Portia Tofton has always yearned for brooding Mateo Cardea. His dark good looks filled her girlish dreams—dreams that were cruelly shattered when Mateo rejected her hand in marriage.Now Portia's home has been gambled away, and Mateo is the only man she can turn to. This time, however, she has in her possession something he wants—and she finds herself striking a deal with the devil himself!
Danger is all around—but Portia has no choice but to trust this man who once betrayed her…...
Type: Historical Romance, England
Heat: 2.5 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5
Aw, this was one of those books where I really just loved how it all turned out. Tall, Dark and Disreputable was a really fun "chase" type of read with Portia and Mateo on the search for information and going on what seemed to be a wild goose hunt. With a touch of humor, a second chance at love (one of my favorites) and heart-clinching, gut-wrenching moments along the way it was a wonderful read that has me hooked and will have me coming back for more.
Ah, Mateo and Portia. I really liked how the two were thrown together. After the deaths of family members both of their lives were pretty much completely rocked and they were the only ones who could help each other. Even if they weren't on the best terms because of past hurts. I love couples with a past together that are getting their second chance to get things right. There's always a special fire between them that pulls me in. And these two did not disappoint. Heat-wise there's not a ton of steamy bits but what's there is really good.
He lowered his voice. "If our circumstances were the least bit different, I would have had you up against that tree quicker than a flash. I would have buried myself in you and likely have knocked that damned tree down with the force of my desire."I absolutely LOVED Portia. She is one fiercely determined and strong woman that's been let down by so many men in her life and is damn sick and tired of it. She's taking things into her own hands and getting what she wants and needs and I loved that about her. Yeah, she had fears and insecurities but the woman pulled it together and did a damn fine job handling a terrible situation. She's quick and talented and has a lovely inner strength about her even if she doesn't realize it all the time. Damn fine heroine.
Mateo. Now, he's a little smooth. Handsome and sexy as hell but oooh how I wanted to pinch the man and dag if I can even figure out quite why because the guy was really pretty great. But, oh man did I want to just reach right in and pinch that little spot on the back of his arm. LOL.
The secondary characters were all excellent and Marlowe did a fantastic job of sparking my interest in their stories. They may have just shown up for a scene or two but there were a number I'm dying to know more about from the couples who'd already found their happily ever afters to a completely consumed in his work scientist and even the villain of the tale. In the end I really wanted to hear his story as well (he was a nice little surprise for me).
Tall, Dark and Disreputable was a fun little journey that got a good happy sigh and an awwww out of me in the end. I really had so much fun with the storyline and enjoyed the adventure Portia and Mateo wound up on while trying to figure out who was behind Portia's new found troubles. And, you know, Marlowe kept me guessing right until the end.With romance and adventure and some surprises thrown in along the way it's definitely a keeper.
Deb Marlowe grew up in Pennsylvania with her nose in a book. Luckily, she’d read enough romances to recognize the true modern hero she met at a college Halloween party—even though he wore a tuxedo t-shirt instead of breeches and tall boots. They married, settled in North Carolina and produced two handsome, intelligent and genuinely amusing boys. Though she spends much of her time with her nose in her laptop, for the sake of her family she does occasionally abandon her inner world for the domestic adventure of laundry, dinner and carpool. Despite her sacrifice, not one of the men in her family is yet willing to don breeches or tall boots. She’s working on it. Deb loves to hear from readers! You can contact her at deb@debmarlowe.com 
Deb's been very sweet and donated a SIGNED copy of the book for the grand prize giveaway!
Leave a nice little comment for an entry in that giveaway :)
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And don't forget to enter your points in the Rafflecopter over on the right of the page! ----->
Do you like the "known each other forever 2nd chance at love" storylines?
Have a favorite Deb Marlowe read?
