Though this is the 2nd in a series, I did not have any trouble reading it as a stand alone.Merribeth had an understanding for 5 years that she and Mr. Clairmore would one day marry. But he falls head over heels in love with another. Merribeth now has scandal associated with her name. A fortnight house party is planned to try and find her a husband. This could be her last chance before ending up a spinster.Bane lives for gambling and revenge. Revenge against his family. He is the last of his family and he swears he will not marry or have children, the family name will die out when he dies. His neighbor Eve is throwing the house party. She is also keeping his prize mare Gypsy safe from the sire whose foal she is carrying. The sire goes wild when ever Gypsy is near. So Eve is boarding her. Eve wants Gypsy and the foal so she bets Bane that he can't stay the 2 weeks at her house party, be sociable, and not have an affair or one night stand with one of her female guests. Bane tries to see all of the angles and finally agrees to the bet. Being sociable he meets Merribeth and likes how straightforward her conversations are. He decides he will teach Merribeth how to flirt so she can better attract a man. But he hates when her attempts are met with attention. Gypsy goes into labor and the foal is turned wrong. The mare and foal may both die. Merribeth knows how much Bane loves the horse and she waits in Bane's room to be there for him. Bane cleans up from the stables and is actually euphoric because both were saved. He can't believe she dared to enter his room. He so much wants to share his happiness with some one, and she so much wants to comfort him. He allows his interest in her to get out of hand and he takes her virginity. He loses the bet, his mare and foal and somehow his heart. But Merribeth learns of the bet and believes she was a part of it. Can Bane change his life's ambition from ruining his family's name to sharing it with a woman? Merribeth is now doubly ruined as Eve knows what happens. She plans to maybe be a governess, or earn a living with her exceptional sewing skills. Her best friends have other plans for her future. What plan do they put together quickly at the Christmas season? Wow, am I ever loving this series. After only a few pages, I was absolutely in love with Bane, Lord Knightswold. He was the perfect hero for Merribeth Wakefield.Merribeth is trying to move on from a scandal after being rejected by someone she believed she would soon be officially betrothed to. After 5 years of almost, he revealed that he was in love with someone else and made Merribeth a pariah amongst the ton.Bane is focused on revenge - after his paternal grandfather got his parents killed and tried to erase all traces of Bane as a living Fennecourt, Bane's only goal is to be the last of his line and thus ultimately turning his grandfather in his grave. What he doesn't count on his aunt-in-law's (Eve) evil machinations which brings him into Merribeth's circle.Despite everything, Bane can't resist Merribeth and keeps finding himself in close proximity to her at Eve's house party. He's constantly thrown into situations that involve spending time with her and in doing so, he feels more and more.I loved that the most about this book, how Merribeth just tied Bane up in knots from their first meeting. It's always fantastic when our hero, cocky and somewhat arrogant, gets so twisted up because of a shy, virginal lady.Although we didn't see a whole lot of the other lady wallflowers - Penelope, Emma and Delaney - we saw enough to whet our appetitites for Delaney's book and even that we saw how Penelope and Emma's lives have flourished since their own HEA.Highly recommend this book and series!!
What do You think about Winning Miss Wakefield (2014)?
Bane is officially on my list of favorite historical romance heroes.
—nancyb
Bane.....Need I say more? Full review coming
—TXJaline
Great characters. Easy, delightful read.
—Cheesebagels
