Jacobin de Chastelux is masquerading as a man - not only so she can keep her job as a pastry chef in the royal kitchen, but also to keep herself hidden from the uncle who lost her in a poker game. When her uncle is poisoned by one of her desserts, she must flee again - this time right into the arms of Lord Storrington, the man who won her in the poker game.
Lord Storrington is on a mission to ruin Lord Candover, Jacobin's uncle. Storrington wants revenge on Candover for killing his father, and he will stop at nothing. When he hires Jane Castle to be his pastry chef, he knows that hiring Candover's former chef will stick in his craw and lead Candover back into Storrington's clutches. The only problem is that while Storrington is scheming to ruin Candover, he's steadily becoming distracted by his lovely pastry chef.
I enjoyed Never Resist Temptation. I've never read anything by Miranda Neville before, and I found the story to have strong writing and character development. My main complaint is that the subplot between Storrington and Candover is a touch overdone. I get that he wanted to ruin Candover, I understood why; I just didn't need the constant internal monologue about avenging his father. I did, however, really enjoy the romance between Storrington and Jacobin. Jacobin isn't your typical debutante; she’s innocent but also independent and knows what it is to put in a day's work. Aside from Storrington's obsession with revenge, he is a likeable hero with a sense of humor.
Neville's debut isn't without flaws, but it is enjoyable for a first work. I look forward to seeing what else this author has to offer.