A Taste of Desire by Beverley Kendall

Lady Amelia Bertam delights in causing trouble for her father -- and for anyone associated with her father. Which is unfortunate for Thomas, Lord Armstrong -- who really wants to like her but could never get close enough to her to find out.

She's irascible and he's long-suffering -- and now they have to spend 4 months together because Amelia's father is going away on business. And because Amelia said something insulting about Thomas at a party. And because Thomas wants to teach Amelia a lesson.

In A Taste of Desire, she introduces two characters who are so disparate and so unlikely to fall in love with each other and examines the way love develops between them.

It is a hedgehog's dilemma for Amelia longs for the attention and affection she has not had since her mother died when she was little. And Thomas is also cautious around Amelia who affects (and hurts) Thomas in a way no woman has ever done.

I wish Kendall took more time to explore and elaborate on Amelia's character -- she comes across as extremely insensitive and hurtful. (When she is first introduced to Miss Foxworthy -- ouch. She instantly regretted it -- but, it shows just how impulsive and thoughtless she can be.) Kendall reveals enough about it -- her past, the neglect she felt from her father after her mother died -- but it did not seem enough to justify her actions.

Thomas's character also suffers and borders on being almost flat -- I liked that he tried to be patient and professional with Amelia -- but his response to her during their encounters became very predictable.

Of all the characters, the most dynamic one (surprisingly) was Amelia's father. He appears in the first part of the book and the last part of the book -- his conversation with Amelia in the latter part of the book explains so much about their relationship -- and settles so much about it.

Beverley Kendall is a wonderful storyteller -- the narrative flows smoothly. She shows us that love and hate are not always opposite emotions but may stem from the same source. When Amelia finally identifies what she feels for Thomas, hate turns to love with the same passionate degree.

Kendall has a free e-novella that is part of the Elusive Lords series:




The next novel is An Heir of Deception, which features Alex Cartwright.