Midnight's Wild Passion [Mass Market Paperback]

Nicholas Challoner, Marquess of Ranelaw is a man with a mission and nothing is going to stop him from ruining the daughter of the man who destroyed his sister's life and tore his family apart. Granted his family was utter chaos but ruinous situations will be corrected regardless of how many years it takes and who gets hurt. He has been plotting this well calculated revenge for years and he was mere steps away from executing his plan when what should happen to stop Renelaw in his tracks but fate. Now this fate that stepped in looked nothing like what he could have imagined would slow him down as Miss Antonio Smith the young woman's companion and chaperone is not at all appealing. She is dressed in a dowdy and shapeless fashion to keep attention away from herself but she is taking his breath away and Ranelaw cannot explain the reason why. She is not the woman in any of his dreams but the stirring in his heart and thoughts in his head about her are saying otherwise and diverting him from his target. Toni also has a mission and that is to keep rogues like Ranelaw away from charge at any cost but can she keep him away from herself.

Ranelaw may be hiding secrets but they are nothing compared to the ones that Toni has walked around with and secreting behind. She lost her family because of her poor decisions banned to a life of servitude. She has accepted her fate in life, will not let it happen to any other girl, and has her own tricks to keep it from happening to another. A man may sweet talk his way into a young woman's favor but a smart companion can stand between them and halt any further discussion. However, the talk toward her from Ranelaw is what has her heart aflutter again and she knows better and can stop herself, but does she want to. Having been at this cross roads before and knowing one road leads to ruin and one to safety which one will she take. Ranelaw seems to speak true and can take a hit and still come back for more yet is that what she wants, another man who says he loves her but does not have the backbone to see it through to marriage.

The challenge becomes not what Toni and Ranelaw are doing now but everything that Toni has ever done or known in her past showing up to reclaim her. Does she want the present and a future with Ranelaw or repeat prior mistakes. She has to separate right from wrong and know in fact that the decisions she makes again affect everything she ever will do with every imperfection that makes up her character out for public consumption, again.

Anna Campbell put her unique mark of excellence on each historical romance book she writes. This one in particular stands out with its fresh storyline, remarkable characters and never ending surprises the reader does not see coming. The mark of a good book is you are so saddened to have it end and this one brought tears to my eyes!

One of my HR friends disliked this book and having never read Anna Campbell before, I decided to skip it. It was getting so many great ratings however, that I thought I might as well check it out from the library and see what all the fuss was about. Well let me tell you, it got off to a VERY rocky start with me and I almost put the book down and didn't finish it - in the end, I'm so glad I didn't!

The first ~90-100 pages drove me crazy and felt so, SO cliché. We have the oh-so-bad rake, out for revenge, going to take it out on an innocent society darling, sees past the ugly disguise of her chaperone (after first remarking 500 times how ugly she is), decides he'll do them both, is selfish and only thinking with his ::clears throat:: - well, not his head. And then we have the prim reformed heroine who let her passions get her into a scandal years ago, resulted in family estrangement and her having to make her way, now she's determined to be proper and never again controlled by her emotions, she hates all rakes and charmers, considers herself totally able to spot them and fend them off ... and then melts into a puddle *every*single*freaking*time* (!!) the hero is around, saying 'Oh, I shouldn't, I know better, but look at that hot bod and that smile, he makes me tingle - oh no, what am I thinking? - okay just one kiss - oh no! how could I? - well he is so sexy and the hottest guy on earth' on and on and on (this drove me *NUTS*, in case you couldn't tell).

So yes, I was really, really not feeling the beginning of the book and wish it could be rewritten, because the hero comes off as a superficial and selfish man-whore, while the heroine seems spineless, self-righteous, and wholly hypocritical.

However, it got much, much better and I ended up really enjoying the romance and the leading characters - the banter between them was delightful right from the beginning and was probably the only thing that kept me reading at first. The secondary characters were for the most part surprisingly three-dimensional, which made the book that much more interesting.

While I did end up liking Antonia and rooting for her, Nicholas *completely* stole the show for me! As I said, he really does come off like a bastard at the beginning, but one feels that he does undergo a change and that that change is authentic. The scene between him and Antonia when he's in her room, she's tired from having nursed Cassie, and he's sweet and for once taking a break from pursuing her, was so lovely (see quotes below pgs111-115). That is when he started to completely win me over and my opinion about the story firmly did a 180.

So bottom line: Great read, get it! I will be buying my own copy so I can reread in the future.

FAVORITE QUOTES:
Most of them have (ummm ... all of them?) have to do with Nicholas, whom I absolutely 100% adore (post pg~90).

He'd stared into her eyes, dark with confusion and unwilling passion, and for one stark, horrible instant, he'd wished to be that different man. He'd wished to be worthy of her.
(p98-99)

"Miss Smith, your suspicions wound me," he said with a smile. He drew her, stiff and unwilling, against his side. Immediately her warmth seeped into his veins. He'd known he'd missed her, but only now did he realize how much. "I mean no harm."
"You lie."
"Often," he agreed amiably, feeling the resistance leaching from her. "Not this time."
"I'm in no fit state to fight you," she muttered, curving into him as if created to fit his body.
"I know," he acknowledged ruefully, wondering why of all the women in the world, she was the only one who ignited any glimmer of chivalry in his soul. "But it's no fun when you just give in. I'll wait until you're up for another bout."
She hid her face in his shoulder. She inhaled on a shudder, as if she hadn't taken a full breath in days. "You're an evil devil, Ranelaw."
"Absolutely," he said softly, firming his hold as she shifted, not away as she should, but closer.
(p111)

He'd been right about her determination to save the people she loved. He wondered with a sudden pang he couldn't identify how it would feel having someone like Antonia on his side.
(p113)

He'd always loved how she fought him. He loved the crackle and spark of her wit. Now he discovered he also loved the way she lay against him in what felt like perfect trust. ...
Antonia was a tall, vital woman, no shrinking miss. Now she felt brittle and vulnerable. He tightened his hold and told himself the surge of protectiveness meant nothing. Again he couldn't quite believe it.
(p115)

He swallowed and told himself he couldn't steal her like so much contraband and rush of somewhere they'd never be disturbed. Such places only existed in fairy tales. "I'll wait for you."
(p144)

He'd been unhappy, restless, irritable since leaving Surrey. He'd lived on memories of her. Her absence slowly strangled him. The instant he took Antonia in his arms, he breathed again.
(p169)

"I want you to myself." Much as he strove to sound the assured man of the world, ragged emotion edged the words.
(p172)

Received from NetGalley

What I Loved: Oh what a fun, wild ride this rake and his ruined lady sent us on! I loved every single character (good and bad) in Midnight's Wild Passion. You will laugh often at the gumption displayed by the women,even when you didn't know it till much later what they were up too--nice little twist Anna Campbell. My favorite moments were the nose to nose exchanging of barbs between Nicholas and Toni and then reading what they were really thinking. They were fantastic leading characters and each exchange they had you could see the spark getting bigger. I almost dare you not to root for them and want to throttle them at the same time. It was a very entertaining read.

What I Liked: Cassie and I hope she gets her own book. That character was brilliant for the function she had in this book but I feel there are so many more fun layers to see of her.

Complaints: Not a single one...

Why I gave it a 4.5 (5 on Goodreads): This book was just a shining example of Historical Romance done right. The settings were fantastic, the characters layered yet they did hold to the standards of what was expected, and the humor/barbing/bantering was excellent. If you like Historical Romance I don't think you will go wrong with this book.

Who I would recommend it too: Historical Romance Readers