WILD SWEET LOVE

Author: Beverly Jenkins ISBN: 0061161306 3/2007 HISTORICAL Publisher: AVON
Time Period: Victorian 1895 Pennsylvania

She's an unrepentant outlaw out to steal his heart... Brazen and beautiful Teresa July was the most wanted woman in the West, until the law caught up with her. Now she's paroled to a wealthy Philadelphia society matron. If Teresa can stay out of trouble for a year, she can return to her beloved West. But trouble's going to be hard to avoid, now that she's met the matron's breathtaking Black Adonis of a son. A distinguished banker, Madison is wary of his mother's newest ward. Teresa has a wild streak about her...even if she stirs in him a desire that burns hotter than anything he's ever known. Yet the exquisite thief is determined to rock his world ...and prove to the handsome, straight-laced Easterner that the very best love is the wild and dangerous kind.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

WILD SWEET LOVE is a wonderful, exciting romance that kept me on the edge of my seat and wistfully sighing the entire time I was reading!

Teresa July has gotten a second lease on life. She has just spent three long years in prison after being caught robbing trains. When she is called into the warden's office, she is ecstatic to learn that she will be able to leave the prison in a matter of hours. She will leave immediately, placed into the care of a charity worker who takes in inmates and helps them get reacquainted with the real world after their release.

Teresa is one spirited heroine, that's for sure. It is by far her best quality. She knows that she has done wrong, but she feels like she has paid her dues. She is trying really hard not to let people get her down—especially Madison Nance.

Since the moment she first stepped foot into his mother's house, Teresa has gotten attitude from the servants, and now, from him as well. He even has the nerve to accuse her of trying to steal in his mother's library! What's great about Teresa is that he can accuse her until the cows come home—she will not let Madison intimidate her.

Madison Nance dislikes the entire idea of his mother bringing criminals into her home. He especially likes it less since the last inmate that left took all of his mother's silver with her. So, understandably, he is a little harsh on Teresa when he first meets her. He fully intends to treat her like the criminal that she is and make sure that she never steals from his mother. The only problem with that is, the spunky little beauty never quite lets him get one up on her! She is very smart and sassy to boot, and she is not letting any man talk down to her—especially when he tries to accuse her of a crime she has yet to commit!

I love the play of emotions going on in both of these characters. Madison detests that he can't stop thinking about Teresa, and she is mad at him one minute and then thinking how handsome he is the next! Their chemistry is explosive and they both know how to give as good as they get.

Ms. Jenkins is a wonderful, gifted author. Madison and Teresa leapt right off of the pages and into my heart—along with some great secondary characters. This book will go up on my keeper shelves which hopefully will be filled with many more of Beverly Jenkins books in the near future.

Kristal Gorman