If You Deceive (The MacCarrick Brothers Book 3)

great read enjoyed so much

I'm sad to see this trilogy end (maybe Kresley Cole can be persuaded to write Quinn's story next?), but Ethan's story made for a perfect finale to a unique, witty and romantic series.If You Deceive tells the story of Ethan MacCarrick, the most tortured and haunted of all the brothers, and how his quest for revenge against the married couple who did him wrong ultimately leads him to true love. When Ethan was just twenty three, he went home with a married woman named Sylvie Van Rowen, only to quickly discover something strange and off-putting about her. Before anything physical can happen between them, Ethan attempts to leave, but not before the woman's husband arrives and assumes the worst. Even though Ethan is innocent of any wrongdoing, Sylvie claims that Ethan forced himself on her and her husband's henchmen beat Ethan and cut his face with a knife, leaving a large scar that mars his beauty.Ten years pass. Ethan becomes increasingly more bitter, cold, and alone as he takes violent, covert jobs that harden his heart. Bent on revenge, he makes sure that Sylvie and her husband are rendered penniless and destitute. He almost marries, but his fiancee dies in a mysterious accident, forcing him to withdraw even further into himself. Finally, he decides to avoid both sex and alcohol and almost manages to grow immune to the disgusted stares women give him when they see his scar.But one night he meets the young, beautiful and witty Maddy. The two enjoy an immediate attraction and one night of passion. But when Ethan later discovers he unknowingly bed Maddy Van Rowen, the daughter of his enemies, he is torn over what to do next. He still craves revenge, and imagines Maddy is just like Sylvie. But of course, his heart is just looking for any excuse to pursue the only woman he's ever felt truly drawn to.From there, the plot takes us to the slums of Paris to the rugged Highland plains. Throughout, Ethan is an emotional mess, caught so unawares when it comes to the intensity of his feelings for Maddy that he nearly pushes her past her limit. Then the question becomes: will Ethan confess all to Maddy? And will she forgive him if he does?Ethan is a darker character than Hugh or Court, but his turmoil is so expertly drawn and compelling that it's impossible not to sympathize with him. Maddy is a very Kresley Cole-esque heroine, in that she's strong, wise beyond her years, and modern for the time period. The love story is beautifully written, and there's never a shortage of conflict. In fact, I was dying to know how everything would be resolved and read this book quickly over the course of a few hours.If you liked the other books in the series I think you'll enjoy this one, too. It moves from angsty to sweet to suspenseful without losing its way, and the epilogue gives us a very welcome glimpse into the lives of all the brothers and their wives.

STORY BRIEF:Ethan was a handsome rake having affairs with married women. Although he never slept with her, Sylvie lied to her husband saying Ethan raped her. The husband had Ethan beaten and his face scarred (with Sylvie's knowledge). Ethan was wealthy and got his revenge by bankrupting the husband who killed himself. Sylvie and her daughter were forced out of their home and went to live in the slums of Paris. Women are repulsed by Ethan's scar. He is celibate for most of the next ten years. He sees Maddie and is unexpectedly attracted to her. She is drawn to him as well. They have an encounter and a misunderstanding. She is insulted and returns to Paris. Ethan then learns she is the daughter of Sylvie. He wants to continue his revenge, hurting Maddie and Sylvie, so he travels to Paris. Maddie has been living in the slums, an orphan since age 14. She survives by selling cigarettes, waitressing and stealing.REVIEWER'S OPINION:Characters and events were interesting. There were none of my pet peeves. I liked Maddie's actions. When they were on a ship, he told her to entertain herself during the days and not be underfoot. She said right, be overfoot. Then she did what he asked. She made friends and was happily occupied during the days. But to Ethan's surprise, he missed her. He got what he said he wanted, but he ended up not liking her being gone. I also liked Maddie's reactions to Ethan's scar. Aside from his scar, Ethan has a powerful body, a seductive smile, and gorgeous eyes. He is a brooding alpha male. This is the third book in the series. I did not read the first two books which are about Ethan's two brothers. I found this fine as a stand alone book.DATA:Story length: 356 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 5. Total number of sex scene pages: 27. Setting: 1846 - 1865 England, France, and Scotland. Copyright: 2007. Genre: historical romance.

