Dauntless

Ok, so this review is a tough one. This story line was not plausible or even believable. The two main characters had zero chemistry, and the Female lead was just a bloody nut... not going any further with this set.. I did so much skimming in this book... just a waste of time.

Yes I very much this ladies writing. It keeps your mind ingroused. You just want to find out what will happen next.

A book that doesn’t allow you to put it down at times. A lady mystery writer and a for real hero wind up falling in love and having their happy ever after having made it through harrowing situations.

Excellent is the best word I can think of for all books by Ms. Clee! I just finished the last book in this series and loved every bit of it! I would start with the Scandalous Sons series first so you get the backstory of The Order. Can’t say enough about this author’s ability to write intelligent, interesting romance. Her work is a rare find indeed! Enjoy!

This is my first time reading a book by this author, and it won't be my last. I enjoy Regencies that don't rely solely on convenient misunderstandings and characters' immaturity to drive the plot, and I thought this book did a nice job balancing the main mystery and the hero and heroine's relationship. Someone commented that they thought this couple lacked chemistry, but what they really lack is the silly angst that has started to annoy me in a lot of romance novels. Noah is more flirt and a bit of a hothead than alpha male, and Eva is strong and smart but also somewhat impulsive. They are attracted from the first and don't waste time with endless bickering.

I thought the references to Noah's book of "smutty" poetry were very humorous (a negative review mentioned quotes from his book as examples of the author's flowery writing. The author seems to be satirizing that style of writing, actually). The sex scenes might be a touch overwritten, but they're still nicely steamy. Are the couple's trysts true to the time period or are they rather anachronistic? A woman of that time probably would have been a bit more circumspect, but that didn't really detract from the book for me.

My only criticism is that perhaps too much is thrown into the story. Not only do we have Noah and Eva's budding relationship and the mystery surrounding Eva's missing brother, along with attacks on her life, which lead to an unsavory publisher and another character who seems obsessive about bedding her (men have it in for this young lady, inexplicably). We also have Noah's strained relationship with his uncle and his relationship with the rest of the Brotherhood, including his boss, who is leery of Noah mixing romance and work. Enough details are filled in about Cole toward the end to assume that he will be the subject of the next book (he is). You have to be willing to slow down reading, at times, because there is a full cast of characters and a few moving parts.

I ran across only a couple of typos/examples of language misuse ("mute" point instead of "moot" point, for example).

For those who are focused on these things in their Regencies (I'm not, but different strokes):
Language is mild, PG at most.
Some PG-rated violence toward the end.
There is premarital sex and the sex scenes are descriptive. The H/h are not shy with each other after the halfway point of the book.

Definitely reading this author again.

Fantastic story.

It's what you would expect

Lots of twists and turns in the plot. Good strong main characters. I enjoyed the story quite a bit. It's always nice when the author gives us strong minded female characters.

Liked this story and plot with interesting, strong and likable characters. Several bad characters to deal with but minimal secrets and poor choices. Good romantic episodes. Would read this author again.