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A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance—including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.
A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to such unexplored pleasures.
Bourne may be a prince of London’s underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness—a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them . . . even her heart.
I can safely say that MacLean's other 4 novels rank high on my list of enjoyable historical romances. While I still prefer her YA historical romance, THE SEASON, the best, her "Love by the Numbers" trilogy had a wonderful cast of main and secondary characters who never failed to make me laugh. I expected as much from the first book in her new series, Fallen Angels, and was thankfully not let down at all.
Penelope and Bourne were ideally matched--aside from chemistry, the two were stubborn, impulsive and reckless enough to make the other worried while managing to fit their strengths to each other's weaknesses.
The letters at the beginning of the chapters--at first letters between Penelope and a younger Bourne while he was away at school and later becoming unsent letters Penelope wrote to Bourne as a way of coping with his silence--did a lot to chart how the next chapter would go on. It also showed just how persistent Penelope could be (and how little chance Bourne had at shaking her off). Rogue trying to redeem himself is nothing new, but in Bourne's case he didn't want to so much redeem himself as split himself in two really. He wanted to be the husband that Penelope deserved, wanted to give her everything, but a larger portion believed he was simply unable to.
Penelope observed that he put her on a pedestal--that many of the people in her life place her on this or that shelf, thinking she doesn't want change, that she can't think for herself really. I liked that she tried to rebel, not just because it meant gaining Bourne's attention, but because she needed something more. Something she felt defined her in a way she could be proud of.
I was put off by the lack of communication between them however. The two get into more arguments over misunderstandings and refusal to say what they mean, then for any other reason. It got tiresome honestly. It got downright irritating when Bourne does exactly what Penelope tells him to, much to his frustration and Penelope lashes out at him for it. She told him to do it fully expecting him to cave in and give her an easy 'out' without losing any of her pride. It was a catch-22 for them both however.
The other founding members of the Fallen Angel were interesting, with intriguing enough backstories to warrant a reader to pick up their books when they come out. The next book, based around one of Penelope's sisters and another of the Fallen Angels sounds very interesting, making me eager to read what happens next.
