Don't Tempt Me by Loretta Chase

[meganbmoore]

When she was 12, Zoe Lexham disappeared on a trip to the Mediterranean with her parents. Twelve years later, she escapes the harem she’s been in ever since and makes her way back to her family’s home in England. Her parents are thrilled. Her sisters are in danger of a stroke every time she opens her mouth and reveals her very-improper way of thinking. Lucien, the Duke of Marchmount and a childhood friend who is also a relative of some sort, is convinced she’s the latest in a long line of frauds until he actually meets her. Then he decides there can’t possibly be two people that stubborn in the world, and so he promises to help her reintegrate into Regency London society. Which could be the cure for his chronic boredom.

Did I mention that, having been married to an impotent man, Zoe emerged from the harem a virgin. If you’re like me, this will make you go “…” a lot. (it is, though, suitably explained.)

I have very mixed feelings about the book. On the one hand, the book is extremely entertaining, and both the leads and the supporting characters are a blast. On the other hand, Chase doesn’t really have a good track record with non-English cultures (it’s a large part of why I can’t really enjoy a couple of her earlier books, much as I like most of them) and even though Don’t Tempt Me takes place exclusively in England, I found her representation of the East rather offputting.

But still, it’s a Loretta Chase book, which means the dialogue is great, the leads have an entertaining relationship, the hero manages to be the rare unannoying womanizer, the heroine is independent, and genre tropes are played with.