A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare (Westfield Brothers #1)
April 6, 2010
Historical Paranormal Romance
Paperback, 352 Pages
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Reviewed by Tori

The first book in Lydia Dare’s new trilogy, A Certain Wolfish Charm, we are swept into regency England and introduced to Lily Ruthledge and Simon Westridge.

Lily is an “on the shelf” spinster who has faithfully raised her young nephew, Oliver, since birth. But Lily has noticed that Oliver has begun to change over the last year. Becoming bigger, stronger, and more volatile,  Lily is concerned and has been trying to contact Simon for help though no avail.

Simon, The Duke Of Blackmoor, is your above average Duke. Handsome, rich, and much in demand amongst the ladies…he has been avoiding Lily and his responsibilities as Oliver’s guardian. But Lily has had enough and shows up at Simon’s home and demands to be heard. Once Simon realizes what is going on he has Lily and Oliver relocated to his estate and begins to try and “help” Oliver.

Simon wants Lily. And Lily wants Simon. But will Lily want Simon once she knows his secret?
I was intrigued from page one of this story. You know what the plot is from the first few pages; but Ms Dare’s wonderful way with words wrap you up and demand you see how it all plays out. I found myself less the reader and more a participant. I really wouldn’t call this a Paranormal Romance. It’s more of a historical romance with some paranormal intrigue.

Lily and Simon are delightful. The chemistry between them is delicious and intense. You can’t help but root for them to make it. Simon is very much the alpha in charge; though it is funny to watch everyone who loves him ignore him. He’s like an errant child who is lovingly hushed at times. While Lily is a proper young English miss; she is strong, opinionated, and not one to be swept under the rug.

I will be honest, this is one of those books I “talked” to. You know, the one where your reading and exclaiming out loud…
“OMG!!”
“Oh no, I KNOW he did’nt…”
“Well, if your going to wear stilettos in the woods at night, you deserve to die”.

I called Simon an cranky idiot pretty much through out the book. But he’s a cranky idiot you’ll love. Simon’s secret involves Oliver and the whole Westridge family. Due to past history, Simon truly feels that Lily will hate him once she learns of his secret and will leave him. And being a man he tries to pull the wool over Lily’s eyes and rule her life through passion. And boy, are there some interesting passionate scenes. He pushes her away while at the same time keeping her close; thus almost destroying their relationship before it even starts.

It was interesting to watch Simon try and keep his his dual life a secret. Especially when Lily is very much in tune with Simon and his moods. Lily knows something is going on and while the rest of Simon’s family is giving her clues…they are making her find out for herself. There is some humor in the book which plays nicely into the story line. Will, Simon’s brother, is the mischievous sort who delights in driving Simon crazy.  His attempts at helping the romance along are not met well by Simon. We also meet Lady Prisca Hawthorne (Prissy to those who don’t value their lives). She takes Lily under her wing and helps force Simon’s hand along. There is a tangible tension between Will and Prisca and you sense an interesting story that begs to be told. And it will be in her next book-The Wolf Next Door-which comes out in June.

The only part I didn’t like about the story was how stubborn Simon was. Honestly, I wanted to smack the man more than once. He is given so many examples of how to fix things but chooses to focus on one instance where it didn’t work. I really felt the story could have gone deeper if so much time hadn’t been spent on “convincing” Simon. The HEA ending is a bit of a surprise in how it’s played out; but a nice one that got the juices flowing a little.

All in all I enjoyed A Certain Wolfish Charm.  I will definitely read the next in the series.


Rating: 3.5/5

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Thanks Tori!!