Title: Twice Tempted By A Rogue
Author: Tessa Dare
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 22, 2010
Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-0345518873
Genre: Fiction

About the book:

Luck is a double-edged sword for brooding war hero Rhys St. Maur. His death wish went unanswered on the battlefield, while fate allowed the murder of his good friend in the elite gentlemen’s society known as the Stud Club. Out of options, Rhys returns to his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire, expecting anything but a chance at redemption in the arms of a beautiful innkeeper who dares him to take on the demons of his past—and the sweet temptation of a woman’s love.

Meredith Maddox believes in hard work, not fate, and romance isn’t part of her plan. But when Rhys returns, battle-scarred, world-weary, and more dangerously attractive than ever, the lovely widow is torn between determination and desire. As a deep mystery and dangerous smugglers threaten much more than their passionate reckoning, Meredith discovers that she must trust everything to a wager her heart placed long ago.

My Review:

Twice Tempted By A Rogue by Tessa Dare is the second book in her newest trilogy.  After eleven years serving in the army’s light infantry unit, Rhys St. Maur the newest Lord Ashworth heads to Buckleigh-in-the-Moor to view his family home, a place he has not been back to in fourteen years.  Physically and emotionally exhausted he is pleased to see The Three Hounds Inn expecting to see Maddox, but to his surprise the innkeeper is Maddox’s widow, or Meredith Lane as Rhys knew her, when she lived at Nethermoor Hall and her father managed the stables.

After all the years, George and Meredith are pleased to see Rhys, however the rest of the town would prefer he be run out, never to return.  Now that Rhys has finally returned, he believes it is his duty and destiny to marry Meredith, to care for her and the town, as he believes a proper Lord should.  Meredith, self-sufficient and strong does not feel the need to be cared for leading to an interesting plot line, which will lead the reader on a delightful ride.   Rhys is in for a lot more than he bargained for in becoming the new Lord Ashworth considering his self-destructive past filed with secrets that were only glimpsed upon and now in Twice Tempted By A Rogue; the reader is to learn more about Rhys and the secrets surrounding Nethermoor.  Dare’s characters, both minor and major, are well developed and the dichotomy between Meredith and Rhys is evident from the beginning.   Meredith is a strong, capable and quite likeable heroine while Rhys makes for a mysterious, wounded, yet in his own way, loveable hero.  Those who are evil are usually well masked and in staying with her first novel, Dare makes certain many things will remain a mystery until close to the end and even beyond to the last book in the trilogy.

While it appears as if I have given the entire book away, I assure you, I have not even scratched the surface.  The novel is deeply intense, filled with mystery, intrigue and of course, a lot of romance.  Twice Tempted By A Rogue certainly can stand alone yet I would recommend reading the first novel One Dance With A Duke, to understand more about the Stud Club.  It is my opinion that the first novel is slightly better than this one, the first did not appear to have as much romance, which I prefer.  I realise this is a romance novel and if you are a reader who enjoys steamy romance sections in a book, you may prefer the second novel to the first.    I look forward to reading the last book of the trilogy, Three Nights With A Scoundrel to see how it compares to the others in the trilogy.  My review of the last book will be up in August.  Until then, if you are looking for a steamy romance novel with deep characters, mysteries and plot twists, then I recommend reading Twice Tempted By A Rogue.

About the Author:

Tessa Dare a part-time librarian, full-time mommy, and swing-shift writer. She makes her home in Southern California, where she shares a cozy, cluttered bungalow with her husband, their two children, and a dog.

For further information:
Tessa Dare’s website.
Watch a trailer of the trilogy.   This is one trailer that should be seen.  Tessa Dare is quite clever.
Follow Tessa Dare of Twitter.
Become a Fan on Facebook.

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I received a complimentary copy of Twice Tempted By A Rogue by Tessa Dare from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.