I don't normally read historical romances but I read the Sutherland Brothers series and MacCarrick Brothers series as I am a massive fan of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. I believe Captain of All Pleasures and Price of Pleasure were Kresley's first books she wrote which were then closely followed by the MacCarrick Brothers Trilogy. I am glad Kresley found her niche with the Immortals After Dark series (which are amazing) however her historical romances are still brilliant and I really enjoyed reading them. I am glad I took the risk and read the Sutherland Brothers and MacCarrick Brothers books and can honestly say if you haven't read them and are a fan of Kresley's IAD then they are definitely worth the read. The scenes in the books are both steamy and well written and these books have taken pride of place on my bookshelf next to the IAD series.The book If you Dare is the first of the MacCarrick Brothers Trilogy and features Courtland (Court) MacCarrick and Annalia Tristan Llorente. If you Desire is the second in the trilogy and features Hugh MacCarrick and Jane Weyland. If you Deceive is the third in the trilogy and features Ethan MacCarrick and Madeleine Van Rowan. The trilogy is absolutely brilliant, well written and I couldn't put them down. I love the brothers characters featured, all with their own individual bits to love and my favourite out of the three of them has to be Ethan. Despite his scarred face he was definitely the brother for me. If you love the IAD series or historical romances then you will love this trilogy. A fantastic storyline and definitely worth the read. If You Dare: The MacCarrick Brothers Bk. 1 If You Desire (MacCarrick Brothers) Captain of All Pleasures Price of PleasureIf You Dare: The MacCarrick Brothers Bk. 1If You Desire (MacCarrick Brothers)Captain of All PleasuresPrice of Pleasure

In this, the final of the three brothers, i think this is my favorite. We at last get to the eldest brother "ETHAN", we learn hes been wrongly accused of a "crime", that he did not commit, scarred so badly that hes reminded every day, swearing revenge on the people that did it, the die is cast, years of hate and bitternes have built up, when finally he finds the one last person to avenge on "MADDIE" the daughter of his enemy. Not prepared for the impact she will have on his life, the feelings that she stires, the passion and longing that he has kept hidden for ten years, he plans to seduce, gain her trust and then throw her into the gutter! If only that were so easy to do. Maddie is a strong woman, life has treated her harshley but with a fighting spirit she never gives up and will not be down trodden, with many secrets hidden, ETHAN will slowly find out the truth of maddies life and the struggle she has injured. Can she tame this scot warrior, hardened by the life hes led, the secrets that he holds,if found out could destroy her and any chance they might have together!!. Only when all is nearly lost, faith, love and life, does he realise what a fool he is, he must now fight for the love of maddie, and for her "life",.ETHANs hard shell slowly desolves, feelings that he thought had gone, smack him hard, but is it to late. Passion is never but a heart beat away from these two, sexual tention is rife,.I defie anyone not to enjoy the final. A great page turner to the last, and what a great ending!I hope you enjoy this as much as i have. full circle of the three brothers have now come to an end.ENJOY.

After reading the I.a.d series and falling in love with the characters and miss Coles writing style I thought I'd order this to see if any of her other books were ok.I ordered the 2before this as well but this was delivered first and got to impatient to wait so read the last one first.It didn't really matter what order I read them in because I didn't feel like I was missing anything out. Like with the I.A.D series if you need some information she gives it to you without you having t read the others and yet you still know what's going on.Was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I ended up getting through it in 2 days cos I couldn't put it down.I do and would recommend kresley cole to anyone!

If you like the way KC writes writes the scottish lyke in the IAD series then you'll love these 3 brothers. These books are both witty and passionate with a great back story to go along with them.I would recommend reading them in order, for obvious reasons Dare, Desire and Deceive.These cheesy book covers do not do these books justice.Ethan is the oldest and the angryiest of the brothers, you find out in this book how he got is scars. He has been numb for so long that When he finaly meets a woman he feels a passion for he follows it through, only to find out after that she is the daughter of the man who scared him. However her life has also been a mess because Ethan ruined the family and she has had a very hard life. Ethan is torn between his burning need to complete his vengance and the need to shelter this girl from the hardships of her life.I do love a dark soul and Ethans passion is very dark indeed.

Ethan, the only brother who remained unattached was set on vengeance to his enemy who wrongfully accused him and he was beaten and left scarred.He planned his vengeance on luring Madeleine, his enemy's daughter into falling for him, promise her marriage and then ditch her but things did not go quite as planned. The emotional rollercoaster was intense, which led to compulsive reading.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was quite disappointed that it was the end of the Trilogy.