This is another book I read many years ago, d it very much but found just average on the re-read.
Dominic, Duke of Avon, is an epitome of a tortured, disabled, and wounded hero. Disable from birth (clubfoot), he lost his mother and both of his older brothers to a boating accident at a very young age and had to endure his fatherÂ’s cruelty and abandonment. Because of his disability, he couldnÂ’t join the army to fight the Napoleonic Wars but was able to create and run an important spy network compiling crucial information about the enemy. As the book opens, Dominic is investigating a traitor who is leaking information and killing couriers. His investigation put him closely to a general from the War Office. While visiting the generalÂ’s house, Dominic meets his daughter Emily, Lady Harland.
Emily is a strong, independent and fiercely protective of her family. She followed her husband, father and brothers to the Peninsula. The war had a devastating effect on her family. Her husband and two brothers were killed and the remaining brother was severely wounded. EmilyÂ’s strength and pride are severely tested when she first encounters Dominic. His cold, sardonic attitude raised her hackles and, needless to say, their first meeting was not a success. Strangely attracted to each other, the protagonists (especially Dominic) fight the attraction as much as they could. Their pride leads them to either deliberately mislead or misunderstand each other actions and/or motivations. And this is one the qualms I have with the story. Another one is uneven heroineÂ’s characterization. She appeared to be a strong and independent lady at the beginning of the story but later turned into somewhat immature, prone to crying person. DonÂ’t get me wrong, the story has some very strong points. I the whole spying plot, and I love the hero! The writing was competent and the story moved along nicely. But these positives didnÂ’t quite mitigate the things that bothered me. Hence, the average rating.
historical-regency-period4 s Rose Canteiro49 32

Oh, dear god. Dominic. ?????????

What a stone quarry. Feels I've been breaking through rocks in a stony vale of tears trying to reach his heart. *sigh*
A so wounded heart. Which makes me cherish it more deeply. Only a love pure and blazing as Emily's would be strong enough to consume Dominic's stronghold.

It is love at first sight of his cold silver-gray eyes, very hard to hold.



One thing that often astonish me is how can a woman who very recently fought to conquer the love of a man so wounded in his soul, betray the trust that made him open his heart to her, deliberately saying terrible things, unforgivable things to hurt him.



Nevertheless, I concede that there's a good thing about that. It shows us that true love forgives everything. Love makes us able to overcome pride, resentment, forgive one another and live in peace and harmony.

Five stars!abandoned deformed disabled-since-birth ...more4 s JuliannaAuthor 5 books1,339

Reviewed for THC Reviews
ItÂ’s been years since IÂ’ve read one of Gayle WilsonÂ’s books, so long, in fact, that I can barely remember anything about them, except that I generally enjoyed them. So I went into reading The HeartÂ’s Desire wanting to reintroduce myself to the author. I still mostly enjoyed this book, but I found that the author has some quirks to her writing style about which I had mixed feelings. The story takes place over approximately a yearÂ’s time, and to keep the plot going, the author introduces a conflict, then resolves it, introduces another, then resolves or partially resolves it, etc. I admit that it kept me reading, but at the same time it could be a little frustrating to believe that the hero and heroine had finally gotten past something only to have another thing rear itÂ’s ugly head, and underneath it all was their own stubbornness and pride borne out of their insecurities fueling a lot of the conflict. Also, the author engages in head-hopping narration, which I think was a more accepted story-telling style back when this book was first published in 1994, but which I personally find a bit harder to follow. I was no sooner settled into one characterÂ’s POV, when the next paragraph suddenly switches to another, sometimes even supporting characters. I eventually, more or less, got used to it, but I did find myself having to focus more intently to keep track of who was thinking what and exactly what was happening. So while the book was still pretty good, it did have itÂ’s issues.

