A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare

Historical Romance

From Tessa Dare’s website ( Goodreads description just did not fit this book):

"After years of fending for herself, Kate Taylor found friendship and acceptance in Spindle Cove--but she never stopped yearning for love. The very last place she'd look for it is in the arms of Corporal Thorne. The militia commander is as stone cold as he is brutally handsome. But when mysterious strangers come searching for Kate, Thorne steps forward as her fiancé. He claims to have only Kate's safety in mind. So why is there smoldering passion in his kiss?

Long ago, Samuel Thorne devoted his life to guarding Kate’s happiness. He wants what's best for her, and he knows it's not marriage to a man like him. To outlast their temporary engagement, he must keep his hands off her tempting body and lock her warm smiles out of his withered heart. It's the toughest battle of this hardened warrior's life...and the first he seems destined to lose."

Tessa Dare keeps coming up with mismatched couples in her Spindle Cove series.  In  A Lady by Midnight Kate Taylor and Corporal Samuel Thorne seem to be another two who would never get together.  For over a year Samuel has ignored Kate and Kate has taken pot shots at him.   Then everything changes.

Characters:  Kate is a joy to meet.  She is independent and in spite of everything does not feel sorry for herself.  Corporal Thorne on the other hand is a very closed off man and it is fun to watch Kate chip away at the wall he has built around himself.  Most of the previous characters appear in A Lady by Midnight as well as introducing an entire new family to the mix.

Plot:  Like the other Spindle Cove novels part of the plot revolves around the apparent mismatch between the two main characters.  Throw in a mystery about Kate’s background and you have a recipe for either happiness or disaster.  Both things keep the tension up. Tessa Dare keeps the story fresh and new and makes this a fun journey toward a know destination. 

Tension:  Throughout the book there is the tension between Kate and Corporal Thorne.  There is also the added tension as Kate finds out her background.  Everything with her new family seems to good to be true and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Of course it near the end of the book it did.

Writing:  While some of the book is written in the passive, most is in the my favorite, the active voice.  There are times we are in a character’s head (the passive voice) and it the only way to know what is happening with that characters so it works and does not slow the story down.

A Lady by Midnight can stand alone but it is more fun if you have read A Night to Surrender, Once Upon a Winter’s Eve  ( a novella) and A Week to be Wicked first.  The next book in the series is not out until 2013.  That gives you plenty of time to read all three books and the novella while you wait for the next book.

Avon published A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare in 2012.

I received an ARC of A Lady by Midnight from Edelweiss.