REVIEW: The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath

In The Viscount and the Vixen (The Hellions of Havisham #3)by Lorraine Heath, Viscount Locksley grew up watching his father, the Marquess of Marsden, basically go mad after losing the love of his life. So to hear that he intends to wed again seems unlikely. But when Locke meets his father’s betrothed, Miss Portia Gadstone, and there is an instant spark of attraction between them, he makes the decision to marry her in his father’s stead. He tells himself it is to save his father from Portia’s money-hungry claws, but before long he realizes that he and the beauty make quite a fiery pair. And he thinks they may have an interesting future together. So long as his heart stays out of the relationship.

“You challenge me, Portia. I can’t deny that I enjoy that aspect of our relationship. I’ve never much cared for mewling misses.”
She gave him a lascivious look. “How about purring ones?”
Oh, yes, he definitely wanted her purring.

Portia has learned that a woman must do things she never would have dreamed of in order to survive. And that includes marrying a viscount who has made it clear that he will never love her. But that’s quite all right, considering she’s only marrying to find solace and security. Unfortunately, Portia and Locke have an instant physical connection. One that threatens to make her start to warm up to the grumbly man. But she knows she must tread lightly and not let her secrets out or it could damage the tenuous relationship they’ve built and cause him to cast her out of Havisham forever.

‘For the briefest of moments there, she’d feared he might be a danger to her heart. Thank goodness she’d judged correctly yesterday. He was exactly the sort of arrogant ass she could never love.’

The Viscount and the Vixen was a steamy Victorian romance, a marriage of convenience trope actually, in which the hero tried his best to ignore his feelings and the heroine found love while looking only for security.

“I’m not going to like you. I’m not going to care for you. I’m not going to love you.” He bracketed her face, his gaze boring into hers. “I’m not going to give you my heart. Ever.”
She nodded jerkily. “I know.”
“I don’t want you in my life. I want you only in my bed.”
“I know,” she repeated, for what else could she say? She did know.

I’ve really enjoyed the Hellions of Havisham series. And it is certainly aptly titled, with all three of the heroes having so far been a bit naughty and in some ways reckless. This installment brought us back to Havisham itself where we got quite a lot more information about Locke’s father, the supposed ‘mad’ Marquess of Marsden. It was both fun and bittersweet learning about Marsden’s life and what it meant for Locke and his two ‘adopted’ brothers growing up in such a bleak home. I’m looking forward to the novella Lorraine Heath will be releasing about Marsden and his beloved wife Linnie in early 2017 to round out the series.

Locke, like the others in this series, was not your typical hero. He grew up thinking that to fall in love meant to go mad after watching his father pine after his deceased wife for Locke’s entire life. So of course he desperately fought against any feelings he had for Portia. Which didn’t work well at all. I thought his struggle seemed realistic and even how he handled his daily life after Portia came to Havisham was genuine. I will say that even though Locke frustrated me with how much he pushed her away, I could understand it, given his upbringing. But I did love how attentive he was once he started to give in little by little.

Portia gave me pause a few times, not because of how she treated Locke or Marsden. No, she was actually quite caring and was very good at reading people and making them comfortable. It was the secrets she was harboring and her reason for seeking out marriage in the first place. I think Portia could have handled things differently but then again if she had, she may not have met Locke, who ended up becoming the love of her life. I did think their conversations and scenes together were fun and full of lively bantering. The fact that they were equally matched in the bedroom also meant that the love scenes were sensual and kept the story very interesting to say the least.

The Viscount and the Vixen can easily be read as a standalone or as part of the series. I think fans of historicals where the protagonists constantly match their wits and yet end up with a wonderful HEA will have a lot of fun reading this novel.

Book Info:

Publication: Expected publication: November 29th 2016 | Avon | The Hellions of Havisham #3

Love begets madness. Viscount Locksley watched it happen to his father after his cherished wife’s death. But when his sire arranges to marry flame-haired fortune hunter Portia Gadstone, Locke is compelled to take drastic measures to stop the stunning beauty from taking advantage of the marquess. A marriage of mutual pleasure could be convenient, indeed . . . as long as inconvenient feelings don’t interfere.

Desperation forced Portia to agree to marry a madman. The arrangement will offer the protection she needs. Or so she believes until the marquess’s distractingly handsome son peruses the fine print . . .and takes his father’s place!

Now the sedate—and, more importantly, secure—union Portia planned has been tossed in favor of one simmering with wicked temptation and potential heartbreak. Because as she begins to fall for her devilishly seductive husband, her dark secrets surface and threaten to ruin them both—unless Locke is willing to risk all and open his heart to love.