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Delaneys of Killaroo #3
Sydney, The Temptress
From author Fayrene Preston comes a pulse-quickening Delaney novel. A dark and mysterious casino owner finds himself falling for a beautiful gambler who keeps her secrets close to her heart.
Sydney Delaney sets out to win one third of the money needed to make her family sheep station, Killaroo, whole again. She had chosen gambling as the way to do it.
She was on the Isle of Charron, owned by the infamous Nicolas Charron and she had chosen his casino from which to win the money she needed.
Very few people ever saw him. He was as dark and as mysterious as the night he preferred to inhabit. He commanded the wild swans to fly. He commanded her heart to beat faster. He stole the breath from her lungs.
She watched women do outrageous things in order to catch his attention, but somehow she’d known, it was she he watched.
Sydney Delaney sets out to win one third of the money needed to make her family sheep station, Killaroo, whole again. She had chosen gambling as the way to do it.
She was on the Isle of Charron, owned by the infamous Nicolas Charron and she had chosen his casino from which to win the money she needed.
Very few people ever saw him. He was as dark and as mysterious as the night he preferred to inhabit. He commanded the wild swans to fly. He commanded her heart to beat faster. He stole the breath from her lungs.
She watched women do outrageous things in order to catch his attention, but somehow she’d known, it was she he watched.
177 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1987
6 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Fayrene Preston
101 books41 followersAKA Jaelyn Conlee.
Fayrene Preston was born in Texas, USA where she raised. Her high school years were straight out of the movie American Graffiti — good friends and that wonderful rock ‘n' roll. After high school, Fayrene attended college and earned an Associate degree in Business Administration.
Almost immediately afterward the university, she married a Navy man and for the next five years they traveled back and forth across America several times and lived on both coasts. Although the marriage didn't last, she was blessed with two completely wonderful sons, both grown now, and the most beautiful little granddaughter you've ever seen in your life!
She counts herself as very lucky. Books have always been an important part of her life, and now she gets to make her living by writing them. She can't think of anything to make one happier. She published her debut novel as Jaelyn Conlee in 1982, now continued writing as Fayrene Preston.
Fayrene Preston was born in Texas, USA where she raised. Her high school years were straight out of the movie American Graffiti — good friends and that wonderful rock ‘n' roll. After high school, Fayrene attended college and earned an Associate degree in Business Administration.
Almost immediately afterward the university, she married a Navy man and for the next five years they traveled back and forth across America several times and lived on both coasts. Although the marriage didn't last, she was blessed with two completely wonderful sons, both grown now, and the most beautiful little granddaughter you've ever seen in your life!
She counts herself as very lucky. Books have always been an important part of her life, and now she gets to make her living by writing them. She can't think of anything to make one happier. She published her debut novel as Jaelyn Conlee in 1982, now continued writing as Fayrene Preston.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 21, 2017
"Sydney, The Temptress" is the story of Sydney and Nicholas.
When Sydney Delaney comes to Great Barrier Reef casino to win money and save her family, she slowly becomes aware of eyes following her, and soon realizes that they belong to Nicholas Charron, the casino's owner.
Soon the burning attraction makes Sydney attempt an escape, but where she goes, Nicholas will follow..
There is a secondary plot about an ex best friend and assassin, but it is overshadowed by the chemistry between the leads.
Obsessive, possessive brooding hero- check
Innocent, strong and loyal heroine- check
Crazy chemistry- check
I only hoped to get a detailed HEA for the couple, but we instead got an update on Burke and Cara which wasnt bad too.
Safe
3.5/5
When Sydney Delaney comes to Great Barrier Reef casino to win money and save her family, she slowly becomes aware of eyes following her, and soon realizes that they belong to Nicholas Charron, the casino's owner.
Soon the burning attraction makes Sydney attempt an escape, but where she goes, Nicholas will follow..
There is a secondary plot about an ex best friend and assassin, but it is overshadowed by the chemistry between the leads.
Obsessive, possessive brooding hero- check
Innocent, strong and loyal heroine- check
Crazy chemistry- check
I only hoped to get a detailed HEA for the couple, but we instead got an update on Burke and Cara which wasnt bad too.
Safe
3.5/5
May 2, 2019
I enjoyed it so much: H is a perfect alpha and completely smitten with the h.
She is strong - smart and tries to avoid falling for him but.... no chance!
A little bit of danger and suspense because of the H's past but their chemistry/foreplay/love completely captures the attention.
