Review: Stand and Deliver by Scarlet Blackwell

When Lucien Mayer is held captive by dangerous but seductive highwaymen, does he escape, or does he give in to his heart’s desire?

Lucien, Earl of Ravensberry, has the looks, the title, the house and all the money in the world. What he’s lacking in his humdrum life of loneliness is someone to warm his sheets at night. When he’s kidnapped by five highwaymen one night, things start looking up. This is the most exciting thing to happen to him in forever.

But Lucien’s life is in danger. Dante, the tough, self-appointed leader of the band, doesn’t have a lot of time for captives and vows to kill him—after he’s used Lucien’s body as he desires. Then there’s Ambrosius, Dante’s best friend, a damaged, reclusive individual who appeals to Lucien from the outset. The feeling is mutual, and Lucien is soon braving a whirlwind of emotions. He had never thought to fall for an outlaw, and he is torn between escaping and satisfying the needs of his heart. All he knows is, life will never be the same again…

Lucien seemed to have it all, on the outside. But he's lonely and tired of his mundane life. Lucky for him he gets kidnapped by some highwaymen!

Wait. Huh?

Lucien gets kidnapped and instead of planning escape, he pops a boner.

First off, the kidnapping scene was very confusing to me. There was a lot of "the man with the green eyes" or "the man with the dark eyes" going on and I couldn't keep track of who was who. I had Dante and Ambrosius mixed up for the longest time, and this is a short book, so... I was all over the place character-wise.

Lucien was really intrigued by Ambrosius. He was the most sane and level-headed of the group and they had a connection almost right away. Ambrosius had a heartbreaking past and I felt for his character. He and Lucien were good together, they didn't wow me, but I understood their attraction.

Now Dante... I have mixed feeling about that (sexy?) wacko. He has no use for Lucien and wants to dispose of him, after he uses his body in delicious ways, of course. Dante is just mean and gruff and vows to take what he wants from Lucien. To which Lucien protests, but then secretly wants. I never really connected with Dante and I'm not sure of his purpose in the relationship between Lucien and Ambrosius. His character was left way open for a sequel. 

And guess what? This is a historical romance. But you wouldn't know that based on the cover and not really from the blurb either. While I like the cover, I do wish it gave off a historical vibe. 

Stand and Deliver was OK. I liked the main couple, Lucien and Ambrosius, but otherwise this didn't really stand out for me. It needed more fleshing out, especially Dante's character.

 A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.