Lord of Scoundrels - Loretta Chase If you're looking for a light, well written historical romance with strong characters, look no further.

I take issues with many romance novel heroines. They are portrayed as witty, strong, and independent individuals...that is, when the rake is not in the same room as them. Sorry, but getting hot and bothered just by the way a man's white teeth flash when he smiles roguishly seems more like the reaction a hormone crazed teenager would have.

LORD OF SCOUNDRELS does feature the traditional romance novel tropes, but it does more than fill the narrative with smut, smut, smut. Jessica Trent is actually intelligent and independent, and Dain is most assuredly a scoundrel. They behave like people of their era, for the most part, and the writing was filled with more than lusty thoughts of the swell of Jessica's breasts or the taut muscles of Dain's arms. (Not saying those descriptions are completely absent, of course...)

But the chemistry between them was intense, the tension fizzled and boiled at temperatures hotter than what my oven can reach, and when they finally got together... *expels a breath of air*

In sum, you could do much worse than this book. The reason that I did not rate this higher than three stars, however, is that I didn't find anything groundbreaking. But don't let that deter you--for its genre, this book is among the top of its class.

3 stars and recommended.