Lucille Locklin: Love on the Vine

She likes a good book better than a debutante ball. His popularity with the opposite sex has likely ruined him beyond repair. Can such a pair find true love?
Fiona cares more about medicinal plants than suitors, so when she meets steadfast and scientific Henry she thinks she's found the perfect match ... until she meets Beau. But his notoriety gives her pause. Intriguing as he is, how could such a man be a good husband?

Known for his sizzling good looks and rakishness, Beau can have any woman he wants ... until he meets Fiona. When she rebuffs him in favor of stodgy Henry, he begins to rethink his scandalous past and almost despairs of winning her.

Fate intervenes. Beau's former mistress hires thugs to beat him up, and Fiona mends what ails him with her remedies. But Beau lies to her about the cause of his injuries, afraid that the sordid truth will destroy the love that's blossoming between them during his recovery.

Can a relationship built on lies survive? And will the former mistress accept that Beau's fast-healing wounds are revenge enough? Does Fate stay on the side of true love ... or does it turn contrary?

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

For a man wanting to escape the parson’s mousetrap, Beau is startled by himself after falling head over ears in love for the red haired beauty, Fiona.  It, perhaps, helps that she wants nothing to do with the notorious rake.

The first two acts of this book are a nice, gentle pacing set mainly at a house party near Beau’s parental home.  The main goal of the house party is to introduce Fiona to the studious Lord Featherstone who shares an interest in homeopathy and plants.  Soon after, Beau gets the opportunity to be closer to Fiona and start to sway her heart, even as hard as she tries to resist.

I thought the characters were well established with some good internal struggles that made this an enjoyable read.

There is mostly kissing in this book, although some references to sex, and a bit of violence including  murder, assault, serious injury, and kidnapping.  While none of it is terribly graphic, it is still a departure from the slower, internal conflict pacing of the first two acts of the book and is critical to the story at that point, so hard to miss.

Locklin well understands the genre and history, setting up delightful provincial scenes that use the era as more than window dressing.  I am always interested in the historical elements, and her thorough knowledge of homeopathy and its origins was a really interesting addition.

Fiona is a heroine with spunk and brains, in addition to incredible beauty.  With so many accomplishments, Locklin deftly handles her character so that you root for her and she somehow does not come across as a Mary Sue.  Although we never fully dive in to the reasons why she is initially looking for a passionless marriage, I felt I understood enough to “get” her.

I liked Beau.  He was a well rounded hero with a past who finds himself so overwhelmed with love that he is able to reform not only his behavior but also his mindset.  I enjoyed his dogged pursuit of Fiona, and how he is able to ignore or overcome rumours and innuendo about his past.

My biggest issue was the subplot of a woman scorned out for revenge, which I generally don’t enjoy and took a turn towards melodrama in the last third of the book.  If you are the type of reader who enjoys twists and turns and a little high stakes action, however, this will be right up your alley.  Although there was very early foreshadowing of this subplot, I think I was just not in the mood for angst and so I had a harder time with this portion of the book.  However, it did not diminish my overall enjoyment of the characters and story.

Locklin is a fresh voice in the traditional niche of Regency. This is the first in a series, and I would definitely read the next from Locklin.