Books › Innocence Undone- (Kingsland #1)
Innocence Undone- (Kingsland #1)
First published 1997 · 384 pages
A sweeping, high-stakes historical romance where simmering suspicion collides with undeniable, forbidden desire.
What it feels like
Reading this 19th-century historical romance feels like stepping into a tempest of high-society drama and simmering, undeniable passion. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging pace, sweeping the reader into a world where glittering ballrooms mask deep-seated class prejudices and shadowy pasts. The mood is intensely romantic yet fraught with tension, driven by the fiery clash between a fiercely determined heroine and an arrogant, suspicious hero. The prose leans heavily into the sensuous and the melodramatic, perfectly capturing the breathless angst of a classic 90s bodice-ripper. It is a story built on the intoxicating friction of a dangerous dance of denial, delighting readers who love their historical romances laced with deep emotional stakes, forbidden longing, and the triumphant overcoming of a tragic past.
- Mood
- swoony
- tense
- romantic
- shadowy
- Tone
- dramatic
- passionate
- sensuous
- angsty
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- class divide · overcoming the past · enemies to lovers tension · forbidden desire
- The writing
- Melodramatic and highly emotive, focusing heavily on sensory details of desire and internal conflict.
- The arc
- Moves from guarded suspicion and hidden longing to explosive passion and vulnerable surrender.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave classic, high-angst 90s historical romances with arrogant heroes and heroines fighting their way up from nothing.
Content notes
- class prejudice
- childhood poverty
About the book
Jessica Fox wasn't always the beautiful, composed young woman who is the toast of the London ton. Born in poverty, Jessica wandered the streets until fate found her a guardian in the aging Marquess of Belmore. Now, it is fate she tempts with her longing for the Marquess's son, the arrogant and handsome Captain Matthew Seaton.
Upon his return from the sea, Matthew is forced to confront the sensuous beauty he believes has set her sights on the Belmore title. Though his mind tells him to beware, his blood boils with thoughts of luring her into his bed. To win his love, Jessica will do anything. But when desire flames and the dark shadow of her childhood lengthens, she risks everything she has dreamed of in a dangerous dance of denial.
Kingsland Series: Innocence Undone (Kingsland, #1) Dangerous Passions (Kingsland, #2)
Description from Open Library.
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