Desires of a Perfect Lady

I enjoyed this second entry in the Harrington brothers series, looking forward to number three. This time, the eldest brother, the Earl of Wyldewood, has his second chance at romance. His partner is a former almost fiancee who married another man under duress, unbeknownst to the earl.

The best part is the Victorian treasure quest. Olivia, in order to claim her inheritance from her late unlamented husband, must complete three collections. She is forced to ask for help from Sterling, the Earl of Wyldewood, in order to complete her quest. After traveling to Egypt and Venice and then returning to England, they manage despite many obstacles to claim Olivia's inheritance and then, well, happily ever after.

I loved the depiction of Venice and show more Egypt. Only one brother is now unmarried, Quint, the rascal of the family. The epilogue mentions two partners, somehow connected with the Antiquities Society, and refers to their search for Ambropia, thereby connecting the trilogy together. show less

I liked some things about this book, didn't much care for others. The book is about Olivia who was in a bad marriage with a horrible man who abused her horribly. (Lots of Horrible there!) Well he was murdered in another book (had his throat slit, ick!) well anyway in order to gain her inheritance (the man was filthy rich with a emphasis on filthy) she has to complete three of his art collections. Apparently he was a huge art collector, including Titian, Egyptian artifacts and things of that nature. The thing is the man was crazy so he is trying to make his wife finish the collections which in his mind she would never have been able to complete therefore keeping her on a shoestring budget the rest of her life. He liked torturing her.

So show more Olivia had to turn to her ex-love. The man who abandoned her when she needed him. She was to have married the Earl of Wyldewood when they were young, but her father made her marry the crazy Lord Rathbourne instead. She wrote letters to the Earl but he was such an idiot that he never read them. If you can tell I am not a fan of the Earl of Wyldewood. I found him kind of self centered, very needy and a lot immature. After what Olivia went through I would have hoped he would be man enough to handle her but I have a feeling he is not the best man for our heroine. Anyway, she had to go to him, simply because she couldn't afford to take on the task of completing the art collections with the budget her dead husband set her up with. Anyway, this undertaking takes our couple from England to Egypt to Italy and along the way they have to fight their feelings for one another, then give in, then fight some more, before we see our happy ending (It's a romance novel so of course there is a happy ending!)

The one thing I didn't understand was that twice in the book Olivia is attacked at night in her bed but nothing ever came of it. We don't know who did it, we don't know why, it just happens and then it disappears like it never happened. Go figure! I completely do not get it. Also the Earl is boring. I was so terribly bored by him that at one point I put the book down and read another book entirely before picking it up again. I like my men either humorous or take charge and hot and the Earl is neither. Olivia I liked, she persevered through some really hard times. She survived with her mind intact. She just has horrible taste in men! show less