The second book n Cathy Maxwell’s A Logical Man’s Guide to Dangerous Women series, HER FIRST DESIRE tells the tale of Ned Thurlowe, town doctor and leader of the local Logical Men’s Society, and Gemma Estep, a woman ill treated by every man in her life. When she discovers she’s inherited the tavern where the Society meets, she’s determined to change it into a tearoom. Ned, however, is just as determined that she isn’t the rightful owner. In trying to best each other, they slowly start to fall in love.

Overall, I enjoyed this title, even if there were a few things I wasn’t a huge fan of. The absolute best thing about it is Gemma and Ned’s attempts to thwart each other. I found these to be funny and couldn’t wait to see what they’d do next. Their fighting over the tavern and the townspeople getting involved is the main plotline and it worked very well.

I liked Gemma from beginning to end and enjoyed seeing her journey from servant to her family to a legitimate business owner. Despite setbacks, she remained strong and confident in her choices. Ned was a little harder to like for much of the story as he seemed to share the other men’s opinion that women can’t possibly be logical or intelligent. He came around in the end but I still had to wonder if it was enough.

While I enjoyed the townspeople and Ned and Gemma’s attempts to keep the tavern away from each other, the romance seemed to take a backseat at times to those antics. I was surprised when Ned and Gemma professed their love for each other because they hadn’t spent all that much time together.

All in all, HER FIRST DESIRE by Cathy Maxwell was an enjoyable read even if I felt the leads could’ve spent more time together. I will definitely be checking out the next title in the series!!

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