Dark Pirate (Harlequin Presents)
Australian heroine moves to small Cornish town to set up a B&B in the house she inherited from her aunt. She meets attractive Hero on her 1st day there & he helps her when she realized her house was inhabitable. Hero is frank about his interest in her but heroine is wary after her BF of 2 years recently broke up with her b/c he's marrying a more socially-suitable woman. Heroine was about to embark in an affair with Hero until she overhears him admit to his friend about deceiving her into thinking he was a lowly fisherman when he's actually a wealthy & successful shipbuilder. How can Hero regain heroine's trust after that? I liked Devine's writing in this book. Her description of the Cornish town was vivid & inviting. Romance & characters were satisfactory. Hero thought heroine's aversion to rich men was refreshing yet awkward at the same time b/c he was rich. He continued his charade b/c he wanted to be desired for himself & not his money. But it trapped him. Heroine also wanted to be loved for herself but she wanted a full-commitment of marriage & Hero didn't seem to want that. The emotional-involvement & sexual tension b/w Hero & heroine made their romance challenge intriguing & made reading go fast. Sex scenes were lightly-descriptive.
Recommended.
