author was trying to make it interesting by having 20 peep holes in the room, but it just annoyed me. Besides, Portia and Bryght didn't even have sex.
Yada yada, there is some sort of family feud going on with Bryght and Portia's good friend. A man named Fort. I think he is an earl? Who knows. I don't care, really.
Portia is caught with her skirts up with Bryght and they are forced to marry. She doesn't want to, then she wants to. She runs away, she goes back. Yada yada, more boring stuff happens that has nothing to do with anything.
It sucked.
What I liked: n/a
What I did not like: I don't know there was so much nothingness going on. A big attraction to this book is the fact that he saves her, yet the saving doesn't even happen till about page 150. Even the bidding part was boring.
The whole thing with the letter was a wast of time, cause the thing ends up getting burned by the person who wrote it, and no one even cared. It was pointless. It didn't effect the couple at all.
This was all supposed to have place in 1761. I must have flipped back to the front page a hundred time to make sure it really said that. The speech, clothing, social happenings and everything did not tell me late 1700's. I think the author was about a 150 years off on her dates.
Gah! I hate not liking a book. Usually I can find something that I liked. Not this time though. I feel like I lost a day off my life reading this.
You know, people go on and on about her all the time, but I just don't see it. Of the 5 or so books by her that I've read, I can't remember liking even one. Maybe I did, but I can't remember.
Sorry you read a bad book, babe. That's the worst. :(