ARC Review: Third Son's A Charm by Shana Galen (The Survivors)

Title: Third Son’s A Charm

          (The Survivors)

Author: Shana Galen

Release Date: November 7, 2017

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Category: Historical Romance

Type: Digital/Paperback

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Blurb:

Ewan Mostyn thinks a job as a duke's daughter's bodyguard will be easy—but Lady Lorraine has a few tricks up her sleeve that spark an undeniable passion

Fiercely loyal to his friends and comrades, Ewan Mostyn is the toughest in a group of younger sons of nobility who met as soldiers and are now trying desperately to settle back into peaceful Society. Ewan trusts his brawn more than his brains, but when he's offered a job watching the Duke of Ridlington's stubbornly independent daughter, he finds both are challenged.

Lady Lorraine wants none of her father's high-handed ways, and she'll do everything in her power to avoid her distressingly attractive bodyguard—until she lands herself in real trouble. Lorraine begins to see Ewan's protectiveness in a new light, and she can only hope that her stoic guardian will do for her what he's always done—fight for what he wants.

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Favorite Line(s):

Lady Lorraine was only slightly less aggravating and that was only because he did not have to go to the trouble of breaking her neck or throwing her off a building, although there had been several instances in their brief acquaintance when he had considered doing one or both.  ~  Ewan

“How do you do that? Never mind, I understand what you are not saying. You don’t think I care if I’m made a spectacle of, but you are wrong. I do care. And now you raise the other brow, but you’ve somehow managed to lower the first one. So you are capable of raising both, then?”  ~  Lorraine

Dialogue Highlight:

“What happened?” she asked.

He gazed down at her then back at the house.

“I mean, I know you kissed me, but I don’t understand. I didn’t know kisses could be like that.” Since he didn’t respond, she filled the silence. “It did not even feel like a kiss. It felt…”

He glanced down at her again.

“More intimate.” She met his gaze.

“Let’s go.”

“Why?”

His look darkened, and she waved the storm clouds away. “I know why you want to return, but what I mean is why did you kiss me?”

“A mistake,” he said. “Come.” This time he pulled her to her feet, moving back to make certain their bodies did not come into contact.

“No, I won’t go until you answer my question. It may have been a mistake, but why did you do it? Was it really just to prove Francis’s kisses are much like pressing one’s lips to a trout because you proved that well enough.”

The Viking’s lips twitched, possibly with humor.

“You could have proven that with half as much effort.”

“Later,” he said and nodded toward the conservatory.

“Oh, no.” She took a step away from him. “If I can’t persuade you to discuss the matter now, I certainly won’t be able to coax anything from you later. Why do you have such an aversion to speaking?”

“Why do you have such an aversion to silence?”

She smiled because she had forced him to speak. “Because I want answers, and if I don’t ask, no one tells me. Half the time they don’t tell me anyway.”

“Once again you will be disappointed.”

“No, I won’t. I’m not returning to the ball until you answer me.” Which would hopefully be soon as she was beginning to shiver again.

He folded his arms across his chest—a chest, which she now knew, was quite hard and every bit as muscled as it appeared. But the gesture she took as an indication he thought her threat little more than a bluff.

“I mean it,” she said. “You cannot make me go in.”

“Really.”

Lorrie moved back again, prepared to put the bench between them. “What would you do? Fling me over your shoulder and carry me in like I was a square of carpet?”

He nodded sagely as though he rather liked that idea.

She scooted behind the bench. “Wouldn’t it be easier and less likely to cause scandal if you just answered my question?”

He sighed. “Why I kissed you.”

“Yes. Why you kissed me so…so intimately.”

“I wanted you.” He held out his hand. “Now, let’s go.”

Lorrie stared at him, her fingers gripping the back of the bench so she would not fall backward. “You wanted me? What does that mean? You wanted to kiss me?”

“Yes.” His brows lowered as he moved toward the bench. Lorrie scooted further away.

“And when you were kissing me, you wanted to keep kissing me because…because you liked kissing me.”

He didn’t give her any indication she was correct, but he didn’t deny her words either.

