Forbidden Fantasy by Cheryl Holt

Fairly standard erotic historical fiction

3 stars

Ever since she was a child, Lady Caroline Foster was betrothed to an esteemed Viscount. Now, 25 years later, her supposed fiancé has jilted her and in a rush to avoid any scandal, Caroline finds herself engaged to a man old enough to be her father. Needing someone to help her, she seeks advice from her ex-fiancé's illegitimate brother - the only man she's ever kissed.

Ian Clayton has been infatuated with Caroline for years and he can't quite believe that she is seeking him out and offering him all sorts of scandalous things. Things that he should refuse but that he just can't say no to. But as their relationship blossoms into something neither expected - there are more than a few obstacles to overcome and more than a few people who would gladly stop at nothing to make sure the pair are kept apart.

This was the follow on story from Complete Abandon and having been set up in that previous book, I was very much looking forward to reading about Caroline and Ian's romance. Unfortunately, it didn't really quite live up to my expectations.

Both Ian and Caroline were interesting characters and were well developed and people you could ultimately identify with and like. They had the necessary chemistry and the sex scenes were hot, although perhaps a little less emotionally involved and perfunctory than I would have liked.

The plot itself was well developed, quite dark at times and if anyone deserved a happy ending after what they were put through it was Caroline and Ian. We even had a very good secondary romance which I enjoyed very much.

My reasons for only giving the book three stars were as follows: The use of modern language and Americanisms was too numerous to count. The pages were littered with them and it really began to grate after a while. I can live with a few inaccuracies for the sake of a good story but this was too much. And probably more importantly - I just didn't understand why the characters were behaving the way they were. We are never really told why Caroline first seeks out Ian, or why Ian leaves her, etc etc. It was sometimes as if we weren't being told of their motivations or thoughts and feelings.

This is still an interesting book and one that is well written and engaging. It's really not Cheryl Holt's best book but if you're a fan and want to read the story of Ian and Caroline then you still will want to take a look. Unfortunately only 3 stars.