In Desperate Desires (A Sweet and Spicy Novella) by Terri Wolffe, Lady Lucinda Davenport has
determination beyond anyone’s wildest dreams and aims to obtain what she wants. What Lucinda desires is to be impregnated by Lucien
Branford, fourth Duke of Carlsborough.
The problem is, the Duke, who is wealthy, handsome and well adored by
women young and old, has no knowledge of her existence. Lucinda actually doesn’t care so much about
the Duke’s money and his prestige; she wants a child by the Duke in order to
sustain her family’s bloodline as her own husband is too old to have a baby
with her.
Lucinda created an elaborate
scheme to kidnap and hold hostage Duke Lucien Bradford. Lucinda is quite aware that the Duke
frequently visits the Templar Gentlemen’s Club. She made arrangements to park outside in her
carriage during the evening awaiting for him to leave the club. With Ginny her maidservant and Georgie her
oversized socially impaired brother, she successfully was able to lure the Duke
inside her carriage by telling him she needed his assistance regarding Lady
Catherine, a person the Duke deeply cares for.
Once Lucien got into the dark carriage, Georgie overpowered the Duke, blind-folded
him and tied him down. Lucinda was able
to pull off her scheme without a hitch.
During the ride to Lucinda’s
estate, the captive Duke had no knowledge as to where he was going, who these
people were, or why they had abducted him.
Lucien insisted upon answers and was angry at himself for being
hoodwinked by such imbeciles. Lucien
starting asking Lucinda questions during the ride, having a cunning dialogue
back and forth, much like a tennis match.
This scene in the book’s dialogue is riveting, very entertaining, and
simply downright provocative. As the
Duke was asking too many probing questions for the eight hour trip, at one
point she had him drink a concoction of sleep-inducing herbs, knocking him out
cold. They continued on their way outside
of London to Champney Court, Lucinda’s beautiful estate with acres of land that
she and her husband the Earl own.
Lucinda’s servants tied Lucien to
a bed with only a towel draping over his private parts. Drugged, cold, blindfolded and exhausted,
Lucien just didn’t have the energy to fight back. Over the next few days, as the Duke regained
his energy, a banter back and forth between Lucinda and Lucien finally brought
the explanation as to why he was abducted in the first place; that being Lucinda’s need to become pregnant by
the Duke to have a child. She and her
husband the Earl worried immensely about their greedy family who would fight
for the Earl’s fortune if he died without an heir. The Earl was concerned his wife would not get
anything and thus completely supported his wife’s plan. He knew if he had an heir, his family cannot
touch his money. The Earl was concerned
about his health, being forced to use a wheelchair due to gout. Initially Duke Lucien thought this plan was
absurd and didn’t want any part of it, but with Lucinda’s feminine charm and
seductive powers, the Duke couldn’t resist and eventually found himself falling
in love with her. With much chagrin, the
tables were turned and the Duke became the one who had the authority and
power.
The book will keep the reader on
their toes the whole time, and have them wonder what will happen next. Although the ending to Desperate Desires is very predictable, I felt it was what most
people would hope to have happened in the end. Desperate
Desires succeeds on many different levels. The characters are very well
developed, the storyline is superb, and the descriptions of the time period
created a wonderful mental image. In
trying to figure out how to deal with Lady Lucinda, Lucien learns much about
himself, as at first he was trying to survive then eventually flourished in the
romance.
This novel is a great mix of
romance and psychological thriller. It transports the reader from their
couch to 17th century London, England, with all of its splendor, beauty and
hardships. I felt the title is most appropriate for this book given the
obsessive love they both have for one another. The love scenes
are steamy and hot, and I would consider this book suitable for mature adults. Overall, I enjoyed this novella
and would recommend Desperate Desires (A
Sweet and Spicy Novella) to others romance book enthusiasts and historical fiction
lovers.
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