“I liked kissing you as well,” she admitted.

“I know.”

Arrogant man. She would ignore that remark. “I wanted to do more than kiss you.”

“No.” He nodded his head in the direction of the ball. “Inside.”

“That is what you meant, isn’t it? You desired me. You wanted me in your bed.” Her cheeks burst into flame. She did not have to see her reflection to know her face must have been as red as a beet. She was glad of the darkness in the garden.

“I answered your questions. Don’t make me chase you.”

But Lorrie was hardly listening. The Viking had wanted to bed her. Surely there had been other men who had considered her in this light. She had two older brothers, so she knew something of the minds of men. But the Viking was the first man who had ever acted on the desire. And if she was not mistaken, his feelings had not been entirely welcome. She remembered all had seemed somewhat…if not proper then contained until she had bitten his lip. That was when his control had seemed to break. She wondered what would happen if she did it again.

Excerpt:

Tonight he had hated the men dancing with her.

He’d wanted to rip their hands from her shoulder or her arm, tear their heads from their bodies, and smash the men’s faces into the first blunt object he encountered. He’d tamped the urge down, but all the frustration of inaction had built up. And now the foolish chit had put herself within his reach. How long could a man resist this sort of temptation?

He was no longer content to stand on the outside and look in.

His lips met hers, and the sensation was even better than it had been the first time. He’d thought he’d imagined the punch of arousal in his gut and the dimming of the world around them. But it was happening again. He wanted her so badly it hurt, and he could hardly remember where he was or why he must not take her.

He was not a man of subtlety, and he did not tease her lips open. He took what he wanted, claiming her mouth as though it was a prize on the battlefield. If she’d only fought him or resisted, even slightly, he would have stopped. For all his size and strength, he was no brute.

“Yes,” she moaned against his mouth. “This. This.”

Ewan tore his lips from hers, his breath coming in heavy pants. “You should run.”

She blinked eyes so dark green they reminded him of the deepest recesses of a forest glen. “Why?” Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and he could feel her small, slim body press against him. He forced his hands to stay at her waist. He might have broken her in two with one quick movement.

“The things I’m thinking right now should scare you.”

Her eyes widened, but not with fear. “Tell me.”

“Goddamn it!” He tried to move away from her, but she held on to his neck, and he didn’t have the will to remove her hands.

“You might as well call me Lorrie.”

“No. This is your father’s house. We cannot do this.”

“Do what?”

He held his hands out to indicate their embrace. “This.”

“What if we weren’t here—”

“You are a duke’s daughter.”

“What if I wasn’t?” Her hands slid up his neck to tangle in his shorn hair. “What if I was a trollop? What would you do to me?”

He shook his head. “That’s a dangerous conversation.”

“Would you toss up my skirts?”

“Yes.” He’d tear every stitch of clothing off her.

“Would you touch me?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

Everywhere. “Go to bed.”

“Would you push me back on the desk and stand between my parted legs?”

“No.”

“No?” The disappointment practically dripped from her lips. What the hell sort of virgin was she to speak so shamelessly?

“Why not?” she demanded.

“Because I’d rather take you from behind.”

“Behind?” Her brow furrowed in that way he could not seem to cease finding adorable.

“Like this.” He spun her around and cupped a hand around her neck. He shoved her none too gently toward the desk and pushed her down until her round bottom was level with his cock. This would scare her back to sense. He pressed his hard member against that soft flesh and leaned close to her ear. “Is this what you want?”

“Yes. Oh yes.” She wriggled her bottom against him.

That was the wrong answer and the wrong action. He clenched his hands to stop them from sliding under her nightgown and touching the ripe flesh he knew would be waiting.

He pushed harder against her, making sure she felt his length. “Last chance to run to your chamber.”

“I’ll stay right here. Take me.”

Ewan released her and with a curse turned away. He slammed a hand against the marble of the fireplace, letting the pain wash over him until he could think of something besides his aching arousal. Why the hell did she have to be so perfectly wanton?

“Why did you stop?” she asked. The roaring in his ears and the throbbing of his hand made her sound miles away. “Did I say something wrong? I’m too forward.”

