Lady Defiant - Suzanne Robinson

SEDUCED

Oriel Richmond knew that her many lovelorn suitors were more taken with her fortune than with her beauty. Yet when she overheard the dark and roguish Blade Fitzstephen--the only man who had ever stirred her interest--describe her in highly unflattering terms, she was more than hurt, she was furious. Never again would she be taken in by seductive words or searing glances, never again would she harbor dreams of love ... until the day Blade returned to Richmond Hall to press his suit, and Oriel found herself responding against all reason....

BETRAYED

As the queen's most cunning spy, Blade knew where his duty lay. Sent to romance Oriel into revealing a dangerous secret the lovely innocent did not even know she possessed, he was prepared to go to any lengths to captivate her. But when tragedy struck, Blade found himself drawn to Oriel in ways he had never before experienced. And now, as he and Oriel plunge headlong into a heartstopping race to keep a deadly enemy from the throne of England, Blade tastes the heady sweetness of desire ... and the danger of love.

I picked this one up because I loved Lady Gallant so much and this belongs to the same series. I saw a bit of the magic here but it really isn't as good as that one. I think the main problem is that they spend too much time together at first; we know from the beginning that Blade's intentions towards Oriel are not good. For a while we live in suspense of when she will realise that. The problem is that it takes too long for it to happen. It ruins the suspense and when he finally disappoints/hurts her there's little time left to make up for it. It should be the other way around...great tension and suspense for a while and then clarifying things and spending the rest of the book grovelling and working on their problems.

Also the mystery would have worked much better that way. Discovering who the bad guy was might have been the way of bringing Blade and Oriel together after their confrontation. As it is I was left wondering why Oriel would want to help Blade after she discovers he has been deceiving her all the time. She was really distrustful in the beginning so it's hard to believe she would just forgive him or be compelled to help him overcoming her hurt.

Grade: B-