THE SURRENDER OF MISS FAIRBOURNE is not the first Madeline Hunter book I have read, nor will it be the last. Ms. Hunter has a writing style that is rivaled by few. The use of language and her flare for telling the story is simply a work of art. Many authors seem to rush the romance and the story gets lost along the way, with Hunter this doesn't ever seem to be a problem. The story unravels as we go, the romance flows where with so many authors it just suddenly appears overnight. Hunter lets readers know who the characters are as individuals and lets us laugh our way through their struggle to love.

After the death of her father, Emma Fairbourne finds herself co-owner of his auction house. Knowing that a woman running the auction house publicly would ruin the business Emma determines that the only solution is to hire a man to act as new owner and do everything Emma wants him to do. Her plan should have gone smoothly, but there seem to be some very big dips in the road. There are smugglers afoot and Emma is not sure which goods being sold are legal and which are the smuggled kind.

Then there is the case of her missing brother. Was he really lost as sea or kidnapped to earn her father's cooperation? Oh, and don't forget the not so cooperative co-owner, the Earl of Southwaite. The infuriating man wants to argue with her at every turn, but the more they fight the more Emma finds herself thinking about him and his oh so tempting offer.

As the Earl of Southwaite, Darius has learned that there are more ways than one to get what you want. Especially from a woman, but when the woman infuriates him at every turn Darius begins to wonder if he can hold his temper long enough to get her to surrender. The more they argue the more he finds himself looking forward to her next fiery display, plotting what he is going to say, and wondering what her next move will be.

There were both good and bad things about this one. I really liked the fact that the characters did not like each other for the better half of the book. Their tempers and fights showed some very passionate emotions and I knew that when they finally came together it would be very interesting to see who actually would come out the winner. I liked that the romance didn't just appear overnight and that we got to know the characters on a individual level before they became a couple. What I didn't like was that the story seemed to lack intensity. It seemed to drag through the first half of the book and then parts of the conclusion were just not all that they were built up to be. I was left feeling okay, but there just was not the usual intense feel THE SURRENDER OF MISS FAIRBOURNE that Hunter's other books have had.

Book Summary

As reluctant business partners, Florence Fairbourne's defiance and Darius Stainthorpe's demands make it difficult to manage one of London's most eminent auction houses.

But their passionate personalities come to terms in an affair that leave them both senseless--until the devastating truth behind their partnership comes to light, threatening the love they have just begun to share...