Suzanne Enoch: London’s Perfect Scoundrel

Mmm…and he is.

Here is the back cover teaser: “The ton gossips call him Saint but Michael Halboro, Marquis of St. Aubyn, has well earned his reputation as the most notorious cad in London.  Evelyn Ruddick knows she should avoid him at all costs  but the strikingly beautiful young lady wants to aid the orphans of the Heart of Hope, and Saint heads the charitable institutions board of trustees.  Evie is determined to teach the charming, arrogant scoundrel a lesson in compassion, but winning his support won’t be so easy  especially since Saints touch is setting her desire aflame, making Evie yearn to submit to his passionate instruction . . .”

Her family is suffocating, her friends are funny yet cautious, and in general Evelyn feels that her world needs a bit of spice.  The perfect flavor?  A dash of good works.

But these good works come with a cost.  For some bizarre reason (well to her mind, anyway) the very naughty Lord St. Aubyn has fixed his firm gaze on her.  He seems to delight in either insulting her or teasing her mercilessly.

I really enjoyed this fun Regency romp, that had just enough of a plot to keep me interested while the real unfolding of relationship and passion took place.  The only down side was that the book ended too abruptly for me–just having really gotten into the characters I wanted more!

Our heroine goes through a real character arc-gasp, I know!–and so does our hero.  Its that rare story development that helps the pace and allievates the need for crazy plot twists, over the top villians, or way too much sexy time.  I think there is also an honesty that Enoch displays with her characters that is also rare and difficult to do–our characters become so lovable to ourselves its hard to be objective and give them some flaws.  Yet true to life, these are imperfect protagonists.

I am definitely going to be scoping the shelves for more Enoch, this book (among others I have read) has definitely won me over.  Maybe not as flash as Kleypas, James, or Quinn, but a diamond in the rough (and of the first water!) nonetheless.