The Undoing of De Luca - Kate Hewitt
Harlequin Presents
Harlequin, 2011
ISBN: 9780373129782
N.B. The above details relate to the North American release of this book.
My rating
From the back cover:
"The undressing of an innocent...
In theory, Ellery Dunant is the last woman you’d expect to find on world-renowned playboy Larenz de Luca’s ‘To Bed’ list. Ellery has met Larenz’s type before. There’s no way a stallion like him would be interested in a plain-Jane housekeeper like her...
So why does Larenz find himself risking his cool and dropping his guard to spend the night with her? The undoing of the playboy... Just one night... but for Larenz it turns out to be not enough. Is his unworldly housekeeper going to be his undoing?"
I started reading this book after reading [the fabulous] Maisey Yates rave about it on twitter! You may remember that I loved the last Kate Hewitt book I read (Lone Wolfe) so I had high hopes for this one. I'm pleased to say that I really enjoyed it!
The heroine Ellery is struggling to keep her families crumbling Manor House home running. The hero Larenz arrives to look at the house with the intention of using it for a fashion shoot. When he meets Ellery, Larenz immediately desires her and sets out of seduce her. Ellery is flustered by Larenz's attention but is just as attracted to him, so she lets down her guard and succumbs to his seduction. Larenz asks Ellery to travel with him to Italy for a couple of weeks, but he makes it clear that this thing between them is only a fling. Ellery is just as eager to avoid relationships and commitment as Larenz, so she agrees and goes with him. While their passion is intense, Ellery feels awkward and out of place in Larenz's world and soon realises that she may have made a mistake as she has started to feel more towards him.
This is another fantastic and emotionally intense book by Kate Hewitt. I really love the almost atmospheric sadness written in the characters, I could really feel their loneliness and pain, which really drew me into the book. Both the characters and their relationship is written beautifully, and the story had a great flow. There were some very emotional and, on occasions, dark moments that really worked. *That* scene where he washes her hair... wow!
Kate Hewitt has managed to write a book with all the traditional elements that make up a good Modern/Presents (a luscious Alpha-Male, glamorous settings, shy(ish) heroine etc) without falling into a pit of clichés.
Oh, *I* loved the fact that Elley's Manor home is set in Suffolk, where I'm from! I can tell you that these settings were really well described and written, I grew up in an area with many of these estates nearby and I could really picture it! Although I did wonder where Ellery managed to get her nice shoes from in Ipswich (where I now live!), is there such a place here... Lol, I'm joking!
Definitely recommend this book.
Xx
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