"The Dangers of Deceiving a Viscount" is Wicked and Wonderful

Synopis from B&N.com:

Lady Phoebe Fairchild is well aware that the ton would be appalled to learn of a young lady of quality involved in a trade. Therefore, she resorts to selling her beautiful handmade gowns under a fictitious name: Madame Dupree. So when circumstances force her to visit the estate of William Darby, the Viscount of Summerfield, to design ball gowns for his sisters, she assumes Madame's identity. Phoebe's discomfort in her new position as hired help is nothing compared to her visceral attraction to the viscount himself. Heathenishly handsome and shamelessly seductive, Will invites her to be his mistress -- and Phoebe is shockingly tempted to accept. But as their desire for each other grows and the risk of exposure becomes even greater, Phoebe is in dire danger of losing her reputation, her livelihood -- and her chance of becoming the bride of the man whose passion has claimed her forever

I've been a fan of Julia London's from the very start, when I picked up one of her Highlander novels *Highlander in Love, Highlander in Disguise, and Highlander Unbound, all great romance books that I would recommend to anyone!* so it's no surprise that after I finished The Dangers of Deceiving a Viscount, I had to add it to my favorites list!

The only problem I had with the book was minor and it was needed for the storyline-- Alice, Will's eldest sister. She was very braty and annoying, I want to slap her! But she does get much better as the story goes on, and by the end you can almost sympahtize with her... almost.

Besides her little attitude problem, the rest of the book is flawless, pulling together romance and laughter, deception and loyalty. Will learns how to love, he helps his family to become whole again, and it's all because of Phoebe. *Oh, yeah, another little 'flaw', in my opinion. Who names the heroine Phoebe? I don't really like the name, but oh well...* Their story is sweet and tender, funny and sexy and most of all real. They 'break up', they have fights, they know *Well, okay, Will thinks* that they can't be together, and yet in the end, they make up, and they get through it, even though she had lied to him about her life.

If there was one thing I would have liked to have a little bit more of in this book it would be the sex scenes. There were only a few, and they were pretty tame, at least to my standards. But they were nice, and well written, so I enjoyed them nonetheless. Maybe it's just because I'm use to reading more 'X' rated romances why I wanted more from those scenes.

4.5/5 STARS! A great story line, placed in a lush historical England setting with a devilishly handsome lord and a strong independant woman-- what more can you ask for?

~TBQ~