Loving a Lost Lord by Mary Jo Putney
Publication Date: March 6, 2012
Publisher: Zebra
Amazon Link: HERE
Received From: Purchased


Summary (from Amazon):
In the first dazzling series, Mary Jo Putney introduces the Lost Lords—maverick childhood friends with a flair for defying convention. Each is about to discover the woman who is his perfect match—but perfection doesn't come easily, even for the noble Duke of Ashton...

Battered by the sea, Adam remembers nothing of his past, his ducal rank, nor of the shipwreck that almost claimed his life. However, he's delighted to hear that the golden-haired vision tending his wounds is his wife. Mariah's name and face may not be familiar, but her touch, her warmth, feel deliciously right...

When Mariah Clarke prayed for a way to deter a bullying suitor, she didn't imagine she'd find the answer washed ashore on a desolate beach. Convincing Adam that he is her husband is surprisingly easy. Resisting the temptation to act his wife, in every way, will prove anything but. And now a passion begun in fantasy has become dangerously real—and completely irresistible...

Review:
The last thing Mariah wants to do is marry Burke, a gamester, so she lies and tells him she's already married. When she comes across an ill and injured stranger washed up on the shore, Mariah tends to him until he wakes up. But when he opens his eyes, Adam realizes he doesn't remember anything. So Mariah, already caught up in her lie of being married, declares that she's his wife. Adam doesn't have any trouble believing Mariah, and the more days they spend together, the more grateful he is that she's his wife, but as he begins to heal it becomes even harder to keep his hands off of her. Mariah knows she can't let Adam make love to her because then he would find out she lied about being his wife because of her virginity, but the pull between them makes her question whether or not she should give everything up for one night with Adam. But if Adam regains his memory, will he ever be able to forgive her?

I downloaded this novel on my kindle when it was featured as a daily deal for free. I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped, but I also didn't hate it either. It was just an okay read for me, mainly because of the characters and storyline. Mariah was at times unlikable, because of her lies to Adam, and Adam was a little too sweet and forgiving. I also thought the plot came across as unbelievable, and not just because of the memory loss storyline, but because of the ways the characters interacted with each other. An example is when Adam fights with Burke the day after Mariah found him, when he would have been too weak from not eating and being injured to even get out of bed. Another example is that Adam was too forgiving towards Mariah, which didn't come across as something most people would have been in that situation.

Overall, I didn't enjoy Loving a Lost Lord as much as I hoped, but I would recommend picking it up at the library or when it goes on sale if you're interested in reading a historical romance that features memory loss.

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