Forever a Lady (Hqn) [Mass Market Paperback]

This is one book that combines adventure, sensuality, and the Gangs of New York quite perfectly. In fact this could be considered the Romantic version of the Gangs of New York. Well Done!!!

The story starts out with our hero Mathew whose father loses his newspaper business therefore they are forced to move to the five points and endure poverty. On that day Mathew meets his future friend Coleman,with whom he creates a gang in a sense helping people. For example, rescuing orphan girls who have been kidnapped in order to be sold to brothels. A Gangs of New York Robin Hood in a sense.

Our heroine Bernadette is an older woman in her mid thirties when we first meet her. And she has a very unromantic past. She was married of to rich man very young, who was also old enough to be her father. Although her husband adored her he never really pleased her in that sense, which made her seek that sensual passion which she wanted. After her husbands death she involved herself in various rendezvous with men, however never experiencing real love. Until Mathew saved her of course.

Once Mathew saves this strange and intriguing beauty she invites him to her home and the attraction is instant. The love scenes by far are the best one that I have read so far. The author does such a good job in drawing you in. It is quite beautiful. Various adventures follow them bringing them from London, to New York society to the rugged Five points. However, their love stands the test of time. A happy ever after tale she is able not only to solve her own demons when it comes to the distrust of men. She also solves her conflicts with her father. And at the end she gets all that she has ever dreamed of she gets a family, a wonderful husband, and above all a child from her own womb.

Mathew was an outstanding hero he was domineering, he was in charge of her future right from the beginning when they meet. He knew what she wanted and he gave her that, he brought her the happiness that she thought she could never have. He loved her he was faithful to her, he was an alpha male. But never once did he disrespect her, that is what made him one of the best heroes I have ever read about.

Our heroine was sometimes really annoying at times she really does not fully trust him, so she threatens to turn him in when he steals jewelry from her ex lover (who in fact had assaulted her). Seriously how dumb this woman can be she betrays the man that saved her ugh? Which ultimately this event led to more problems, in New York. But again our hero was there to save her from her poor choices. At other times I really liked Bernadette however she was sweet and giving (but not a push over). She was feminine and beautiful and above all she was loyal to our hero and she proved her love by fighting for him.

Overall this is a very beautiful story that I highly recommend. This story entails adventure and it will not bore you at all. The life of Five Points is described brilliantly. The sex scenes are brilliant as well and over all their love is very sensual. I highly recommend this book I could not put it away once I began reading, you will not be able to put it away either.

Yellow Rose Reviews

**original review posted at Romancing Rakes For The Love of Romance**

Oh Delilah Marvelle, you make me fall in love each time I read your books. *hums 'Seize the Day' from the Newsies soundtrack while writing review*

Reasons To Read This Book:
1. You're a Delilah Marvelle fan. Duh! You won't be disappointed. Delilah strikes again but this time it's the story of a younger man falling in love with an older woman.

2. Eye patch hotness. Matthew Milton's father lost his newspaper business due to their bookkeeper and trusted family friend embezzling funds. Poor Matthew and his Da end up slumming it and on his first day, he gets almost KO'd by a man trying to collect a debt from a small boy. He ends up losing his eyesight in one eye and goes all land pirate. He heads up the gang called the Forty Thieves and they go around delivering their own brand of justice through their ward. He goes off to London with a friend to get away from the crime he is charged with and ends up rescuing a woman from a crazy ex-lover.

3. The older woman. Bernadette Burton left London to start anew after the vicious gossip running through the London ton. Ending up in New Orleans, she is set upon by some seedy looking men but ends up getting saved by Mr. Astor and his grandson. Now that Astor has come to collect on a debt, Bernadette must go back to London and go all Henry Higgins on some American girl who is supposed to marry a lord. Things get crazy from there. First, she's attacked by a riding crop from an ex-paramour (and not in the totally hot sexual way you were thinking), next, she's saved by an intriguing man with an eye patch and finally, she offers him money. What the heck?!

4. Sexy Times. Oh, you know, the Delilah treatment. If I have to explain, you're missing out.

5. Chapter beginnings. Personally, I really liked how each chapter started. At the beginning of each chapter is a quote that Delilah pulled from an actual newspaper and it sort of mimics a press release. Kind of goes with the Newsies angle.

Oh holy carp! This book was one part Gangs of New York and one part Newsies with a signature Delilah twist: hotness. It has taken me days to write this review because I can't find the right words to express my love for this book. So let me try out a few and see if you think these describe the book (for those of you who have read it): amazing, deliciously sinful, holy hotness, heart tugging, sexy and spine tingling. How am I doing so far? I am very much looking forward to the final book in this trilogy. All events are leading up to the reveal of what the heck happened to the stolen child in Forever Mine.

***review copy provide by Netgalley, ARC copy by author and bought Kindle copy***

Life has not been kind to Matthew Milton. An unscrupulous businessman tumbled his father's newspaper into bankruptcy, pushing them into the slums of Five Points, New York. There, an attack from a thug stole the vision from one eye and taught him a value lesson about the kind of man he would need to become in order to survive. Matthew toughens up and forms an Irish-American gang, one that tries to protect the neighborhood, even if they have to stoop to illegal means to do it.

After a hit is put out on his life, Matthew journeys with his best friend to London, where he meets Lady Bernadette for the first time. They are instantly drawn to one another, despite their vast difference in station. Bernadette has lived a life of pleasing others for too long. As a widow, she is now free from both her father and the old man she was forced to marry. In Matthew, she sees what she wants and she takes it.

After a night in each other's arms, Matthew knows he wants more than a fling with Bernadette. But the odds are stacked against him. She has no desire to marry again. And to make matters worse, he makes a whopper of a mistake that almost ends things for good. The story follows the ins and outs of their love affair as they return to New York and Matthew struggles to become worthy of the woman he has fallen in love with.

I liked Matthew. He was sexy and damaged, but he was solid hero material. He always puts the needs of others before himself. Even as a ruffian, he is very good man. Bernadette is understandably gun-shy. Being a widow of means, she sees marriage as a trap to avoid and I can't blame her. --Oh and did I mention she is mid-30s? About six years older than the hero. I loved that. She is mature and she knows what she wants, but I didn't find her jaded. She was still genuine and passionate despite the bindings of her earlier life.

I really felt like I witnessed a true journey in this relationship --and especially one for Matthew. I liked that I got to see these two really fall in love over time. It felt authentic. The sex was hot. (And pushed the envelope more than I expected.) The plot was interesting. And the backdrop was very Gangs of New York. It was gritty and dark, especially when juxtaposed to London culture.

This is book two in The Rumor series, but works just fine as a standalone. I liked it a lot.