Adam Westmore is a bitter man. A few years ago he was on top of the world - newly married, in love, nothing could hone in on his happiness. Forced to cut his honeymoon short to once again bail his older brother out of yet another mishap, Adam and his wife set sail for home. A mere days later Adam is a widower and he blames his brother and cuts all ties with his family. Living on the coast in a small cottage, Adam has to be close to the sea, if anything just because it is his beloved wife's grave. When he sees a strikingly beautiful woman hesitate before throwing herself off the cliff near him, Adam vows that the water will not take another life if he has anything to do with it.

Evelyn Waye is being forced to marry an abusive prince. Running away and praying to remain hidden, she knows her only choice of escaping her fate is by jumping off the cliff along the coast by her home. Distressed beyond words to be caught and saved, Evelyn knows she can't trust any man, least of all one that makes her wish she was just a normal woman. Evelyn can't help but grasp at the comfort Adam provides. Is it too much to hope that her depraved and wicked fiancé will leave her in peace?

From a personal standpoint, Too Dangerous to Desire, pushed every button I have concerning characters that try to inflict harm upon themselves. However, it was not enough to make me stop reading by any means. Adam was a changed man from the first scenes where he was so happy with his new wife. The man that saved Evelyn was not the man readers were introduced to; he was better. He was self-sufficient, he was mature, and he was loyal. I liked watching his character evolve and his feelings for his brother change, for the better, thank goodness.

Too Dangerous to Desire by Alexandra Benedict was a captivating read. I found myself on the edge of my seat during the intense moments and blushing during the romantic ones. I will definitely read more of Ms. Benedict's work!

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

When Adam Westmore's wife dies on a sinking ship his life is turned upside down. Stricken by grief he blames his roguish brother and after trying to kill his brother, retreats to a cottage by the sea to try to find atonement. Instead he one day finds a woman trying to commit suicide, rescues her and then starts a journey of discovery, finding his sense of duty and protection has not gone away.

Evelyn Waye is trying to escape marriage to a murdering evil man the only way she knows how. However when rescued by Adam she bgins to trust his assurances of safety. But can Adam really keep Evie safe? Is there actually darkness and danger inside Adam that might cause her harm? Can Adam give up his vengeance against the pirates he has been chasing for years, and can he heal the rift with his family?

This book was a reasonable read with a variety of situations and an interesting cast of characters, some of whom have clearly been in an earlier novel. At times there was something a little childlike about the writing style with scenes feeling quite short and moments of drama over fairly quickly. Adam's tortured nature was well written although Evie's character was a little harder to get into. Overall this was a reasonably successful read but had few real surprises.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

I kept reading this book because I was simply amazed by the terrible story line and the characters where unbelievable.
As I kept turning the pages, I kept saying to myself, that this book was one of the worst I have read. I couldn't stop reading it because it was just amazing that anyone would write this book and be serious about Historical Romance.
Romance readers are paying big bucks and we deserve much better.
This book was $5.99 and was not worth anything close to that price.
What a joke.

On his honeymoon Adam and his wife are summoned back to England because Adam's wayward brother the duke is again in trouble. On their way to England, Adam loses his wife in a tragic ship wreck. Six years later finds him alone by the sea living in a cottage away from family and friends.

His life changes dramatically when he saves a woman from drowning herself. Evie feels her only escape from her sadistic fiancé is death so she is startled to discover herself among the living after casting herself into the sea. She distrusts men, but very quickly, almost too quickly, trusts Adam to protect her.

Adam sees Evie as a chance to redeem himself, he was unable to save his wife but he can save Evie. He teaches her self defense and also is winning her trust. Evie however is not safe and Adam needs his brother's assistance in keeping Evie from her fiancé.

The most emotional part of this novel is not so much with Evie and Adam but with Adam and his brother. Their history is so fraught with anger, violence, guilt and love that emotions just spill out when they are together. Their interactions were more compelling because there was so much history between them that I never knew how Adam was going to respond.

Evie is a nice heroine but almost colorless when she is compared to Adam who has depth and history. This is really Adam's story even though she is the one in the most physical peril. Adam faces some physical as well as emotional challenges too, especially how to forgive himself for so many of his mistakes real and imagined.

I have to say the ending was both wonderful and rushed. The leads come to their senses about their feeling for one another in some dire circumstances, it's very original but then the author never lets the reader fully appreciate their self discovery. This book rates 4 stars due almost totally to the hero Adam who is more complex and interesting than the heroine Evie.

My first book by this author, and I liked it.

I found the premise of this story to be really good. Adam lost his wife Teresa at sea, when the ship they were traveling on sank due to a vicious storm. Ever since Adam has wallowed in grief and bitterness, he blames himself and his brother Damien who had been a rake hell at the time, for what happened. The flashbacks to when Adam had confronted Damien, four years before the story's time frame, made for some really interesting and haunting reading.

The tumultuous relationship between Damien the repentant duke, and Adam who is trying to get over his loss, was well done. But I didn't understand why their father was so evil, it should have been made clearer.

Adam has lived an isolated life for six years. Four of those years he has spent living in a cottage by the sea, in order to be close to his love. I just loved how faithful Adam is to his wife and love Teresa. Evelyn is desperate, she has no where to go, no place to escape the horror that awaits her. The only way out that she sees is by ending her own life. And on that fateful night Adam and Evelyn meet, as he saves her from the tumultuous waves. And then promises to keep her safe despite her wariness of him. They both have their secrets, and deep wounds that need to be healed. Both are very likable characters.

However, I didn't find it very realistic that they would lust for each other when they are in really precarious or deeply emotional situations. And yet that is exactly what happened a few times during this book, their feelings would be interrupted by their lustful thoughts about each other. I felt that, that took away from what should have been highly emotional and deep moments.

The scene when they admit their love to each other was memorable and really beautiful.

And last but not least, the word "said" was repeated several times "'Adam said' or `said the duke'" I just felt that it weakened the writing. If it weren't for such things in the writing style, I would have given this 4 stars (despite the cover).

However, all in all, this was a good, entertaining read, I read it all in one sitting.