Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke

For prim and shy Daphne Wade, the sweetest guilty pleasure of all is secretly watching her employer, the Duke of Tremore, as he works the excavation site on his English estate. Anthony hired Daphne to restore the priceless treasures he has been digging up, but it's hard for a woman to keep her mind on her work when her devastating handsome employer keeps taking his shirt off. He doesn't know she's alive, but who could blame her for falling hopelessly in love with him anyway?

Anthony thinks that his capable employee knows all there is to know about antiquities, but when his sister decides to turn the plain young woman in gold-rimmed glasses into an enticing beauty, he declares the task to be impossible. Daphne is devastated when she overhears...and determined to prove him wrong. Now a vibrant and delectable Daphne has emerged from her shell, and the tables are turned. Will Anthony see that the woman of his dreams has been right there all along?


Unconsciously, I might be on a quest to have as many first-time reads from as many authors as I can . And consciously, I just might be ready to 'let go' of the same authors I've been reading all through the years. And by let go I mean let my mind know that there are other great authors out there who are worth my time.

And here I found another one.

I admit, it started quite slowly for me. I didn't catch on to LLG's style right from the top. But I think I did right on cue because there was a point (I don't remember exactly where) when I just zipped right through the pages.

Anthony, the Duke of Tremore, was an okay hero. Great, even. I really couldn't blame her for not noticing Daphne from the get go. If a woman acted like she did in his presence, I guess that's just the way he'd react, thinking she's a machine in this case. Although it did irked me to read him offering marriage for duty and honor. I don't know why he kept on harping on that when he knew that Daphne had already got under his skin and doing what they did didn't have to do about duty and honor.

As for Daphne, I like her. What she went through was harsh but she came out the winner anyway. Fortunately, it didn't happen to me but if it hurts to have the person you love not love you right back, to hear him say that you are anything but a woman in his eyes has gotta be heartbreaking. But the first time she really made her mark in this story was when she gave her notice of resignation and just about lashed out on Anthony when he refused to accept it.

To say the least, I love Anthony's journey in 'discovering' Daphne like the way she was rediscovering him. And the game about the language of flowers was really something. (I know I always like learning about the symbolism of flowers when I play Hangaroo. Hehehe!) I can't single out a favorite scene but I was really impressed by the big picture. So it goes without saying that I'm looking forward to my next LLG.

Final verdict: 8.5/10. Great read.