About the Book:

Doctor Titus Conleith emerged from his time as a battlefield surgeon with a mysterious fortune, a lethal secret, and a demon on his back. Ruthlessly intelligent, he was able to lift himself from his beginnings as coal-stained bastard through merciless discipline and inexhaustible skill. Alone by choice, he swore never to open his heart to another. Not after Honoria Goode. The heiress who shattered his hopes and then tread upon the shards of his heart with her bejeweled slippers. The beauty with whom he shared his first taste of passion, before she gave her hand to another.

The woman whose life he just saved from bleeding out on his table…

Honoria’s life as a Viscountess has been nothing but a misery she’d brought upon herself with her own cowardice. Trapped for years in a loveless marriage to a cruel rake, she has been widowed by the consequences of his villainy. Now, she must face the man with the blazing golden eyes of the boy she once worshiped, and the dark past they both share.

As their passion reignites with the same fervor of their youth, Honoria can’t help but begin to wonder…

Will he allow her the second chance she doesn’t deserve?

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My Review:

Titus Conleith fell in love with Nora from the moment he first saw her, when he was just a young boy who had come to be a servant in her father’s household, after the death of his own family.  Nora never paid much attention to him until years later, when they developed a close friendship.  When Titus was seventeen, and Nora twenty, they became sweethearts, then lovers.  Titus is also working as an assistant to a physician, who noticed his aptitude for the vocation, and the doctor is also willing to sponsor Titus’s schooling expense.  Titus fully expects to marry Nora, and knows it will be rough for them early in their life, but he plans to build a solid future.  Then his world falls apart.

Honoria “Nora” Goode has led a privileged life as the daughter of a wealthy baron.  She never expected to fall in love with Titus, but is willing to forfeit her wealth and status to be his wife.  Her father, however, has a different plan for her, and is enraged to find that she has been dallying with a servant.  The baron has already picked out a husband for Nora, and if she refuses, he will totally ruin Titus’s chances of becoming a doctor, as well as threatening to have him imprisoned.  Nora is defeated, not willing to be responsible for crushing Titus’s dreams.  Rather than tell Titus the truth, she puts on a haughty air, and ends their relationship, breaking his heart.

Twelve years have since passed, and in that time, Titus became a soldier, then a respected doctor.  Nora, on the other hand, has reacted to her unhappy marriage with scandalous behavior.  Her husband’s own mental instability and criminal activity has led to his death and Nora being injured.  As fate would have it, she is taken to Titus’s clinic, where he is the doctor attending her.

Even after all these years, the feelings are still burning strong between Nora and Titus.  Though their conversations are somewhat stiff at the beginning, they both soon begin to thaw.  Every day, they seem to become closer, and it’s not long until passion once again overcomes them.  They both begin to believe that this is their genuine second chance, until it’s déjá vu all over again.  Nora’s father shows up, with another marriage all lined up for her.  Only this time, he convinces Nora that it’s Titus who’s too good for her.  Surely her scandalous behavior will only ruin the respected doctor’s career.  One more time, she breaks Titus’s heart.

I honestly never overcame my dislike of Nora.  Though both times she felt her actions were protecting Titus, she’s the one who made the decision to end their relationship, never giving him any say whatsoever.  I found her lying about it even worse, as it just plunged the knife deeper in his heart, as he believed she never loved him.  Her father is a real piece of work, and I do hope he gets his comeuppance in a future book in this series.  Her sisters were intriguing characters, and the hints of what’s in store for them in their own upcoming stories have me eagerly awaiting their books.  As for Titus, he is genuine hero material.  He pulled himself up by the bootstraps, and worked tirelessly to create a successful and rewarding career, despite his own heartbreak.  His forgiveness of Nora’s scandalous activities during her marriage, as well as her rejections of him, proves how deeply he loves and how strong his character is.  He is truly a man to admire and root for.  COURTING TROUBLE is a well written second chance romance, which will appeal to readers who enjoy a story with a unique plot and a happy ever after which was a long time coming.    ~Rose