From the Blurb:
London, 1817
Lieutenant
Jonathan Rycroft is intoxicating. His hands know just where to touch
her, his lips know just how to trip her pulse, and his body knows just
how to bring about every forbidden desire Lindsay Dunsfield has ever
felt. He's the one man that's owned her heart... and he shattered it two
years ago.
Returned to London on assignment with
the War Office, Jonathan's mission is hindered by a love he cannot
forget. One scorching kiss reignites the flames of their passion, but he
inadvertently drags Lindsay into a mire of murder and deception that
hits closer to home than she ever would have dreamed.
In a world where Lindsay can trust no one, will she find renewed faith in the last place she expected to look?
The Review:
Confessions of Love is the story of Lindsay Dunsfield, the eldest of the Dunsfield daughters, who must marry to save her family from impending financial ruin. With the security of her entire family resting on her marriage to a man
she wants nothing to do with, what is she to do when her past flame,
Jonathan Rycroft, returns to London to make Lindsay question everything
she knows? Nothing is as it seems, however, and Lindsay becomes drawn into a plot of spies, intrigue, and passion.
I really liked both Jonathan and Lindsay as characters. Lindsay is used
to doing what she is told, but she also has a fiery determination that
results in her taking control of situations to protect herself, Jonathan
and her family. She even goes so far as becoming a spy for the War Office and discovers that there might be more to being a woman than simply marrying a man. Of course, with her family in dire straits, marriage is never far from her mind.
Because of her past knowledge of Jonathan, she
has trouble trusting him, despite the passion she feels. But even though
Lindsay fails to trust Jonathan, his love never falters and he is
dedicated to protecting her and her family. As he discovers how she has changed in their time apart, his love grows even further, and I loved that, despite his reservations, he supported her work with the War Office.
In terms of their relationship, it is apparent that Lindsay and Jonathan feel very passionately about each other, but I struggled a little to fall in love with them as a couple. I liked them as individuals, and I liked the way they expressed their love for each other, but I did not feel swept up in their passion. I kept wishing I could have known more about their previous relationship and almost felt like I was reading a sequel, expanding on their love affair rather than introducing it. I wanted to fall in love with them, but instead felt like they had fallen in love long ago and I was only privy to a small extract of their passion.
This is a historical suspense romance, mixing romance with intrigue. I enjoyed the development of Lindsay's character as she found her way in becoming a spy. However, I felt a little lost by the rest of the suspense aspect of this narrative. That said, while I felt occasionally confused through the intrigue of the plot, the action sequences were well paced and provided an interesting, if somewhat convoluted, subplot to the romance. I only wish that there had been more of a development of Lindsay and Jonathan's emotional relationship, without it being so buried amongst the lies and intrigue storyline.
Confessions of Love by Melissa Blue was published by Entangled Scandalous in 2013 and is available from Amazon.
This book was given to Love Reading Romance in exchange for an honest review.
