*4.5 stars

I really liked this one, much better than The Seducer which was also very nice. But the pace this time was faster, the hero oh, so wonderful and the fact that a very large part was written from his POV, made it so much better.

The hero is a known rake who finds himself in the gaols because of his outstanding debts; debts that that the heroine promises to pay if he marries her. Her uncle is trying to prove her as mad and incompetent, in order to gain control of her large fortune, so she needs a husband in name only to protect her from such a fate. Daniel agrees to that scheme, especially since she promises him that he can go on with his life as before. But he soon realizes that it's not his freedom that he needs, but his wife to become one in truth rather than in name only.

The story was not as dark as The Seducer and there were scenes, especially in the beginning that were quite humorous. Daniel is a charmer and knows how to seduce women; surely he can't fail with his own wife. But Fleur has secrets that make their relationship difficult, both in and out of bed. Fleur's secrets became tiring at some point but I loved Daniel; his persistence, his belief in Fleur, his steadiness, his naughtiness, his charm. I loved the fact that we see his POV for a large part of the book and see him pinning after Fleur.

The mystery part was nice, kept me guessing and wanting to see what would happen next; only since I liked the romance so much I wish it took even less space in this book.

All in all a great book and probably my favorite of Hunter's along with By Arrangement. Though not exactly angsty it was intense enough for my liking and convinced me to read more books of hers.