In much the same way that I had mixed feelings about the writing style, I also had mixed feelings about Dominic, the hero. He has a strong reputation as a cold-hearted rake, which does play itself out in several ways throughout the story. In his first couple of interactions with Emily, he basically verbally insults her and then more or less pushes himself on her physically, which to me, came off as more creepy than sexy, even though she was digging it. We eventually come to understand that heÂ’s trying to scare her away, but only kind of. HeÂ’s deeply attracted to her but has vowed never to marry, so his actions have that sort of I-want-you-but-I-donÂ’t-want-you vibe. In this way, heÂ’s pretty much one of those old-school bodice-ripper type alpha heroes who isnÂ’t particularly in touch with his feelings and who usually isnÂ’t really my cup of tea. However, although I felt it took a little too long to get there, we eventually learn that Dominic has a very sympathetic past. He was born with a twisted leg and his imperfection disgusted his cold-hearted father, who basically abused him for having a disability he couldnÂ’t help. Then his mother and older brothers died in an accident, leaving Dominic the heir-apparent to the Dukedom, which only further alienated his father, who couldnÂ’t stand the thought of a cripple inheriting the title. As a result, Dominic became determined to prove himself worthy of the title and his fatherÂ’s love, which he never had. Since he couldnÂ’t go fight in the Napoleonic War himself, he cultivated his mental acuity and became the leader of a network of spies who helped immensely in winning the war. He also often goes out risking his own neck to investigate and pass along information, especially now that thereÂ’s a traitor in their midst that heÂ’s determined to find. He basically pushes himself beyond the limits of his endurance, all because of his fatherÂ’s derision, even though the man is now long-dead. Dominic has also resolved not to marry or have children for fear of passing his disability on, so when Emily comes into the picture, tempting him to break that vow, heÂ’s far from the cuddliest of heroes. I did however, appreciate his ability to make EmilyÂ’s brother, Devon, feel useful again, and he does gradually soften somewhat as the story progresses.

EmilyÂ’s father and brothers were all in the military and heading off to fight in the war, and she had no intention of being left behind. She married a peer who was also contributing to the war effort, not because she loved him, but because he was her ticket to the continent to be with her beloved family. She became one of the wives who followed the soldiers around, but ended up losing her husband and two of her brothers. The third brother is now disabled from shrapnel thatÂ’s lodged near his spine, which all the doctors, so far, say is impossible to remove without severing the spinal cord and killing him. Both on the continent and now back at home, Emily is devoted to caring for Devon, almost to the point of keeping him from reaching his full potential, which Dominic helps her to see. When she meets Dominic, he awakens her in ways she never thought possible, making her throw caution to the wind by trying to seduce him, even if itÂ’s only for that one night. But she soon realizes that one night isnÂ’t enough. Throughout their turbulent relationship, Emily can be nearly as stubborn and self-sabotaging as Dominic. A part of me admired her strength and independence, but another part of me felt she could have been a little more emotionally open.

As for Dominic and Emily’s relationship, it took a little while for me to start feeling that all-important emotional connection. For the first half or so of the book, he spends most of it holding himself at arms length, thinking he can’t allow himself to feel anything for her. For Emily’s part, she's trying to control her feelings for him, believing that he doesn't want anything to do with her. Essentially we’re told more so than shown that they've fallen in love with one another, but I just didn’t really feel it until after he makes his confession to her about why he doesn’t want to get involved with her. Overall, I didn’t feel they communicated very well throughout most of the story either. They both – but especially Dominic – have a tendency to play things close to the vest, and then each of them misconstrues the other’s words or actions to mean something they don’t. They also both have a tendency to let their stubborn pride get in the way. As I said before, their relationship is rather turbulent, when I felt it didn’t have to be that way. More open communication would have cleared up a lot of it. I grudgingly admit that it did propel the story forward via the various internal conflicts that arise, but as a reader it could be rather frustrating.

