TO PLEASURE A LADY

Author: Nicole Jordan ISBN: 0345494598 2/2008 HISTORICAL Publisher: BALLANTINE
Time Period: Regency 1817

Marcus Pierce, a strikingly handsome aristocrat with a wicked reputation, inherits guardianship of spirited Arabella Loring and her two younger sisters—and immediately declares his intention to marry them off. But enchantingly defiant Arabella sparks frustration—and something deeply erotic—in Marcus. After matching both wits and swords with her, the possessive nobleman concludes this beautiful and formidable foe must be his. Having sworn off marriage and men, Arabella wishes to be left alone to run her finishing school for young ladies. To that end, she boldly accepts Marcus's intimate challenge: if he can woo and win her within two weeks, she'll take her place in his bed as his wife. However, if she can resist his considerable charms, the Loring sisters will be granted their independence. Thus an extraordinary game of seduction begins....

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Nicole Jordan begins her new The Courtship Wars series with TO PLEASURE A LADY, featuring the eldest of three beautiful sisters, Arabella Loring, who finds herself head-to-head against the arrogant—but super sexy—Marcus Pierce, Earl of Danvers. What ensues is a wager, intense wooing and some spectacular woot-woot between the bed sheets—horizontal and vertical, in the woods, in the study... wherever and whenever Marcus can use it to pursue his goal of making Arabella his bride. It also serves as the setup for the two books yet to follow, which will be the love stories of Rosalyn and Lily with two of the earl's best friends.

If this first book is any indication of those remaining stories to follow, then hold onto your bonnet and button your pelisse, because you are about to be treated to some super hot, sizzling and sensual historical romance! Not to mention Jordan's standard easily read prose and dialogue. Oh, and you don't have to wait forever to do that, either, as TO BED A BEAUTY and TO SEDUCE A BRIDE will be released right on the heels of this first book.

Make no mistake about it, though. There's more to TO PLEASURE A LADY than just wooing and sex. It's very emotional at times, more so in the second half of the story as the love between Arabella and Marcus begins to grow. Having been orphaned and abandoned by their father and mother respectively, all three sisters are emotionally scarred and dead set against marriage. None want marriages of convenience—only love matches or nothing at all will do. But Arabella has other issues to contend with, including her total distrust of men caused from the desertion of her betrothed and bearing witness to the many infidelities of her father. What's so great about Marcus, though, is that while he's the typical alpha of his day, he understands why Arabella shies, and there's nothing better to see in a romance story than a hero who's sensitive to and in tune to his heroine.

TO PLEASURE A LADY has lots of drama, some light moments and a cast of varied and interesting characters to recommend it. It was definitely a pleasure to read for this reviewer, who can hardly wait to dive into TO BED A BEAUTY.

Nancy Davis