Not Proper Enough (a Reforming the Scoundrels Romance) (Berkley Sensation) [Mass Market Paperback]

If you read Not Wicked Enough (Reforming the Scoundrels) you'll be familiar with the H and h of this sequel. Heroine Eugenia is the sister of Mountjoy, the farmer duke who falls for the cousin of our hero here, the Marquess of Fenris. This sequel works fine as a stand alone but if you read the first book, you'll understand the true devastation and grief Eugenia had suffered after the death of her beloved husband Robert.

Long before Eugenia and Robert had married, Fenris was attracted to her but was convinced that he, as the heir to a duchy, needed to find someone with better "ton". Then his best friend Robert falls for Eugenia and wants to marry her. Fenris tries his best to discourage this but all he manages to do is alienate Robert, insult Eugenia and cause her to resent, dislike and distrust him.

Now Robert is dead and Eugenia is trying to set aside her grief and get on with life. She's in London to help introduce Hester Rendell to society and to possible suitors. That brings the two women into contact with Fenris and his father, the Duke of Camber. While there's a slightly interesting interaction between the older duke and young Hester because of their shared interest in botany, the main story revolves around Fenris and Eugenia.

Fenris, still attracted to Eugenia, needs to find some way to atone for his past mistakes and get her to accept him. That would have been good but I saw no attempts on his part to really apologize for or explain his past actions. What we get is just one long seduction. A well-written, hot seduction with lots of intimate scenes, but I really would have liked Fenris to sit down with Eugenia and explain his younger self's behavior and his true feelings.

Unfortunately, the only discussion of his past behavior that Fenris has is with his friend Aigen in Chapter 10. Why not with Eugenia? But no, all we get is her saying "I hate you" and him saying "I know", or her "You're no Robert" and his agreeing with her. This is basically the only conversation they have about their relationship. The rest is just a very hot, yet somewhat cold (romantically), intimacy.

I liked the book. It's well written and has some smart dialogue. However,it lacked much romance. Too many 4-letter words and sex scenes, not love scenes, for me to enjoy it fully. I don't consider myself a prude. I don't object to the intimate scenes. I just felt the lack of romantic ones.

The historical romance I read immediately prior to this novel, left me with the impression the author was basically playing dolls with her characters, dressing them up, giving them fancy names and eye colors and then dancing them about according to whim and cliche. So perhaps that makes me more grateful than I should be, but grateful I am that with Not Proper Enough, Ms. Jewel has written a book for adults about adults who act like adults.

There are no pirates, kidnappings, evil villains, or silly misunderstandings in this lovely novel. As a matter of fact the plot is very simply the story of how two smart and passionate people, Fenris and Eugenia, come together. Will our hero Fenris be able to prove he's no longer the same man who hurt Eugenia in the past and be able to win Eugenia's love? I know what that means to veteran historical romance novel readers but no, Fenris didn't cruelly destroy Eugenia's life in the past and now just wants to bed her as he is afraid of love due to his tortured past (ha!) and no, Eugenia isn't going to succumb to the bullying seduction of a man who treats her abominably, wishing the whole time that she could resist her wanton nature. No. Far from it.

The plot may be simple but Ms. Jewel gives us complex characters who are gradually revealed with wonderful dialogue as smart, sexy, and playful as the characters themselves. As a matter of fact, I would read an entire novel devoted to ANY of the secondary characters found in this novel. I'm very much looking forward to Aigen & Caroline's story.

Not Proper Enough is beautifully written and even though as I've said, it's definitely more character-driven that plot-driven, I felt very satisfied when it ended...very satisfied and very grateful.

Lady Eugenia has come to London to continue on with her life after the death of her beloved husband by sponsoring a young lady. What she does not expect is to run into the man that caused her so much pain when she married her husband. The Marquess of Fenris was her husbands best friend and did not think Eugenia was good enough for his friend. It also didn't help that he was immensely attracted to her himself but he stood aside and it cost him his friendship for some rude comments he made about Eugenia. Seeing Eugenia again at a ball, he knows that he can not let her slip away again. Fenris sets about to seduce Eugenia in any way possible. Eugenia absolutely can not stand Fenris though and is frustrated by her attraction, both body and mind, to the man that seemed to despise her so long ago. With Fenris' wicked touches and words whispered to her, she soon finds herself sharing part of herself with him. However, can Fenris break down all the shell that Eugenia has surrounded herself in and show her that true love can happen twice, that one does not need to be proper at all times?

This was another delicious, detailed, smoldering romance from Carolyn Jewel. Just like the previous book, Not Wicked Enough (Reforming the Scoundrels), I loved the attention to the fashion detail and surroundings. I loved the snappy, almost bitter banter between our couple in the beginning and how that quickly turned into a smoldering, passionate affair that led to a whole new slew of emotions. Eugenia loved her husband deeply and finds it hard to bear that she is moving on, and with a man that hurt her years ago. She finds Fenris hard to resist though as he is always showing up, taunting her with promises of what they could share together. Eugenia is always proper and then Fenris shows up, teaching her to smoke, sharing her first whiskey...tempting her to loosen up and let in a bit of un-properness. The love they share is blazing hot yet tender and romantic all at the same. There is a bit of a side story featuring Eugenia's charge and Fenris' father that adds in a dose of humor as the pair of them are enamored with botany. I quickly saw where that relationship was headed and I would have liked to have seen a bit more of that, odd as it was. Overall, a very strong battle of wills romance that is deeply sensual and breathtakingly enduring. A satisfying treat for all romance readers!

*review copy*