Silver-Tongued Temptress Regency Romance, Multi-cultural, Interracial
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
June 27, 2018
306
During England’s war against Napoleon, Beatrice Westby fights for her life after her ship explodes and leaves her near death. Rescued by her childhood sweetheart, Luka Stefano, she is slowly nursed back to health by his grandmother. Fate, Luka believes, brought Bea into his life for a reason, but his plans change when she awakens, her memories gone, and believes they are married. Thrust into the role of doting husband, Luka falls under her seductive spell again.
Thomas Wickes will stop at nothing to find the woman he claims as his. After months of searching, their reunion is short lived, for Beatrice's memories return. Unable to choose between the two men she loves, she flees across war-torn France to find the man she believes killed her father, with Luka and Thomas in pursuit. Even as she fights her shadowy past, she untangles the mysteries of her heart and chooses, altering her future forever.
Available at Amazon.
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
England’s war against Napolean is the time frame for this book and it is the story of Beatrice Westby and Luka Stefano. Bea is the daughter of an Earl and each year the gypsies came to stay on his land. It was during one of those visits that Bea first laid eyes on Luka and although she was just eleven years old she fell in love and knew he was hers. Although a few years older than Bea, Luke fell head over heels for her.
When Bea was eighteen years old she and Luka became engaged and were going to elope but it never happened because he disappeared without a word to her. Luke left the love of his life because he couldn’t see her living a nomadic life when she deserved better than him. It wasn’t until ten years later that Luka saw Bea again.
During her time away from Luka Bea had a child, his child and married an abusive man to give her child a name. Unfortunately her plans did not come to fruition because her husband immediately recognized the boy she gave birth to was not his and she was told that he died in her arms. His abuse and outrage became unbearable to live with and what happened is not for me to say. She was rescued by Thomas Wickes who she lived with for eight years while working as a spy for him.
Luka during the past ten years became a thief and leader of his clan something he was forced to do when Napoleon took the horses his clan depended on for support. Now known as the French Wolf and doing jobs for a French general he is given the job of stealing supplies from a ship called The Stallion only before he got to the ship it exploded and all he and his men could do is try to recover whatever they could find floating in the water. What he found would change his life because it was Bea, near death.
With the help of his grandmother they cared for Bea and when she finally woke up she was convinced that she and Luka were married. Unwilling to take advantage of her with her memory loss and injuries he constantly avoided her attempts to get him to bed with her and only when Thomas showed up did her memory return.
In spite of the fact that so many years had gone by and so much had happened, the birth and death of their child that he just learned about, her spying and living with Thomas for the past eight years there was no doubt that their love was as strong as ever but neither of them was willing to give in to their feelings. Luka was hunted by the English and when he defected from the French in lieu of caring for Bea he was hunted by them too.
What happens to Bea and Luka you will have to find out for yourself and I am sure you will not be disappointed. The reason I did not give this book a higher rating was due to the fact that the story jumped back and forth from one period of time to another and made the book hard to follow at times but overall I did enjoy it.