Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780425191002
ISBN number: 0425191001
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 432
Printing Date: July 01, 2003
Publishing house: Berkley
Release Date: July 01, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 216106
Studio: Berkley
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
New from the national bestselling author of The Diamond King...A story of two desperate people who seek revenge on the same devilish rogues-as an all-consuming desire smolders deep in their hearts...
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I wasn't happy with this book, but to be fair to this fabulous author, I went back and read it again. Unfortunately, it was just as boring the second time around. I don't know what happened to this one. The characters didn't shine, and there was no spark in the story.
Rated by buyers 
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I hedged between three and four stars on this review. I'll explain why later.
Synopsis: Gabriel's father is ruined by a man named Stanhope when Gabriel is a young boy. Merry (or Monique) is a young girl when Stanhope ruins her mother and tries to kill them both--they flee to France where she becomes a celebrated actress with a fake persona of a woman who likes to be "protected" by patrons. (She's really not, and is pretty innocent.)
Fast forward. Gabriel has come into some money and a title and ventures to England from America to seek out revenge on Stanhope. Merry/Monique is on her way from France for the same reason.
Potter had a couple of great secondary characters in Dani, Merry/Monique's maid and Smythe, Gabriel's valet. (I enjoyed the two of them and would really like to see their story in another book.)
But to the main story. I was intrigued enough to finish the book--normally when I start to get a little bored, I drop the book and move on. I skipped through some pages while Merry /Monique and Gabriel were setting up their intrigue and getting Stanhope into their respective traps...I honestly think I skimmed up until page 200 or so before deciding to slow down and read.
That's where I fault the book. Picking up in the last third of the book, I wasn't lost. I could have done without the entire middle of the book, and the story would have been just fine. It seemed the author took a little bit too much time to get her characters together and in play on the book's premise. Once they got there and started admitting to themselves and their attendants how they felt, it made the book a bit smoother. I just wish it hadn't taken so long.
As for the characters--Gabriel was great. I thought he was fairly troubled and rightly so, but no so darned aloof and cold as some heros are. I liked him very much.
Merry/Monique--I'll be honest, she didn't stick in my head as much as some heroines. Maybe she lacked a little bit of a third dimension--she was a tad flat for my taste, but she still was readable and enjoyable. I forgave her shortcomings because she matched up well enough with Gabriel.
Overall, I'm not sure this would be my very first pick, but it was good enough for me to look into more books by Ms. Potter.
Rated by buyers 
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In 1792 England, his distraught father informs ten year old Gabriel Manning that family honor is at stake as men he called friends betrayed him and England. His distressed dad sends his beloved wife and their son to America before killing himself.
In 1815, Gabriel finds it ironic that his enemy England informs him that he is now a Marquess. He sees this as the avenue to finally avenge his father by destroying the three rogues who ruined his sire. However, actress Merry Anders seeks retribution from the three members of the group that ruined her mother. When Gabriel and Merry collide, a new feeling begins to overwhelm the hatred that fills both their mutual hearts as they fall in love at an untimely moment.
This Regency romance will thrill sub-genre fans because of the attitudes of the lead couple. Gabriel and Merry are a delightful pair, as both detest the weakness they perceive that love causes. The duet individually recognizes those positive feelings for someone else only impedes their respective quests. Patricia Potter has provided a character driven story that her audience will enjoy as they find themselves DANCING WITH A ROGUE and his actress.
Harriet Klausner
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