The level of passion is sizzling: sex scenes are hot but not graphic.
I will definitely look for other novels by this author.
She is strong - smart and tries to avoid falling for him but.... no chance!
A little bit of danger and suspense because of the H's past but their chemistry/foreplay/love completely captures the attention.
The level of passion is sizzling: sex scenes are hot but not graphic.
I will definitely look for other novels by this author.
February 10, 2019
Last in the Delaney sisters trilogy, we finally have Sydney, whose task is to use her mathematical genius mind and photographic memory to gamble her way to 500,000, even if she's never gambled before. She learns how by basically living at Nicholas Charron's Great Barrier Reef island resort and casino, and she very much attracts his interest. Nicholas is a man with a dark past who, rather like a vampire, never ventures out in daylight and waits for his past to catch up to him. He wants Sydney as soon as he sees her and does what he can to seduce her, but she has issues with giving up control, even for a man as sexy as Nicholas. Also, she sees him as a major distraction from her goal. But she is seduced by him and even after being warned that he cannot love, she succumbs to his charms.
So, having read the paperback version of this, it's a fairly dated story. This comes across in the use of "oriental" to describe people (I apparently grew up in a generation where this was a word to describe inanimate objects, so it seemed strange to me) and also in the fact that the hero smokes like a chimney. I'm curious whether this has been changed in the release to kindle, to appeal to newer audiences. As for the story itself, it was fairly enjoyable. Nick spends most of the book primarily obsessed with Sydney and the innocence she represents, rather than loving her for who she is. But he's very respectful of her boundaries and doesn't at any point try to take what she's not wholeheartedly willing to give. He waited for her to come to him. He also made sure she knew the score before anything happened. I liked that. And for all that Sydney walks into everything with her eyes wide open, it's Nick who's blind-sided by the deepness of his own feelings. I also liked that Sydney didn't fall for him instantly and even disliked him/avoided him at times. He had to charm her around to his way of thinking and he worked for it.
I do think I wanted a bit more of Nick and his background...his motivations for starting the island, his childhood and how the events of his past caused him to become so isolated. I still wasn't clear on if he was protecting his own heart from betrayal or if he was just so hurt that he couldn't be around people or what. I also cop to scoffing at the idea of a night of sex with Nicholas curing all of Sydney's issues with stuttering. Speech pathologists all over the world would surely be reacting with shock to find that an orgasm is all it takes to overcome a life-long stutter. That really is some magic peen. But despite that, this was still a fun read and pretty short besides. Not as much passion as Johansen's, with the first love scene being pretty passionate and all but one after being fade to black or kinda bland. But the characters did have good chemistry. So definitely grab this for an easy read to finish off the trilogy.
So, having read the paperback version of this, it's a fairly dated story. This comes across in the use of "oriental" to describe people (I apparently grew up in a generation where this was a word to describe inanimate objects, so it seemed strange to me) and also in the fact that the hero smokes like a chimney. I'm curious whether this has been changed in the release to kindle, to appeal to newer audiences. As for the story itself, it was fairly enjoyable. Nick spends most of the book primarily obsessed with Sydney and the innocence she represents, rather than loving her for who she is. But he's very respectful of her boundaries and doesn't at any point try to take what she's not wholeheartedly willing to give. He waited for her to come to him. He also made sure she knew the score before anything happened. I liked that. And for all that Sydney walks into everything with her eyes wide open, it's Nick who's blind-sided by the deepness of his own feelings. I also liked that Sydney didn't fall for him instantly and even disliked him/avoided him at times. He had to charm her around to his way of thinking and he worked for it.
I do think I wanted a bit more of Nick and his background...his motivations for starting the island, his childhood and how the events of his past caused him to become so isolated. I still wasn't clear on if he was protecting his own heart from betrayal or if he was just so hurt that he couldn't be around people or what. I also cop to scoffing at the idea of a night of sex with Nicholas curing all of Sydney's issues with stuttering. Speech pathologists all over the world would surely be reacting with shock to find that an orgasm is all it takes to overcome a life-long stutter. That really is some magic peen. But despite that, this was still a fun read and pretty short besides. Not as much passion as Johansen's, with the first love scene being pretty passionate and all but one after being fade to black or kinda bland. But the characters did have good chemistry. So definitely grab this for an easy read to finish off the trilogy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2012
สามสาวเดลานีย์
February 2, 2015
I absolutely loved this book!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews