Brutally wounded and left for dead after being discovered with a conniving married shrew of woman, ruthless Ethan MacCarrick wants nothing but revenge and he will have it. Being a man of action, he proceeds to ruin the people behind the deeds of that devastating night, but it leaves him little consolation for the things he lost.

Years later he becomes helplessly drawn to the friend of his brother's woman only to find she's the daughter of his hated enemy. Deciding to use her to finish them off for good he enters into a relationship with her, only to find himself caught in a web of his making- only he's not so interested in escaping.

Living most of her life in the slums of France Madeleine van Rowen is determined to get out of her abject improvised state by the only decent means a woman has for herself- marry a rich husband. When Ethan ruins her chances with the man she had on the line, she's determined to cut him out of her life, despite his dogged pursuit. Yet something about the gruff man tugs at her and when he makes her an offer she can't refuse, she caves.

When she discovers the truth behind Ethan's actions, her devastated heart is ready to leave. Now Ethan must decide if the love he's feeling is stronger than his anger and desire for revenge and woo her back to his side, forever.

Perfect ending to a very romantic trilogy!

Ethan's a bad boy for holding on to his hatred for so long, but I loved him for loving Madeleine despite his anger. I loved that he let her charm the pants off of him (literally) and I love the way he made a home for her in the end.

Madeleine is an equally endearing heroine. Because of where she lives she's not as innocent as most women of her class, but still pure. Her heart is golden, as evidenced by her care for the ladies in her slum, and she has spunk. These two generated some scortching heat together and where a great pairing, making If You Deceive a historical romance keeper to be sure. ( )

If You Deceive

Author: Kresley Cole

Series Connection: MacCarrick Brothers Book 3

ISBN: 978-1416503613



5 Hearts



Description:

Can a ruthless Highlander ever learn to love?



Burning vengeance. . .

Ethan MacCarrick was a heartbreakingly handsome rake until a powerful nobleman ordered him brutally beaten and his face scarred for a crime he didn't commit. Ethan's reprisal—bankrupting the nobleman and forcing his exile—does little to appease his wrath. Ten years later, a haughty, mysterious beauty enchants Ethan—the daughter of his enemy. At last, Ethan will have the revenge he's craved; he'll promise her marriage, seduce her, then cast her aside.



Bitter hardships. . .

When Madeleine Van Rowen's family was suddenly plunged into destitution and dishonor, she steeled herself against further heartache. She never weakened, never trusted, until a towering, scarred Highlander relentlessly pursues her, breaking down her defenses.



At what price forgiveness?

The passion between them burns hotter than Ethan's fury, and soon he finds he can't let her go. But when Madeleine uncovers the truth about him, can Ethan convince her to accept all he now offers—when he once destroyed everything she had? ( )

Book 3 in the series. Like the other 2 books, i'd really give it a 3.5. Unlike the other 2 books, I found I was less than enthralled with the hero. He was overbearing and controlling. However, it was still a decent read and entertaining. ( )

As they say, "third times a charm" and that couldn't be more true than in this case. Although I enjoyed both of Kresley Cole's preceding highlander romances this was by far the best.

In this story the seemingly irredeemable Ethan MacCarrick, meets his match in the daughter of the family he once ruined for revenge. Madeleine van Rowen is one of the best romance heroines I've read in some time. She was spunky, innocent, smart and funny; and a whole lot more fun to read than many heroines I've encountered. Despite having really not liked Ethan's character in the previous novels of this trilogy, he was remarkably likeable in this story. I'm still troubled by the fact that all three brothers' were rather unrepentant killers in their professions but in this book it wasn't quite as stressed as it had been in the past books. The chemistry between the leads was very good and for reasons even I don't get, I felt very much more emotionally invested here than in the other stories. Maybe because they didn't spend as much time disliking each other as they did learning how to love one another.

Of course, there was the "big secret" between them, not so much the MacCarrick's family's curse which was really barely touched upon this time around, but more so how Ethan's past actions so severely affected Maddy's childhood. I do think that although this story would hold up very well if read alone, the first two books give us much more of a feeling for Ethan and allow us to fully appreciate how much he changes for the love of his life.

All in all I'd highly recommend this trilogy as a whole to any lover of highlander romances and those lovers of romances in general! ( )

really impressed wth author; one of my favorites; very strong female characters without being sooo argumentative, which can get very boring; very alpha tortured male. excellent read ( )