Bedding the Baron [Mass Market Paperback]

Ms. Raleigh's first few books were extremely sensual and enjoyable. This reviewer always felt that her talent was held back by the publisher with a limited number of pages to the stories leaving readers with abrupt endings wanting more, but overall, due to the talent of the writer, every story was still a joy to read. In the first of this new trilogy, Ms. Raleigh does not disappoint from the beginning and all the way to the end. She only gets better, and this particular romance trilogy appears to be one of those where readers will patiently be waiting for the next two books.

Mr. Drummond has had the pleasure of many years of tutoring and caring for three important, handsome and educated young men left bastards by important noblemen in London. He has been the one proud and stable force in the lives of these three gentlemen. Upon Mr. Drummond's death, each discovers they have questions about the large amount of money left them and the unique stipulations regarding the wills. They are left wondering not only about their true fathers, but the dear Mr. Drummond who took them in and molded them into the fine gentlemen they have become.

As the three handsome noble bastards get over the shock and loss, Ian Breckford and Raoul Charlebois are delighted with the funds left them and feel no need at the time to consider their fathers who deserted them, only to mourn the loss of their dear friend and continue to enjoy their rogue lives in London. But Fredrick Smith decides he definitely needs answers, not just about his father, but about Mr. Drummond as well. He has spent years of unique, strange, and well-hidden visits with his true father, visits that left him more angry than secure. He became an extremely successful businessman in his own right, without the help of his father and certainly feels no joy for the funds now left him as Ian and Raoul do. He has always wanted to confront his father for answers, not money. Now that Mr. Drummond is gone, and he is successful in his own right, he takes off on a quest to obtain these answers, and discovers much more than expected while staying at a local inn near his father's estate, run by the charming, beautiful, but shabbily dressed widow, Mrs. Portia Walker. Both Fredrick and Portia are lost and wandering souls with broken hearts and deep hidden miseries and secrets and are immediately drawn to each other. Soon desire and passion bloom and both realize that until their unsuspecting meeting, they were extremely lost and troubled with their past, but have begun finding a special joy and sensuality together in the present. Long hidden secrets that were never to be discovered, soon surface. Will the answers that Fredrick at long last found, threaten the true love and passion that he and Portia held back for years or will it grow with Fredrick's shocking discoveries?

The storyline is extremely interesting and the characters have a depth that leaves the reader enthralled with secrets, answers, desires and the eventual outcome of all involved. Bedding the Baron is enjoyable from front to back, leaving the reader absorbed with a story very difficult to put down. I certainly am looking forward to the next two books!

Overall, this was a very nice story. A fresh approach with the three bastard friends raised and educated as brothers and their benefactor with a hidden agenda. The descriptions of the three men (two who will have follow up stories) seems to be the making for irresistable leading men. As Frederick begins his journey to his father's home to confront his past and future, things started to unravel for me. Maybe I'm a stickler for details but some things -- like inaccuracies or subtle lapses -- bother me. Example: In Frederick's mind, he's comparing Portia to a work of art and references Michelangelo's Mona Lisa !! ???? How did the proof reader miss this? You don't need to be an art scholar to know that DaVinci is the famous artist here. (this is even more common knowledge since the wild success of the DaVinci Code book and film) That glaring error stood out so blatantly to me; I almost put the book down then and there. Also, little things like: the main reason Frederick stopped at the inn was to protect the safety of his prized horses and not risk injury on the treacherous rainy roads. So much that there are several pages dedicated to the inter-change with the stable caretaker. Then, in all subsequent outings Frederick makes, he is always riding astride only one horse; no further mention of his prized team. And other small issues like there: Portia's past, her marriage and her reasons for swearing off men (I won't ruin the story because the reasons - once revealed- provide another "neat" resolution) Then there is the explanation that Portia's staff is a collection of would-be outcasts: former prostitutes, shady characters, etc. Obviously, there is a point to stating this (to add depth to the minor characters of the story) yet, none of them are fully developed.

All indicators seem to point to a dramatic build-up to uncovering "the secret" and, while there are clever plot-twists (rather original, I might add), the resolution came about all too neatly. I'm all for happy endings but I felt this book fell short of really being a "keeper." I wanted so much more because it started out so strongly. I've read other books by this author and was hoping to see a maturation process. I'm a little let-down. She has a terrific potential. I would like to see a more well-rounded story; especially when there are more books to follow in the series. It needs to be stronger.

Despite the shortcomings that I found, I will probably read the other two stories as Frederick's commrades seem to be very interesting. I would have given this an extra star rating if some of the loose ends were tightened up and if somebody would have caught the Mona Lisa faux pas!

Deborah Raleigh is an excellent writer. Bedding The Baron was worth the wait. I can't wait for Deborah Raleigh's next book to be issued.