Simply Angela : Luck Be A Lady by Meredith Duran {Review and Giveaway}

THE WALLFLOWER

They call her the “Ice Queen.” Catherine Everleigh is London’s loveliest heiress, but a bitter lesson in heartbreak has taught her to keep to herself. All she wants is her birthright—the auction house that was stolen from her. To win this war, she’ll need a powerful ally. Who better than infamous and merciless crime lord Nicholas O’Shea? A marriage of convenience will no doubt serve them both.

THE CRIME LORD

Having conquered the city’s underworld, Nick seeks a new challenge. Marrying Catherine will give him the appearance of legitimacy—and access to her world of the law-abiding elite. No one needs to know he’s coveted Catherine for a year now—their arrangement is strictly business, free from the troubling weaknesses of love. Seduction, however, is a different matter—an enticing game he means to ensure she enjoys, whether she wishes to or not...

Title: Lady Be A Lady | Series: Rules for the Reckless #4 | Author: Meredith Duran | Publisher: Pocket Books | Release Date: 8/25/2015 | Genre: Historical Romance | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4

The only thing that Catherine has ever wanted is to run Everleigh’s, her father’s auction house. Her brother is intent on selling the place and because of a stipulation in her father’s will, Catherine cannot inherit her half of the company until she marries. So, deciding to take her future in her own hands, Catherine enters into a secret marriage with a notorious crime lord in order to blackmail her brother into granting her control of Everleighs.

Crime lord, Nicholas O’Shea sees an advantage in entering into a secret marriage with Catherine. Her world will allow him to improve conditions for those living in Whitechapel. Although Nick has another reason for marrying Catherine, he’s secretly wanted her since the first time he laid eyes on her.

While Catherine is intent on keeping the marriage strictly business, Nick sees no harm in seducing his wife.

This was such an enticing little romance. So, this is the fourth book in the Rules for the Reckless series—and the first I’ve read— and it does work well as a standalone, although Nick and Catherine met in the previous book Lady Be Good and I’m eager to read it to see why Catherine formed such a bad opinion of Nick.

I really liked Nick. He’s a crime lord—one of the ‘I-protect-what’s-mine’ types and it worked for him. He has this dark nature about him yet he’s gentle and caring. He’s built himself up from nothing and strives to improve the lives of those he protects. While he’s willing to do just about anything for those he loves, he refuses to beg. He’s also the type to tell it like it is and he refuses to play games.

I struggled with Catherine. I didn’t dislike her, but, at times, she came off cold and self-centered. I don’t really have a problem with cold characters, but when I do encounter them, I expect a solid reason for them to be cold and unfeeling and I don’t really feel as though I was provided with one. Also, she was constantly going on about how Nick was a crime lord and she could never really see herself with someone like that. That annoyed me a bit as well because she knew what he was when she wanted to marry him.

Yet, I admired Catherine because she was so determined to get what she wanted yet when she realized how much she could lose she was willing to reevaluate what was important to her.

The chemistry between Catherine and Nick waxed and waned. It felt as though Nick was offering himself and Catherine, while it was obvious she wanted him, would refuse his advances. Although when she finally gave in, the really knew how to steam things up.

What I really enjoyed was seeing Catherine venture into Nick’s East End world. It was gritty and nothing like she was used to yet she never faltered.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and look forward to catching up on the series. The banter was witty, the plot engaging, and Nick was the prefect bad boy to fall in love with.