The interaction between the Devlin and Megan is soooooo cute!! They fight all the time and the dialogues are very witty and funny. This book is definitely a keeper!

This is such a great story! The tension just sizzles. Also makes you laugh outloud, and makes your jaw drop constantly at Devlin's audacity. I love it.

This book is my favorite of Johanna Lindsey's. The characters were so likable and funny. I laughed and fell in love!

I originally read this book when it was first released, and have re-read it several times throughout the years.

Devlin is a Duke hiding from his best friend until his temper cools, rather than meet him in a duel of honor. He pretends to be a horse breeder in Meagan Penworthy stables only he can't exactly act like the humble horse breeder he should be, instead of the high handed Duke he is. To make matters worse Miss Penworthy is not only contentious, she's beautiful and contentious.

I enjoyed the antagonistic relationship between the hero and heroine. As they try to fight their attraction with one another. I thought many of their arguments were quite humorous.

Although the book does slow down towards the end I enjoyed the first half enough to rate it 5 stars anyway!

I couldn't stop reading it and stayed up too late. I desperately wanted them to get together. Devlin's best friend is Freddy. Freddy believes a lie and wants to duel Devlin. Devlin decides to hide for a couple of months to let Freddy learn the truth and calm down. Devlin uses a fake name and pretends to be a horse breeder. He gets a job in the stables owned by Megan's father in a remote country area. Megan and Devlin are constantly fighting and insulting each other.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
Megan was snubbed and insulted by Lady Ophelia, the local wealthy titled person. As a result, she wants to get even by getting a higher title (marrying the Duke) and snubbing Lady Ophelia. She is considering meeting the Duke and telling him right off that she'd like to marry him. But, her friend advises her that it is not standard romance protocol and that Megan should go through the "getting to know you phase" first. In many stories, I don't like dishonesty in a heroine, but in this story, I accept it for "standard romance protocol" reasons. I was also interested in watching her plan to marry a titled person for "revenge" reasons. Megan entertained me. She didn't insult me.

Devlin's false identity also made for some interesting events. For example, Megan tells Devlin she plans to marry the Duke even though she has never seen him. Devlin then goes to a masked ball, wearing a mask, and introduces himself to her as the Duke, with some unexpected results.

Later, Devlin gets drunk one night and takes Megan's virginity. She gets pregnant and they agree to marry. After they marry, she learns he is a duke. They live in his castle but they don't speak to each other or have sex. They love each other but neither one wants to admit it to the other. Therefore, they each think the other doesn't want to be married. One of my pet peeves is creating conflict through vague communication and inaccurate assumptions. However, in this story I have no problem with it. It works for me here. Their assumptions were reasonable and believable. All of their prior interaction was based on a relationship of insults and fights. They didn't have a "courting" period.

Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: 1878 England. Copyright: 1992. Genre: historical romance.

To date, there are 3 books in the Sherring Cross series. This is the first book which should be read before reading Love Me Forever. The three books are:
4.5 stars for Man of My Dreams
3 stars for Love Me Forever
(not read) The Pursuit

For a list of my reviews of other Johanna Lindsey books, see my 5 star review of "Gentle Rogue" posted 6/14/08.