Compromising Willa by Diana Quincy – a Review

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Description:
England, 1805

Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope is ruined and everyone knows it. Back in Town for the first season since her downfall, Willa plans to remain firmly on the shelf, assuming only fortune hunters will want her now. Instead she focuses on her unique tea blends, secretly supporting a coffee house which employs poor women and children. If her clandestine involvement in trade is discovered, she’ll be ruined. Again.

No one is more shocked by Willa’s lack of quality suitors than the newly minted Duke of Hartwell. Having just returned from India, the dark duke is instantly attracted to the mysterious wallflower. His pursuit is hampered by the ruthless Earl of Bellingham, who once jilted Willa and is now determined to reclaim her.

Caught between the clash of two powerful men, a furious Willa refuses to concede her independence to save her reputation. But will she compromise her heart?

Review;

This is my first time reading anything by Diana Quincy and let me just say it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed this historical romance and loved Ms. Quincy’s writing style, story telling ability and her character development.  Compromising Willa is a fast paced read that will get you hooked from the very beginning.  It’s a story filled with romance, suspense, treachery, and some well written witty banter between our hero and heroine. 

Our heroine of the story is Willa and I quite enjoyed her. She isn’t your typical female from that era.  She’s very independent, strong willed, witty, and loyal. Even though everyone believes she’s a ruined woman thanks to her evil ex fiancé, she doesn’t care what other’s think. She’s a woman who doesn’t back down and is quite capable of making her own way in a world where women should play second fiddle to their husbands. I really enjoyed Willa’s character and everything she stood for, plus she’s a perfect match for our dashing hero Hartwell. 

Hartwell is recently returned from India where he’s been doing business abroad and amassing quite the fortune, as well as moving into the title of Duke of Hartwell after his brother passed away.  Since he’s been away he has no idea about the rumours and stories that surround the woman who’s captivated him from their first meeting.  This is one of the reason’s I really liked Hartwell as our hero.  He didn’t care what was in Willa’s past, he only cared about the here and now and wanting to prove to Willa what an amazing woman she is, and that she would make a wonderful Duchess of Hartwell to his Duke.  There were moments when he would make me want to swoon with his treatments of Willa, being everything she needs, even her dashing hero who charges in to save the day.  There’s nothing quite like a man who stands up for his woman and is willing to fight a duel to the death to protect her and her virtues.  Just where are those types of men today…’looks around for her own dashing hero on a white horse’, nope nowhere to be found right now, LOL!!  Oops sorry I digress, back to my review. 

If there was one character in this story that made me want to just haul off and beat him, it was Willa’s ex fiancé, the Earl of Bellingham.  He is a bastard of a character and I could not stand him.  He actually gave me the creeps a few times in how he conducts himself, especially around women. He has no regard for them at all and doesn’t see them as anything other then an adornment on his arm and their usefulness in the bedroom.  Ms. Quincy wrote an outstanding villain in this one.  When a character can make me hate them to the point that I hated the Earl of Bellingham, then to me the author has done here job well. 

Compromising Willa is a fun read, that keeps the reader interested with every turn of the page. You will cheer for Willa as she stand up for herself and makes a life for herself in a male dominated society, and swoon along with her as Hartwell courts and surpises her at every turn, all the while calling for the Earl of Belligham’s demise as I was.  I very much enjoyed the way Ms. Quincy set up her story, spun her tale and kept me interested every step of the way.  I particularly enjoyed the witty banter between our hero and heroine.  It was refreshing and surprising at times, for back in that era, woman were suppose to be meek and mild, but Willa is anything but that and I feel that was one of the main reasons I liked this book. I enjoyed Willa’s character from beginning to end and kept turning the pages to see what scenario would befall our heroine next.  All in all, if you are a fan of historical romances then Compromising Willa is just what you are looking for.

Until next time,

Happy Reading everyone.

Reviewed by Marcie

Copy provided by Publisher