“You are too forbidden.”

She waved a hand. “Everything is forbidden. The long list of do nots makes me weary.”

“This is at the top of the list.”

“Of course it is. Anything enjoyable is always forbidden.”

Review:

Lady Lorraine Ridlington has a propensity toward bad sense. Always getting herself into potentially scandalous situations, and fancying herself in love with a less than desirable man, Lorraine is the only daughter of a Duke and stands to inherit a substantial fortune. Her father decides to hire a bodyguard for her. His mission is simple – keep her away from Francis (his cousin) and allow her to be introduced to other potential suitors who might make her happy. Lorraine is appalled at having a bodyguard thwart her secret rendezvous with Francis, but she is also dangerously attracted to him. He reminds her of Francis, but is also nothing like him. The more time they spend together, the more she learns about him, and the more she wants him. Scandal be damned, she’s going to get through to Ewan and she’s not above using her body to make it happen. Of course, the added bonus of knowing him intimately isn’t much a deterrent. But he’s a third son and convincing him of his worth is going to be an order that may even be taller than she realizes.

Ewan Mostyn is a third son. The heir, the spare, and the third son. He wasn’t needed and his options in life were few, so he went in to the service. A man of very few words – more frequently one-word answers when absolutely necessary. Ewan is known as a bit of an enforcer following his service for his country and he really only ever associates with his former “special ops” team. They survived several dangerous missions together and are now bonded as former brothers in arms. When Ewan if offered a position to protect Lorrie, he practically jumps at it. Francis may have been his cousin, but he’s never been trustworthy, and he immediately knows he’s up to something in his pursuit of Lorraine. Doesn’t hurt that he’ll be able to exact some revenge on Francis by keeping him away from his target – nasty in childhood and favored by his father even now, Ewan has no love lost for his cousin and he’s going to make sure he not only stays away from Lorrie, he’s going to uncover his true intentions. But falling for Lorrie wasn’t part of the plan and Ewan’s protective instincts toward the sensual woman is something he’s never dealt with before.

Shana Galen is one of my go-to authors, so this review was automatic. I adore Historical and her style of writing always guarantees a world in which the reader becomes well and truly immersed. Once I start a book, I do not stop until it is complete. I was curious how in the heck she was going to make this story work initially. Ewan literally spoke very few words and didn’t seem like much of a sweep-you-off-of-your-feet kind of guy. And Lorrie isn’t your typical Duke’s daughter. She knows how to behave, but she says what she is thinking and feeling – and that doesn’t include her passionate sexual curiosity. She is an innocent, but she has some understand of what she speaks of despite her inability to process her exact feelings. She only knows she experiences an intense longing that builds when Ewan is around and the more time they spend together; the closer they get; the more stolen kisses; the deeper her longing and the closer they skate near her ruin. I absolutely loved that Lorrie knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it. And Ewan in his quest to remain honorable to his word struggles to resist her and her wanton displays of desire for him. Every time he tries to gain an upper hand, she not only calls his bluff, but raises the ante. It’s a unique situation that I rarely encounter within historical characters and I loved every moment. I was thrilled with how Ewan broke out of his shell – so to speak – at least with Lorrie. And super cute addition – not only does the reader get to watch this romance blossom, they are also treated to a second romance plot within.

I really cannot think of a single aspect I disliked within this book. I did enjoy most of Ewan’s combat friends and the glimpse in to their lives – and especially the end of the book that leads me to assume who the next victim to love will be in this series. 😊 I can’t wait to revisit the Survivors series and hope to encounter both Lorrie and Ewan again in subsequent books. The banter, wit, and Ewan’s no nonsense single word answers were a joy – and I frequently found myself giggling as I read, which doesn’t count the several times I was reading with a huge grin on my face. Galen crafts a world with unlikely lead characters who beautifully blossom into something charming and unexpected – characters you can’t help but adore. Underdogs, romance, a bit of suspense, heroes, strong-willed characters, wit and charm, all wrapped up in a brilliantly engaging plot – lovers of Historical are guaranteed to love this latest Galen treasure.

Kindle version provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.