The Price of Desire

Leda Swann

Publisher:
Avon Red

Release Date:
January 30, 2007

Genres:
Erotica
Historical Romance

ISBN:
Print
9780061176449
Kindle
No ISBN

Bookmark Rating:

Reviewed by
Jennifer Ray

Review Posted:
June 2008

In the aftermath of her father’s suicide and the bankrupt state he left her family in, it is up to Caroline Clemens to see to the care of her younger siblings.  Destitute and abandoned by her betrothed in her time of need, she agrees to an unorthodox yet advantageous arrangement with the mysterious Dominic Savage.  As his mistress, she and her family will want for nothing, Dominic will see to their comfort and education.  In return, Caroline must be available to him at all times, without question or hesitation.

Caroline agrees to give him her body readily – indeed, it is no hardship to surrender to his masterful seduction.  She balks, however, at releasing her heart to him, even though it grows harder to protect by the day.

THE PRICE OF DESIRE is the first story I have read yet by Leda Swann.  The author’s writing skill is without question – the plot was consistent, the writing fluid and descriptive.  The characters were well-developed and real to me within the very first chapter.

My problem with this story came early in the story with one of the actions by the ‘heroine’, Caroline.  She did something so abhorrent to me early in the tale that she was never able to earn my respect or empathy again.  To be perfectly honest, I would have respected the story much more if Dominic had walked away from her with a “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” type parting shot when he discovered what she had done.  The only other way I could see myself coming to terms with this character were if she were suffering from mental illness and subsequently treated.  I do understand she was under tremendous stress at the time, but her actions were just not redeemable in my opinion.

There were some other plot points later in the story that just didn’t sit well with me, but none quite as big as this early flub by the leading lady.  Tying it all up was an ending that was, to me, pretty unsatisfying in its brevity.  I really think another chapter should have been devoted to tying up the loose ends and making me believe why this couple could end up together after everything that had transpired.

After reading THE PRICE OF DESIRE, I won’t automatically shy away from another Leda Swann book, but it won’t be the first on my buy list.

Note:  This review was originally written by Jennifer Ray for another review site.  It is being reposted at Wild on Books.

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