Review: The Bartered Virgin

Reviewed by Jen
 

Normally, I am one to bemoan the fact that nearly all the heroines in historical romance books are virgins in need of schooling by an experienced male lead. But if all of those stories were done as well as this one, I think I could learn to live with it.

Our title character, the virgin in question, is Winn. She is a red-headed firecracker, living in New York in the early 1900s. Her father has decided to marry her off to a titled Englishman, who is in financial trouble.  Her dowry will, in effect, buy a title for Winn and elevate the family's status. Winn wants no part of it and decides she'll make herself an undesireable candidate for a wife.  But her attempts at shocking behavior only prove to titillate her fiance David.  And he quickly turns the tables, forcing her to put her money where her mouth is.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was very sexy. Often in books with strong sexual content, I end up being jarred from the moment with language that doesn't fit the characters or the tone of the story... I feel like some authors are writing with an anatomy thesaurus at their side --or they equate coarse with sexy. That never happened with this book. Of course, it had some coarse language, but it felt like the words fit. They never pulled me from the story. In fact, I was so engrossed, I read the whole thing in one sitting.  

If you like historical romance, with a healthy dose of heat, I would definitely recommend this one. 5 stars.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley