If You Desire second in the MacCarrick Brothers Trilogy by Kresley Cole was a mighty follow up to If You Dare.

One of Society’s notorious Weyland Eight, Jane Weyland and her seven cousins were moneyed but not aristocratic, gently bred but savvy, ladylike but jaded. She has always felt restless, always feeling she is supposed to be doing something or being somewhere else, except for a brief time in the summer when Hugh, one of the MacCarrick brothers, comes down from the Highlands. Jane had always felt Hugh was hers, since the day they met and he called her poppet in his Highland brogue.

Hugh MacCarrick has been infatuated with Jane Weyland for years, but with his family history and the help of her father he felt he had taken some irretrievable actions and could never have her. Having avoided her for years, Hugh comes storming back when he receives a missive from her father that Jane is in danger. Once Hugh is back in her presence, it is like he never left, she is more beautiful than he remembered and her laugh still lightens his heart. Hugh is back one day and marries her the next, to protect her from a madman. He takes her away alone, planning to annul the marriage when the danger is over. Jane has other plans.

Kresley Cole is a master storyteller, her background information for Jane and Hugh was deftly provided. Her female character was strong and stubborn, courageous and she knows what she wants even as she tries to achieve it through trial and error. Hugh was a strong man driven by a cursed past and ashamed of things he has done in the name of the crown. As the story unfolds you feel their wants and desires, the heartache and pain of unfulfilled needs, If You Desire will take you along on a journey that has you gasping with delight and crying with sadness. The MacCarrick Brothers Trilogy has been doubly delightful so far and I can hardly wait for If You Deceive.

Reviewed by: Dana P.