Thunder and Roses - Mary Jo Putney

Thunder and Roses – Mary Jo Putney

Back Cover Blurb

They called him the Demon Earl. They said he could do anything. Son of a rogue and a gypsy, Nicholas Davies was a notorious rake until a shattering betrayal left him alone and embittered in the Welsh countryside.

Desperation drives quiet schoolteacher Clare Morgan to ask the Demon Earl to help save her village. Unwilling to involve himself in the problems of others, Nicholas sets an impossible price on his aid — only if Clare agrees to live with him for three months, letting the world think the worst, will he intervene.

Furiously, Clare accepts his outrageous challenge, and finds herself drawn into a glittering Regency world of danger and desire. As allies, she and Nicholas fight to save her community. As adversaries, they explore the hazardous terrain of power and sensuality. And as lovers, they surrender to passion that threatens the very foundations of their lives….

My Review

As much as I’ve loved the previous books I read by Putney I’ve been avoiding starting this series for a few years because I was tired of reading European Historicals set in the regency period. After finishing this book I was reminded that in the hands of a great writer it doesn’t matter what the subject matter is.

I was sucked into this book almost immediately and barely came up for air all weekend. Clare is a wonderful heroine. Although she was conflicted about her feelings for Nicholas and her religon she never came across as whiney or annoying. Nicholas definitely had baggage but he wasn’t going to let that totally drag him down which made him come across as troubled but not tortured. It was obvious from the get go that he needed Clare even if he didn’t know it yet and Clare and Nicholas’s story was one of the most romantic I’ve read in a long time. Oh and I should mention the sexual tension between the two was sizzling and the loves scenes were all integral to the plot and although not explicit when you finished reading them you felt like they were.

The suspense in the book also had something to do with me not putting the book down. Throughout the first half you couldn’t help but sense that something bad was going to happen in the mine if they didn’t hurry up and improve conditions and the threat to Nicholas life in the second half had my stomach in knots until I finished the book.

I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this series and I believe Putney is returning to writing European historicals which I am thrilled about.

Grade 10/10