THREE NIGHTS OF BOREDOM!

I completely agree with some of the reviewers here that are not rating this book a 5 star read! THANK YOU FOR THAT !!!!!! WHAT IS ALL THE HYPE ABOUT THIS BOOK, FOR GOODNESS SAKE?? I can't believe that seasoned reviewers have given this book a VERY misleading 5 starts. It goes to show how deceptive and disingenuous books reviews can be... still, yet there is no accounting for taste!
I gave this book three tries and every time I was bored. The first part isn't even a romance and it is very hard to get into. There is no romantic interest or interaction between the H/H other than the efforts Gabriel (the hero) has for Marietta (the heroine) to play a part in his fact-finding expeditions. He has absolutely no interest in the heroine, Marrietta and doesn't even find her attractive, yet she agrees to his all manipulative demands.

It is quite incomprehensible why there is even an attraction between them at all - since all he does is manipulate Marrietta, to which she easily succumbs and acquiesces to everything that he asks (I guess some readers might find that excusable as Marietta believes that will help her so Gabriel can save her brother Kenny from the hangman's noose). He uses his sexual prowess to control and when they eventually have sex (which is exactly what it means - sex) there is no heartfelt emotion from either of them - very lackluster.. yeah, the scenes are okay steamy but the dialogue sometimes is quite hard to follow - as if the reader needs to extrapolate what the writer means???

The suspense in the story is a la Jack the Ripper type murders - the characters seem contrived and okay at times (Jeremy, Gabriel's brother - his story would be interesting). Finally, three quarters into the book - you start realizing why Gabriel's dark side makes him such a controlling and manipulative jerk - I guess you can excuse it - considering. It is annoying the way Marrietta succumbs way too easily, especially after she has told him way too many times how much "she dislikes him". Hard to believe that after that is being said so often through the book there is any romance between the two.

*****SPOILER****** I was quite annoyed with Marietta who shows such stalwart loyalty to her two selfish and ungrateful brothers and is the only one concerned with the family name. Mark, the oldest is a spendthrift who squanders the little money that family has for his own egotistical purposes. After Kenny is exonerated - he shows how ungrateful and selfish he is - as he doesn't even acknowledge his sisters efforts to free him or even thanks her. Mark on the other hand receives offers for Marietta and is ready to sell her to the heist bidder for the settlement money. How delightful to be part of that family!

I would have rather spend time getting into a worthwhile book from the pile I have still to read!!

I LOVED it!
This was my first time reading anything by Anne Mallory and I LOVED it!!!

Having been shunned by the Ton, Marietta realized how shallow her life had been and in working with Gabriel to save her brother, she begins to understand what's important -- loyalty, honesty and love.

As a hero, Gabriel was WONDERFUL! Definitely a man you would want on your side because even though he has integrity, he will do what needs to be done in order to finish the job and protect those he loves. I will definitely be reading more by her!

Contrived
Maybe I am a picky romance novel reader but this book was absolutely silly. The storyline was incredibly contrived, the characters vacuous, and the passion completely lacking. I did enjoy some of the more sensual encounters in the book (which is why I will give it a single star) but beyond that it was a serious yawn fest.

Surprise hit
Great story. Sexy tension. Good writing! Much better than anything else I have read from this author.

The hero is too manipulative and the heroine too easily controlled
I am not crazy about this book. I don't feel like the hero grew by the end of the book or had any significant changes. The heroine was always so easily manipulated by the hero. I prefer books where the hero is as swept away by the heroine as she is by him, so this book fails on that account.