Title: The Price of Desire
Author: Jo Goodman
Publishing Date: 2008
Genre: Historical
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Hot
Olivia Cole has been given to Griffin Wright-Jones, Viscount Breckenridge as a marker from her brother. Olivia’s younger brother Alistair was gambling in Breckenridge’s establishment and lost a large sum of money. While Alistair is trying to find the money, he gives his sister over to Cole to show his good intensions. Olivia, being the stoic character that she is, resigns herself to do her duty to her brother and accepts her situation.
Olivia is estranged from her family except for her brother. The reader does not know the reason for the estrangement at the beginning of the story. It is also obvious to the reader that she has suffered some form of abuse in her past. Griffin quickly catches on that there is more to Olivia than meets the eye. Olivia is as tight lipped as can be, but Griffin is persistent and wants to get to the bottom of her secrets. Griffin is highly intrigued by Olivia. His past relationships with women have been less than stellar and he has secrets of his own. Eventually, Griffin lays enough trust in Olivia to share his past and slowly Olivia reveals glimpses into hers.
Griffin is a great hero. Olivia arouses all of his protective instincts. Even though he has had bad relationships with women he never once doubts Olivia’s sincerity. That was one of the things I liked most. Even when other people were trying to twist the truth around he never once believed them. He knew Olivia was exactly was what she said she was and there was never any "big misunderstanding". I will say though, that there was still quite a bit of drama to this story. Of course, I enjoy that sort of thing, but whoa, there were quite a number of villains to protect Olivia from. Griffin had his hands full with that, but he was quite the MAN and could handle it!
Another aspect of the story that I liked is that Griffin and Olivia spend a lot of time together talking about things. I enjoyed that the lead characters spent so much time together and that the plot centered around them, instead of the characters supporting the plot. Because they spent so much time together I could believe in their love for each other and that they have a relationship that will last.
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10 comments:
Oh, does this sound right up my alley. Time to put my Amazon gift cert to work!
I thought it was okay... I felt like Ms Goodman ambushed me with this dark theme... I was sooooo not expecting it :( but I agree with you, I liked that Griffin and Olivia talked :P
ps - I did a huge post on the Dresden Files series for my TBR Day :P
Lori, Goodman is quite talented. I do enjoy her writing. I have a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, but I can't commit yet.
Nath, It was a rather dark book. I kept thinking, "What next is going to be thrown at this woman?" Sheesh! But I still enjoyed it - very good writing.
I didn't see your Dresden post until after I commented on your good weekend post. I did read it tonight though and I am disappointed that there isn't much romance in the series. I am still considering reading it because I am really enjoying urban fantasy right now. I'll have to think about it though.
I loved this one and now I remember I didn't do a review for it - darn!! I love Jo Goodman's books. They aren't for everyone - but I find them rich and I always love the dialogue and banter between the hero/heroine. And what I really appreciate is that they TALK to each other. There are never those sometimes annoying Big Misunderstandings. And I also love the way she slowly unveils the characters page by page.
I do love Jo Goodman, but I'm on a self imposed book buying ban so this book will have to wait. Thanks for the review. :)
I was reading this one, until my copy of Broken Wing came in and now I've dropped it. I'll return to it, I'm sure, as I'm finding the story quite engaging. Glad to read your review, looks like I have a lot to look forward to!
Oooo! Looks like we have a winner. I just got this one in the mail--as a bonus book with another book I won on a blog. I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise, so I'm very excited to hear you liked it so much!
Thanks for the review, Jill! :)
Kristie, And that is what I absolutely love about her books. I couldn't have said it better myself!
Brie, I know what you mean. The last book I bought was Faefever and I am going to see how long I can hold out for. Right now, I am trying not to buy any new books until the new year.
Kati - I hope you like it. I really enjoyed it, but then again, I seem to have a weakness for Jo Goodman.
Christine, You lucky dog you! I just got your Jaci Burton book in the mail today. I can't wait to read it!
Oh, excellent! I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it. It's nice and steamy!
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