Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain, is big, bad, and dangerous to know. No respectable woman would have anything to do with the "Band and Blight of the Ballisters"--and he wants nothing to do with respectable women. He's determined to continue doing what he does best--sin and sin again--and all that's going swimmingly, thank you...until the day a shop door opens and she walks in.
 
Jessica Trent is a determined young woman, and she's going to drag her imbecile brother off the road to ruin, no matter what it takes. If saving him--and with him, her family and future--means taking on the devil himself, she won't back down. The trouble is, the devil in question is so shockingly irresistible, and the person who needs the most saving is--herself!


So this was my first ever Loretta Chase book, and I was definitely not disappointed! Jessica is a strong and decisive heroine. She was very likeable and bold in my opinion; and her relationship with Genevieve (her grandmother) is touching. Her conversations with her brother, Bertie, are quite humorous and slightly condescending, but he is dimwitted (and maybe overly so). Dain is a bit whiny--much like a little boy--at times, but overall, he's smart and blunt. The way he fights his attraction to Jess is...well, entertaining. The verbal sparring between the two always managed to leave a small smile on my face as I continued reading.

This is a standard in most Historical Romance readers' bookshelves, and I can understand why. The writing was humorous and witty, and the pacing was great. Dain's mental dictionary of women is a funny insight into the way he thinks. His background was tragic in a way, and it reflects on how he acts as an adult. Jess is a very independent woman, planning to open her own "shop" and always looking out for her brother, Bertie. Both lead protagonists are strong characters; and the secondary characters add to the story quite nicely.

In short, I did enjoy this book. I must have read it at least six times before finally writing about it. This is the third book in the series, Scoundrels, however it can be read as a stand alone.
Here is a list of others in the series:

1. Lion's Daughter (Scoundrels 1)
2. Captives of the Night (Scoundrels 2)
3. Lord of Scoundrels (Scoundrels 3)
4. The Last Hellion (Scoundrels 4)

So have you read this novel? If you have, what did you think of it?