Ancient secrets and grudges bind the wealthy Eversea and Redmond families of Pennyroyal Green, Sussex, so when handsome, reckless, fatally charming black-sheep Colin Eversea, the youngest of the clan, is framed for killing a Redmond cousin in a London pub brawl and sentenced to hang, no one seems to think it's a coincidence that the only witness to the crime has disappeared. Then again, throughout history, Everseas have always managed to cheat fate in style: much to his own astonishment, Colin is snatched from the gallows by a beautiful, clever mercenary.Inured to danger by life in the London rookeries, Madeleine Greenway considers Colin both a lightweight and a mission accomplished for a generous, anonymous employer. But, when it becomes clear that whoever wants Colin alive wants Madeleine dead, their mutual, desperate need for the truth makes them reluctant partners.
Their race for answers takes them through a labyrinth of shocking secrets linking the lowest and highest of London society, and along the way Colin and Madeleine learn that what they think they wanted from life is something else altogether-a realization about as convenient as their incendiary attraction to each other.
The Perils of Pleasure was a pretty good read. Colin Eversea is about to hang for murder, but he didn't do it. Luckily, someone out there wants to him to live. There's an explosion, and Colin is whisked away from the noose. His rescuer is none other than Madeleine Greenway, who is paid to take care of problems. However, no sooner than she saves Colin, he saves her from being shot! Did the same person who funded his rescue now want her dead? The two must work together to prove Colin's innocence, find whoever wants Madeleine dead, and stop his brother's wedding!
I thought The Perils of Pleasure was quite fun! I really liked the mystery aspect of it, especially since it takes place over just a couple of high adrenaline days. Colin and Madeline are running all over London tracking down people who might know something about who's behind everything happening. It includes a lot of blackmail and threatening and spying and following and pistoling and tying people up! It's a jolly good time, basically. Except the big reveal at the end was odd to say the least.
As for the romance, I wasn't as interested in that, which is unfortunate since The Perils of Pleasure is a Romance novel. Part of it is that I never felt like I got to know Madeleine all that well. We get facts about her, and how she got into the business that she's in, but not much of her personality. I'm sure she's awesomely badass, but it seemed like most of her characterization was filtered through Colin. He's also in love with the woman marrying his brother, and yet he's constantly sexing Madeleine without a second thought. I wish there had been more development of their relationship and of Madeleine as a person.
I did enjoy The Perils of Pleasure, although it's certainly not a favorite. The adventure aspects were easily my favorite, and I actually found myself wanting more of that and less of the kissing. Weird, I know. Madeleine and Colin fit better as a crime fighting duo rather than lovers.
