In Which I Review Scoundrel by Zoe Archer, and Become Determined to Buy Every One of Her Books. Ever.

It took me way, way longer to read this book than it really should have (when I finally sat down and put my mind to it, it took only about 24 hours.  With work.), but it's all Buffy's fault.  For reals, that chick is as addictive as she is ass-kicking, and most of my free hours have been taken up with sanity-restoring marathon time.  (You think this is bad?  Wait until Felicity and Alias.  You ain't seen nothin' yet)  But between seasons 4 and 5 I made a conscious effort not to start anything new until I read this book.

And boy was I not disappointed.

We first met Bennett Day in Warrior, that charming lothario who loves all women, all the time.  He's not a rake who just loves sex; Bennett loves women, and openly admits to being in love with just about every woman he's slept with to one degree or another.  This is not something I would love in my hero (I like my heroes like I like my men: one-woman dudes), but Bennett is so sincere and so not smarmy that it's impossible not to get him.  He's the rake who hasn't found the girl.  Well, that's what this book is for.

London Harcourt (for purists who won't believe that a nineteenth century woman could be named London, her real name is Victoria Regina Gloriana London Edgeworth Harcourt... yeah, you'd want to be called London, too) is the daughter of one of the head Heirs (and is the widow of another...), but has no idea what they're all about.  The Heirs appear to be obnoxiously, rage-inducingly chauvinistic, spouting nonsense about how women think with their wombs (?!), cannot make rational decisions, etc., etc., etc.

In other words, I wanted to kill all of them all of the time during the course of this book.

Bennett and London encounter each other accidentally in a marketplace in Greece and are instantly smitten (natch).  Once he finds out who she is, kidnaps her, and tells her who he is (the man who widowed her), the fun really starts.  As in the last book, a mystical magical scavenger hunt commences, and the two (along with a sexy Greek witch and a rather awesome sea captain) hunt down yet another Source of magic.

While their relationship was, I thought, a little out of sync with the times, I really really really loved Bennett and London together.  From the beginning he is entranced by the streak of adventure he sees in her, and the more she grows into her own being, the more he loves her.  As for London, while she has been sheltered by the men in her life for her entire life, she has managed to cultivate herself and her education on the sly.  When confronted about the truth of her father's evil actions, she questions the veracity of the allegations (as she should... it's her dad after all) and then allows that most mysterious of beings, Common Sense, to shine through.

Together they form an adult, mature relationship.  Bennett is up-front from the beginning about the type of relationship he usually has and his expectations for this one (none), while London, sexually experienced widow whose dead husband was neither a eunuch nor a masochist, prepares herself for the fact that perhaps the love of her life might be encountered in a fleeting, momentary relationship.

Of course he changes his mind, she changes hers, and after some minor bloodshed, they find their HEA.

Banter abounds, action abounds, and there's sexual tension up the wazoo.  In other words, I'm going to dive right in to the next book, Rebel... as soon as season 5 is finished.