As expected, I liked Heir to a Dark Inheritance as much Heir to a Desert Legacy. When I read, it’s for an escape. I don’t want reality. While I usually take the supernatural route, sometimes I need a break from that, and when that happens, palaces and handsome international men of mystery work pretty well. And, no, I don’t mean those billionaire stories where men with too much money prey on young, naïve girls then order them to do whatever they want. Not a fan of the billionaire trend. There is a difference between a person who has done well for himself, and happens to be wealthy and a person whose entire identity is how much money he has (I spent my 20s in Dallas, I know all about guys like this and learned quickly how to tell them apart.)
Anyway, point being, I love the men in these books. These are important, powerful men, who happen to be wealthy. This book provides exactly the escape I need. A handsome Russian (I have a huge weakness for handsome Russian men) with access to a private jet, a palace in the desert, a townhouse in Paris. (Paris might be my favorite city in the world, and much of this book takes place in Paris.) Add to that, he’s all of kinds of emotionally insecure. He’s never been in love, doesn’t think he’s capable of falling in love. But we know better.
The story begins when Alik learns he has a daughter, the result of a one-night stand. Having grown up in an orphanage, he can’t stand the idea of his child feeling the same sense of abandonment that still haunts him. So he flies to the U.S. to claim his child. But his child, Leena, is a year old, and during the past year was in the very capable hands of Jada, the woman who was planning to adopt her.
Because he’s the biological father, he’s granted full custody of the child. But as he’s leaving the courthouse, he sees Jada sitting on the floor in tears, her whole world has fallen apart. Already, we have a sign that Alik isn’t quite the heartless bastard he wants the world to believe he is. (Though really, if he were such a terrible jerk, why would he care about what happens to his daughter?) He makes Jada an offer that would allow her to remain in Leena’s life. While Jada doesn’t want to share Leena with this man, she also realizes she has nothing to lose. Her husband died, she doesn’t have any close friends or family or any other reason why she can’t just pack up and leave. Leena was her whole life, and if she doesn’t take Alik up on his offer, she’s going to lose her.
It’s supposed to be a marriage of convenience, nothing physical, no emotions. But eventually the two can’t fight the attraction they feel for each other. I loved seeing how they finally give in to each other. They both are struggling with their pasts and their own expectations about how their lives should be. Jada fears being disloyal to her dead husband and the life they had together, the life she thought she was supposed to have. Alik has spent his whole life avoiding making connections, he’s terrified of the attachment he feels to the instant family he now has.
I enjoyed this book so much. I read the entire book in one day. I had a very rare day off work, and this book was the perfect indulgence. It’s hot and sexy and romantic and very fast paced. I think I might load up my Kindle with everything written by Maisey Yates.
Also, this book gave me a new appreciation for opera, but you’ll have to read the book to understand that.
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