There are some strong secondary characters in The HeartÂ’s Desire, including EmilyÂ’s father and brother. Devon plays one of the more prominent roles, and I really him. HeÂ’s trying to make the best of a bad situation and learn to live with his disability, while helping Dominic pore over reams of documents, searching for the traitor. HeÂ’ll become the hero of The HeartÂ’s Wager, the next book of The Hearts Trilogy. Then there are DominicÂ’s servants, particularly his valet, Moss, with whom he shares more than a mere master/servant bond. TheyÂ’re more friends or even family, with Moss frequently speaking his mind to both Dominic and Emily in a way that most servants wouldnÂ’t and playing a role in finally getting them to see reason. Since Dominic tells Devon that Moss needs a change of scenery and could be instrumental in helping him recover from his injuries, it seems that Moss may be a key player in the next book as well.

Overall, The HeartÂ’s Desire was a pretty good read, despite it being a little old-school for my taste. The characters were well-developed. Even if they could be a tad irritating at times, I was generally willing to give them a pass, because most of the time I understood why they were behaving that way. The romance itself may have been a little more subdued and not the wildly passionate and emotional ride I prefer, but I, at least, turned the last page feeling Dominic and Emily had finally passed all the major hurdles to finding happiness, had come to a fuller understanding of each other, and were on their way to a more peaceful marriage. So at the end of any book, thatÂ’s all this romance reader really wants. Not to mention Devon really caught my eye, so IÂ’ll be looking forward to reading his book at some point in the hopefully near future.heac-big-city-setting historical-romance read-20162 s Antonia235 1 follower

*sigh*

how nice. the hero was suitably gruff and hunky and handsome and tortured (crippled leg) etc. and the heroine quite a bit silly, immature and prone to misunderstanding the hero and his intentions.
a suitable amount of misunderstandings, humiliations and heroism ensue. hero and heroine keep on hurting each other until the last sixth or so of the book. and let's not forget the spying.

the lists aside - it sounds a lot more negative than i found it to be -, i really enjoyed reading this romance. the author did well in integrating proper historic events into the book and they were not just fleeting and there for the ambience as in a lot of other regency romances. the style was good to read - fairly rich-, and the frequent humiliations the hero bestowed on the heroine had me on the verge of tears a couple of times. the characters felt real and befitting the period (mostly at least, some of HER actions seemed a bit out of character/period sometimes). the spying plot was really good too, not unbelievable or stupid as in other examples of the genre but well thought out and realistic. i d that the heroine had no part in unravelling this bit of mystery but rather received some misery from it (as the hero did).

it felt substantial and i did not feel i wasted my time. so there we go, four stars.guilty-pleasure historical-novels romance2 s bersabea giudice531 7

Rimango sempre interdetta quando leggo di due che s'incontrano un paio di volte e si ritrovano irrimediabilmente innamorati, la trovo una forzatura insopportabile che inficia pesantemente il mio giudizio.
E' quello che succede in questo libro, il duca di Avon ed Emily Harland s'incontrano una sera e rimangono folgorati. Ovviamente lui non ha la minima intenzione di cedere ai suoi sentimenti in quanto si è ripromesso che non si sposerà mai e non avrà figli.
La prima parte del libro vede Emily inseguire il duca come un cucciolo di labrador per poi essere puntualmente presa a calci.
La seconda parte vede il duca finalmente capitolare e inizia la fase che si può tranquillamente intitolare la sagra della stupidità.
Un tira e molla fastidiosissimo causato da malintesi e cose non dette.
In un certo senso capisco il duca di Avon, lui ha una malformazione alla gamba che lo fa zoppicare vistosamente ed è stato per questo motivo praticamente bullizzato dal padre per tutta la vita, ha dei grossi complessi ed è per giunta molto orgoglioso.
Quella che proprio non mi è piaciuta è lei, una donnetta petulante, piagnucolosa ed in un caso particolarmente cattiva e rancorosa
Le mie tre stelle vanno solo al personaggio di Dominic duca di Avon, il resto direi abbastanza mediocre.romanzi-storici1 I Love Wounded Heroes4 7

Wounded Hero Review

This is one of my favorite books from a wounded hero perspective. The hero, Dominic, suffers from a leg deformity that he's had since birth. He is very insecure about it and hides that under a sarcastic exterior. He is also committed to never having children, since he thinks he can pass his deformity on to them. His leg causes him a lot of pain and he believes that eventually he will have to use a wheelchair because of the strain walking with a cane puts on his leg.

