The Husband Hunt (Madison Sisters 3) by Lynsay Sands

Summary:

Let the hunt begin…

Lisa Madison wants a husband, and she has just the candidate in mind: Robert Langley. Trouble is, the infuriating man insists on seeing her as the impish girl she once was—even as every other gentleman in London has taken notice of her womanly…charms. When her beauty lands her in danger, it’s Robert who comes to the rescue…only to announce his affections are not of the romantic variety!

Robert saw enough sorrow in his parents’ union to know he wants nothing to do with marriage, which is exactly what he’ll be trapped into if he acts on his desire for the irksome siren. And then Lisa does what Robert least expects: gives up on him! As feigned indifference gives way, blistering passion burns at last. But just before the pair can give in to hard-won bliss, an enemy with unfinished business lurks threatening to destroy them both.

Reviewer: Fashionta
Lisa Madison wasted two years trying to show Robert Langley, a neighbor and family friend, that she is now all grown up. Now ready for the Season, she was visiting Mrs. Morgan with her maid Bet, when she was drugged. But Mrs. Morgan wasn’t the friend Lisa thought, because she was going to sell Bet’s virginity to the highest bidder and give Lisa to a suitor.

The next morning, Lisa helps Bet escape and tells her to ask Robert for help. And this is Bet’s explanation of what happened to them:

“It’s awful, my lord. The tea was drugged and we was locked up and I escaped out the window, but Miss Lisa had to remain behind because the bed wasn’t heavy enough and we must get to her and get her out of there!” Bet cried.
“Please!” Bet moaned, rushing forward to clutch at his arm and urge him toward the door. “I’ll never forgive meself if Miss Lisa is ravished and ruined because I went out the window first. I should have made her go first. I should have—”

I couldn’t stop laughing.

At first, Robert thinks that Lisa, in some last ditch effort to gain his attention, has come up with a wild tale until Bet speaks Mrs. Morgan’s name.

When Robert finds Lisa, she's been drugged again and is wearing almost nothing; seeing her like this, he finally realizes that she is not a child anymore, but a young woman. I love what she tells him while he was carrying her to his carriage:

“You’re so brave and clever. And strong and handsome too,” she added with a pleased little sigh. “You will make beautiful babies.”

And once in the carriage, they have a wonderful and entertaining conversation that will for sure make you laugh. However, in the end, Robert is lying to himself and Lisa, that to him she still just a little sister. Then, she decides that if Robert is not interested in her, she will find another husband. And she thinks Charles Findlay could be the answer.

“It’s just perfectly obvious that his feelings for me don’t reach beyond filial and I’ve decided that neither do mine. He is far too stupid a man for me. Our children would be dunces. So I am turning my attention to more likely, intelligent game.”

“I am ready to find a husband, have children, and start my life.”

With the excuse of having renovations done to his London home, Robert moves in with Richard, Lisa’s brother-in-law and starts to look after her. But after two more kidnapping attempts and the revelation of Robert’s past, Lisa decides to seduce him.

Seducing Robert. Good Lord, she didn’t have a clue what she was going to do. How was she supposed to seduce him? It wasn’t exactly something she’d been trained in. Did they even have training in that? Was there a school for Birds-of-Paradise and other light skirts? Classes on kissing? Caressing? Or on how to not scream like an idiot when he tore through your maidenhead and sent the blood gushing?

She was planning to seduce a man, compromise herself and force him into marriage.

However, she doesn’t want to marry a man who doesn’t trust her. Soon after, she discovers the identity of the kidnapper and Robert, once again, comes to rescue her.

From the moment I started to read romance books, I've kept a few authors near to my heart, and Lynsay Sands is one of them. I consider her one of the best historical and paranormal writers and I always tried to read all her books, each one better than other. Her stories are pure magic, keeping the attention of the reader from the first page until the very end.

With love declarations like this one, who could ever dare to avoid reading her books?

“I do love you, Lisa Madison. I love your dreamy-eyed romanticism, your undaunted loyalty, your quirky sense of humor, your courage, your passion, your intelligence, and even your occasional naivety. I trust you with my heart, my name, and my very life.

And wow, what comes next is one of the best samples of humor I've ever read:

“What did you say after the part about loving my quirky sense of humor? Was it courage or passion?”
Robert’s mouth dropped, and then he asked with amazement, “Are you writing down everything I said?”
“I am trying to, but I can’t remember what came after my sense of humor,” she said, sounding vexed.
“Now what came after ‘humor’? I want to write it down so I never forget what you said.”
He was just relaxing, a smile curving his lips when she added, “I have long wanted to try my hand at writing and what you said was beautiful. I should like the hero in my tale to say exactly that to the heroine at the end.”

I will also add that this book is the third of the Madison Sisters series and could be read as a stand-alone one, although I recommend you read the previous books in order to aquaint yourself with this wonderful writer and the characters. So, 5 stars for this amazing book, as it's one of the best I've ever read.

Publisher: Avon
Review Courtesy Of: Edelweiss