The rakish, independent, and devilishly handsome Viscount Hartleigh needs no one in his well-ordered life–until he discovers a bundle of joy on his doorstep. Overwhelmed by his newly acquired title of Father, the viscount turns to the only expert he knows: Mrs. Carissa Kane.
Abandoned by her husband and cheated out of her inheritance, Carissa is forced to work for the viscount’s neighbor to support her young daughter. Then a series of events reveals a most sinister plot–and the astonishing fact that Hartleigh indeed possesses a heart after all!
This is a romp with some different, serious subject matter…so romp in the sense that there is some slapstick and ridiculousness. I didn’t laugh out loud, but I was definitely entertained.
Its nice to deviate from the norm, and Lord Heartless does it well, with a housekeeper single mom heroine. Carissa is a gentlewoman who made a bad match and was cut off from her family. After being left a widow, she is forced to work and finds herself a decent gig housekeeping for a kind old banker.
Meanwhile, across the street, our hero Lord Hartleigh is a profligate, drunk, and of course rake. Summoned from a drunken stupor by a bundle left on his doorstep, his lordship is desperate, and seeks out the only responsible female he knows, Mrs. Kane, to help him figure out how to feed the baby. When he figures that taking her around for show might also beat away the marriage minded mamas and duplicitous debs, he jumps head first into a faux courtship. Meanwhile, Carissa is merely helping a neighbor…one who she admittedly thinks is yummy…and finding it hard to resist his demands on her time and attention.
The result is a bumbling comedy of errors where Heartless and the Housekeeper battle over child rearing, propriety, and yes, battle some villains. Along for the ride are baby and Carissa’s young daughter, Pippa, and a naughty dog who is literally tearing up the neighborhood.
There are some great supporting characters, lots of drama, amusing and witty dialogue, and an overall sweet romantic undertone. There are also a couple of villains, which adds to the action. The subject matter is definitely more mature than other Metzger’s, so don’t expect a cut and dry clean read. The character development is also great, especially the hero’s arc, and makes the HEA much more satisfying.
It was a little slow going for me, and not as funny as I had hoped, but nonetheless enjoyable and worthy of a re-read.
4.5 out of 6 Entertaining with a unique twist, this Reg Rom has a lot of heart.
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Lots of talk of mistresses, sex out of wedlock, babies out of wedlock | |
| Intimacy | |
| A couple of kisses | |
| Violence | |
| A little bit, not terribly graphic | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Its fairly vanilla, and no real sex scenes, but enough mature content and some adult language that suggests this is for folks who don't mind a bit of mature content. Not explicit. | |
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