I actually did the heroine, except in the one part she makes a very insensitive comment to the hero about his handicap. Otherwise, though, I thought Emily was perfect for him and they still seem perfect for each other in the remaining two books in the series.favorites hero-permanent-leg-injury1 Maria2,142 43

I didn't care for the way this started, since Emily is first portrayed as being very sensible and able to deal with anything and then, once she meets Dominic, the Duke of Avon, she behaves a complete nincompoop. It gets better after that, but no matter how many excuses or explanations one gives for a character acting out-of-character, it just doesn't ring true. I very much d that the book didn't end with their marriage but continued on to show the many adjustments each partner must make during the first months of marriage.historical-romance Gail479 20

Bought 1994. What took me so long to read it!

Daughter of military, wounded warriors, spies, Napoleonic War, a hero to wish was your own.

Very low steam level but the book is more character driven than sensuality driven, no monkey smexy scenes, just two people who need and deserve each other overcoming stuff pride and Big Mis.

Keeper shelf here it comes! I'm not even sure if I'll read the 2nd and 3rd books in the series; I don't think they can be as enjoyable as this one was.hero-disability historical-regency italy ...more Nicole Schack25

I really enjoyed this book I felt it dragged on towards the end but I acknowledge the author had her reasoning I'm sure. The battle of the wits between both MC was rather entertaining but the back and forth over I'm into you...not! NO really I love but I can smh wtf I could throttle you Avon. Lol it was a journey fk a trip.2022 far-from-perfect Elisa VangelistiAuthor 6 books35

Valutazione dell'estratto di amazon.
incipt cupo e noioso. anche no. MrsMascara726 3

Dominic, Duke of Avon does humiliate/ reject Emily rather a lot, which was not my favourite thing. I did enjoy the rest of the story though. Nuvolina Leggere Romanticamente525 18

4.5 stelline Amie Doughty359 4

Torn between 1 and 2 stars. I'm giving it two because there is some potential in the book, but it's really never executed. Wilson's narrative is ponderously slow at times and at others she seems to skip over pertinent information. For example, when Emily becomes pregnant, it's clear that Aimee knows she's pregnant and plans somehow to tell Emily. It's equally clear Emily is clueless about the pregnancy. Except a short time later she talks about being pregnant. There's no point in the novel at which the reader sees Emily realize she's pregnant. There are other similar gaps in the narrative at other points as well. I really wanted to the novel, but it just didn't do it for me. I'm just grateful it didn't end on a cliffhanger because then I'd have felt compelled to read the next in the series. romance Karen Wilson339

The pace of the book was very nice and a lot happened; the synopsis is the tip of the iceberg.

d Avon and not Emily so much. She is quite an immature character. The obstacles in the story was hurtful words said as a character lashes out, and misunderstandings. I'm generally not fond of that as it makes me wonder how the relationship will last long term with such a behavior.

Otherwise, it has lots of teary moments and loving secondary characters.disability immature misunderstanding-miscommunication ...more Frances1,665 6

First page grabbed me, first 1/3 of book a 5! Second 1/3 a 4, and only with reservations, the last 1/3 a 3. That averages out to a 4. But I thought the last 1/3 would never end, repetitive, stupid, and made the main characters very unappealing. I agree with my original review accept that this book was dark and I find dark books very unappealing.historical-romance BookAddict ? La Crimson Femme6,796 1,375

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