By Love Undone [Mass Market Paperback]

Suzanne Enoch is an extremely talented writer and I absolutely loved By Love Undone, the first of the Bancroft Brothers books (followed by Taming Rafe). Maddie and Quin are wonderful characters and their romance is so enjoyable to read. The witty dialogue and verbal sparring is highly entertaining and Maddie is a great heroine, a real spitfire who is not afraid to stand up for herself. It was also a wonderful change to have the hero be unafraid to declare that he's in love (in this book, it's the heroine who is reluctant to admit her feelings out loud). The secondary characters were well-written and three dimensional; the Duke and Duchess (Quin's parents) were both complex characters and neither of them was portrayed as being simply "good" or "bad," making them very realistic. I loved Rafe, Quin's younger brother, and cannot wait to read his story.

SUMMARY:
Madeleine Willits was 18 years old when she was ruined after being caught kissing a young man who was not her fiance (the guy was actually drunk and forcing himself on her). Her friends and fiance abandon her and her parents lock her in her room; she escapes and decides to create a new life for herself, leaving London behind and vowing to have nothing more to do with London society or the nobility. When we meet Maddie, she is 23 years old and has been been the companion to an elderly gentleman, Mr. Malcolm Bancroft, for four years. Malcolm receives a letter from his brother, the Duke of Highbarrow, telling him that Malcolm's nephew Quinlan Bancroft, Marquis of Warefield (30), is coming to visit. Although Maddie has promised her employer she will be on her best behavior, she can barely control her antipathy and antagonism towards Quin (she pretends to cover it by being sickeningly sweet).

Quin is the upstanding and obedient elder son who has always fulfilled his obligations and taken care of his responsibilities, yet he is confounded by the immediate hostility he encounters upon meeting his uncle's companion - whom he assumes is actually Malcolm's mistress. When Malcolm (a great secondary character!) catches Maddie and Quin kissing, he insists that Quin help reintroduce Maddie to society to make up for it. The battle of wits that ensues is highly entertaining and you will greatly enjoy seeing Quin and Maddie getting to know, like, and eventually love one another.

There is a subplot involving characters who are trying to stop Quin and Maddie from getting their HEA and although I don't usually like contrived obstacles that get in the way of the hero and heroine's love story, there were none of those major misunderstandings/mix-ups between the main characters that sometimes ensue, so it didn't really detract from the book.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Maddie is a strong and independent heroine; she's very likable and admirably overcomes a painful past and creates a new life for herself. Like I said before, she's a spitfire who sticks up for herself and it's fun to watch her clash with Quin (and the Duke!!). Quin is a terrific hero; a lot of times the guys are rakes whom the heroine tames, so it was a nice change to have the hero be a man who is normally Mr. Respectable Nice Guy and who meets in the heroine a woman who makes him want to let passion and his heart guide him.

BOTTOM LINE:
A must-read that I would recommend buying; classified as a keeper and definite re-read in my library. Other Enoch books that I have read and enjoyed include A Matter of Scandal (With This Ring, Book 3) and London's Perfect Scoundrel (Lessons in Love, Book 2), as well as Taming Rafe which is this book's sequel.

"By Love Undone" is my first Suzanne Enoch book - I actually picked up 3 at once because they're all highly recommended! I'm definitely not disappointed with this, I totally loved it. The female lead character, Maddie was a great, strong character - and I loved the fact that Quin fell in love with her for that. Their scathing, sarcastic words to each other were just so perfect - totally sizzling with underlying sexual tension. And I was very very impressed with the ending, wonderfully written - not many authors would ever risk the chance of the 'perfect' happy ending, which in my opinion makes it seem a bit too unbelievable. I loved that Quin chose Maddie, he loved her that much, to forsake all the other inconsequential ('dull') things in his life. I totally fell in love with both the Bancroft brothers and cannot wait to start on 'Taming Rafe'. If you haven't read this, you definitely should.

Suzanne Enoch delivers a charming tale which is sure to delight Regency fans. Madeleine Willits, the companion of elderly Malcolm Bancroft at Langley Hall, is the estranged daughter of a viscount. She became an outcast among the ton when a stolen kiss created a scandal, ending her engagement and forcing her to flee London. For five years she has lived a fairly happy, secluded life, but she carries a grudge against members of the nobility for shunning her. Maddie considers her employer's nephew, Quinlan Bancroft, Lord Warefield, "the bluest of blue bloods" and dislikes the man sight unseen. When Quin arrives at Langley Hall to oversee the estate during his uncle's illness, he not only encounters Maddie's sharp-tongue, but her sharp mind as well. The spirited, capable young woman intrigues him, but she also presents a challenge with her veiled insults and attempts to ridicule him.

But, nonetheless, a physical attraction begins to develop between them. When Quin is caught kissing her, Malcolm becomes upset--partly because his nephew is engaged to be married, but also because he is very fond of Maddie and he doesn't want to see her hurt again. He insists that Quin reintroduce her to London society, under the wing of his family, so she can find an eligible gentleman to marry. Despite Maddie's objections, Quin takes her to the home of his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Highbarrow, and the Duchess reluctantly acts as her sponsor. Quin and Maddie become allies, and the longer he is around her, the more he realizes he doesn't want to let her go. But there is the matter of Quin's fiancée, Eloise, his parents' objections to Maddie, as well as the threat of being disinherited, which present major conflicts. Also, Maddie's former fiancé has been calling on her, eager to pick up where they left off five years prior.

Filled with sparkling dialogue and engaging characters, BY LOVE UNDONE is a real charmer. Just as Maddie's insolence began to get on my nerves and I began to ! wonder if the hero had any backbone, the author shifts gears--Maddie starts to mellow and Quin becomes a much stronger, very likeable hero with a mind of his own. The character development was a pleasure to behold as the hero and heroine changed and grew, while realizing their love for one another. If you're looking for an entertaining, but generally sweet Regency romance, you'll enjoy this lively and whimsical battle of wits.

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