Marissa is a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it. So when she decides to allow her latest love interest to relieve her of her virtue, she has no regrets (besides the fact the act was rather...er...lousy)...at least until her family comes stomping into the room to discover them. Marissa's partner is insisting on marriage - she, however, is insisting otherwise. Intent on keeping her act under wraps, the family insists she be married within the month, if only to cover the possibility she *may* be pregnant. When a friend of the family, Jude, volunteers to carry on an engagement, Marissa is stunned. He's the exact opposite of her type, and she barely knows the man.Jude, however, has always been intrigued by the sister of his best friend. The bastard son of a duke, Jude has always kept something of a level head. He knows exactly what he's getting into when he volunteers himself for the engagement. He knows Marissa's tastes in men, and instead of being put off by it, he considers it something of a challenge.What we get is a hilarious back and forth banter between two people who are incredibly suited for each other but don't realize it. By the time Marissa comes around to her true feelings toward Jude, the man has convinced himself his challenge of winning her over was for naught and is ready to bolt. It's a lovely romance with some pretty funny interchanges between the two. And the sexual tension is enough to light a fire, a point I've come to expect from Ms. Dahl. Vivacious & flirty heroine can't wait to end her faux engagement to non-handsome bastard son of a duke. He offers to marry her to her family's relief & surprise to hide the scandal of heroine caught in the act with another gentleman who she refuses to marry. Their wedding may not be necessary if heroine can confirm that she's not pregnant in the next 2 weeks. Hero is determined to follow through with marrying her but knows it'll take some effort to convince her to do so. Their time spent together opens her eyes to Hero's unique attractiveness especially as he's the only one who sees through her prim & proper facade & like her naughtiness. When her non-pregnancy is confirmed she is actually disappointed at ending their engagement especially when Hero seems in a rush to leave their home. What can she do to convince him to marry her after all?There's a lot that I like about this unique Dahl book. It's unique in that young heroine is sexually curious & ogles the legs of gentlemen she encounters in balls & other social events. She explores her sexual curiosity in as restrained a way as a debutante miss in high society setting can. She acts the proper debutante but discreetly experiments with her burgeoning sexuality. She's shallow, spoiled, & snotty but she's likeable. Heroine's change of perspective & attitude towards Hero was gradual & believable as she got to know him more. She was still a bit shallow at the end but Hero was ok with that & was a more of realistic change of character. I liked that Hero wasn't conventionally attractive & viewed heroine's shallowness, snobbery, & flirtatiousness with indulgent humor. I also liked his dogged attraction & pursuit of marrying heroine even though she's resisted their engagement of convenience b/c of her sex scandal. Very enjoyable read.
What do You think about Süß Wie Die Sünde (2010)?
Fun enough, although some of the names (Nanette, Marissa)were a bit anachronistic.
—ilsevsonsbeek
It was very good. Heroine reminded me of me a little.
—Bunny
