I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't believe I've waited so long to read Lydia Dare's work before. I loved her voice and I loved her characters. They are full of charm and very witty. I did have a few issues with the heroine and her behavior, but besides that I was hooked. I love the mix of historical and paranormal elements. I found that the world Lydia Dare has created seemed very realistic and I love the mythology around her werewolves.
Wes Hadley has been in love with Lady Madeline for the past three years but knows that he would never be a suitable husband for her. He is known as one of the "Penniless Hadley's" and he doesn't have the means to take care of a wife. On top of that he is also know for his poor behavior. Even though he know's he's no good for Madeline, he still can't resist her charm and wants nothing more to be with her. It's torture watching her father parade Madeline around in an attempt to find her settled but he knows he just isn't right for her.
Madeline can't wait to escape the men her father is attempting to set her up with. She knows they are only interested in her because of her dowry and connections. She's accepted her fate to a loveless marriage but she really doesn't want to marry someone just because of her dowry. Also lately she's found herself quite intrigued by Wes Hadley. She can't help but wonder about his scar and he is so very attractive to her. When she spies him getting into an altercation down by the stables she rushes to make sure everything is fine. When she gets there she just happens to see Wes shifting into his werewolf form.
This is where the story essentially takes off. Wes knows that he must do everything in his power to stop Madeline from saying anything about him being a werewolf. Not only does he have to protect himself but his brothers also. So he does what anyone else would do in his shoes, he decides to take Madeline to Gretna Green and elope in an effort to protect everyone. Not only is he protecting everyone, but he is finally able to be with Madeline the woman that he loves.
I really enjoyed watching these two interact with one another. Madeline is very spoiled and naive, while Wes is carefree and poor. Watching them both interact was highly entertaining and I found myself giggling more than once. Their trip to Gretna Green is plagued at every turn and I especially loved the dynamics of the secondary characters, especially the other Hadley brothers.
Wes is such a charmer and he really seems to care about Madeline. I highly enjoyed him and his antics. With Madeline I wasn't that big of a fan. I just found her a little annoying. She seems to always be crying or whining about something and I'm not the biggest fan of damsel in distress heroines. I just wanted to grab her and tell her to snap out of it. Towards the end of the story she starts to redeem herself to me, but it still wasn't enough for me. I wasn't won over but it okay. All of the other characters made up for it.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I am eagerly looking forward to the next story from Lydia Dare. I'm also going to go out and pick up some of her back list titles. I would love to see her spin on vampires and I'm also really interested in Dashiel and Caitrin's story.
**ARC copy provided by
NetGalley**
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