Book Review #darcyburke #irresistible #netgalley
I love the Phoenix Club by Darcy Burke and found this sixth installment to be absolutely wonderful. Burke's world is full of interesting and charming characters and in this novel she brings to life two of my favorite in this series so far! Burke's writing is engaging, entertain, well-paced, delightfully sensual and perfectly balanced in plot and relationship. If you have never checked out Darcy Burke, I would highly recommend her and this series, I think this series as a whole is extremely strong and well written and definitely has something for everyone with all the the tropes Burke has been able to explore throughout. While this is the sixth book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, but I will definitely say I have truly enjoyed reading this series in order!
Jessamine has spent the last six seasons avoiding matrimony and she is just in reach of full spinsterhood, which is her goal, so she can finally be free to explore and create her own adventures. Jessamine also has a great talent in code breaking and when she is asked by the Foreign Office to go on a secret mission she jumps at the chance. She is to partner with Dougal, a newly appointed viscount who is use to working alone and probably on his last mission. These two most pose as a married couple to investigate a couple who might be selling secrets to the French.
I was so immediately swept up into this story and Jessamine and Dougal's romance. Burke perfectly balances the spy plot with the building of chemistry and attraction between Jessamine and Dougal. Dougal is a black man who was adopted by his father, this does play a role in the story and how some people see him. I think that Burke did a really lovely job with his character and I do feel like she took time and care to address prejudices of the time while not making them the point of the story. Jessamine is immediately attracted by Dougal, she finds him breathtakingly handsome and her feelings only grow as she sees how much of a kind, strong and smart man that he is. Dougal is also taken with Jessamine, his respect for her grows each day they work together as he sees her intelligence and her true inner beauty. Burke has a way of building the perfect sensual tension between these two while steadly growing it until it boils over. I think Burke also does a wonderful job showing the build up of chemistry and respect between Jessamine and Dougal. They are both always on the same page with each other, you can see the respect and consent they have with each other and their budding love is really wonderful to watch.
To me this is a must read and one of my favorites in the series! I am so excited to see where this series goes next!
Thank you to Darcy Burke and NetGalley for an eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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