Jennifer’s review of Strictly Forbidden by Shelley Bradley

TITLE: Strictly Forbidden
AUTHOR: Shelley Bradley
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/17/12
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS: Miss Kira Melbourne is anything but a proper English rose. Her exotic beauty, courtesy of her foreign mother, has marked her as an outsider, and her ghastly reputation as a woman of loose virtue has only added to that status. The victim of a devious viscount’s horrible lies, Kira has the chance to redeem herself and become a member of polite society as the fiancee of a respected country clergyman. She’ll finally have a place to belong…even if it’s in the arms of a tepid man she doesn’t love.

Gavin Daggett, Duke of Cropthorne, isn’t about to let his naive country cousin marry a scandalous woman like Kira Melbourne. The solution is a simple one: Gavin will seduce the vixen and prove her unworthiness, thereby releasing his cousin from any obligation. But spending time with Kira is like awakening to a world of color and beauty, and it stirs the fiery desires that Gavin has fought to suppress his entire life. Caught in his own dangerous game, sharing forbidden pleasure with Kira, Gavin knows the price of loving her is high–and yet it is one that he will willingly pay..with every beat of his heart.

REVIEW: I have read other novels from Shelley Bradley that I have absolutely adored and I couldn’t wait to read another historical romance from this author. Kira Melbourne is a beautiful young woman that is trying desperately to escape the vicious rumors that she is a woman of loose morals by marrying James Howland, a country pastor. Gavin Daggett, James’ cousin, is instantly attracted to Kira because of her beauty and plans to seduce her to prove that she is unworthy of being his cousin’s wife. This plan ultimately backfires because he finds that Kira is a lovely woman that seems to be the perfect match for him instead of his cousin.

I enjoyed Kira’s character because she was very sweet and trusting but she seemed so naive at times about how things were going to turn out with Gavin. Gavin was a hero that I had a hard time connecting with due to the fact he wasn’t very nice to Kira for most of the novel. He acted like a complete jerk and didn’t really redeem himself until the last few pages of this book. I almost had the feeling that Kira could have found somebody better than Gavin just by the way that he acted toward her. I also wish that Kira’s brother, Darius, had more interaction in this story because he was a great character. I loved that he was so protective of Kira and I wanted him to find his little piece of happiness with someone.

I am going back to read Strictly Seduction which was Brock and Madeline’s love story, who played a minor role in this book. This book wasn’t a winner for me but I still love Shelley’s books and can’t wait to read the next one that she releases.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.