A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath is a masterclass in emotional storytelling, sweeping readers into a Victorian whirlwind of passion, vulnerability, and redemption. Heath’s signature blend of historical richness and character depth shines brilliantly in this standalone gem from the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James series.

Viscount Langdon, scarred by a railway accident and hiding on a secluded island, is the perfect brooding hero—his isolation pierced by the arrival of Marlowe, a daring aeronaut and infamous courtesan whose balloon crash-lands into his world. Their chemistry ignites instantly, but Heath resists the easy path, crafting a slow-burn romance that simmers with tension and tenderness. Langdon’s struggle with dyscalculia adds poignant layers to his character, while Marlowe’s secrets and emotional resilience make her one of Heath’s most compelling heroines.

The storm that traps them together becomes a metaphor for the tempest within—grief, longing, and the fear of love’s consequences. Heath’s prose is lush and evocative, painting both the physical setting and emotional stakes with cinematic flair. The steamy scenes are breathtaking, but it’s the emotional intimacy that lingers: two wounded souls daring to hope for more than fleeting desire.

Fans of Heath’s earlier works will delight in the subtle callbacks, while newcomers will find a fully satisfying tale of love against the odds. With its soaring premise and grounded emotional truths, A Tempest of Desire is not just a romance—it’s a revelation. Prepare to be swept away.

Lorraine Heath is the absolute best of the best and if I could recommend one historical romance author to people it would be hers! Pick this one, pick any one they will not disappoint and just keep reading them. You're lucky if unlike me you have a whole gorgeous backlist to indulge in.

This author is one of my longtime favorites and I pretty much always will read any new book. She puts out, but I have to admit that I’m struggling a little bit now with this series. This could just be my own evolving and changing preferences when it comes to historical romance, but I find myself struggling with the excessive male possessiveness and dominance aspects that are in this novel in particular. I’m tending to like books with more overly feminist perspectives lately and so I really struggled so much with how the hero in this novel perceives the heroine especially because that perception isn’t really shown to change. He consistently perceives her as really nothing but a sexual object to acquire he is constantly describing her with his own biases and expectations, despite her constantly showing herself to differ from those expectations. And even the expectations themselves are so offensive because it’s like he doesn’t even see her as an actual human being and real person, but rather just as a prostitute for him to idealized and cover it. I wasn’t surprised that this was how he first saw her, but I kept expecting to see his perspective change, but throughout a large portion of the book, he just kept making these judgments and treatments of her that honestly were just starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Anytime that we’re in his POV. It’s really clear for like 75% of the book that he just sees her as a sexual object and it’s almost the only thing he thinks of constantly no matter what they’re talking about her doing at the particular moment. I was never convinced that there was anything about her that he truly saw and admired other than the sexual attraction he feels for her, which is largely based on a mythology he’s created in his mind about what somewhat like her must be like. So for me, this one was a bit of a mess. However, it was not a poorly told story. The writing is as strong as ever, so my feelings on it are probably merely personal opinion when it comes to this type of story and not an indictment of bad storytelling.

Marlowe - an unconventional woman crashes her hot air balloon on the island hideaway of Viscount Langdon. The two have history and as Marlowe convalesces and they wait for a storm to pass, they begin to realize their feelings cannot be ignored. Lorraine Heath is known for her unconventional story plotlines, and this book is no exception. I wanted to like this, but it felt very long in the middle. There was too much exposition, and I lost interest in the couple's HEA. The chemistry and reasons for not getting together fell flat for me. I will still be reading Lorraine Heath in future, but this one wasn't for me. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to an e-ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is book five in the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James series, and while it can be read as a standalone, I would not recommend starting the series here. I enjoy Lorraine Heath's writing overall, but this book fell flat for me. It is the story of Langdon and Marlowe who have previously met, but are somewhat thrown together when he rescues her after her balloon crashes near his island and she washes up on the shore. The characters were well developed in their backstories, but the story felt 'phoned in'. It just didn't seem to really take off. It was fairly predictable and pretty boring all around. Would I still recommend this author? Yes, absolutely. Would I recommend this book? As part of the series, yes. As just a single title to read, probably not. Three stars.

A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath is the story of Marlowe and Viscount Langdon. This turns out to be a slightly different type of written HEA from the usual historical ones. In this story Marlowe is a well-known courtesan as well as a balloonist who finds herself off course in a storm that washes her up on the shore of Langdon's hideaway. Langdon cloistered himself away after having suffered a horrific accident that leaves him plagued by nightmares and his solitude is his balm for many reasons. Marlowe turns out to be what he needed, just he also helps her with some introspection. This book builds slowly, but it is worth it to get to the ending. I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am happily leaving this review.

Two scarred and world weary people find their way towards love. They are both attracted to one another by have kept their distance until of all things, she lands on his remote beach from a hot air balloon!

Angsty and fairly predictable.

Lorraine Heath has long been one of my go-to authors for historical romance, thanks to her unique plots, compelling characters, and interconnected series. I eagerly anticipated Viscount Langdon’s story in A Tempest of Desire, as I have loved the second-generation series, The Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James.

The premise is quintessential Heath—an isolated viscount with a hidden secret is seeking solitude on his family’s private island when his wish for companionship is unexpectedly granted by Marlowe—who quite literally falls into his world from a hot-air balloon. The stage is set for this forced proximity, class difference romance with smart banter, caretaking, and lust that leads to friendship and love. Their chemistry sparkles, creating an engaging dynamic that kept me invested. However, while I enjoyed their interactions, I unfortunately found the romance itself lacking the deep emotional depth and swoon-worthy moments that Heath typically delivers.

Marlowe, as a strong and independent heroine, was a standout. Her personal journey leading her to choose work as a courtesan intrigued me, and I wanted nothing more than to see her find happiness. Though this book doesn’t rank as highly for me compared to others in the series, I still found much to appreciate and I will gladly follow wherever Heath takes me next.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Rounded up for NetGalley rating)

CW: PTSD; death; alcoholism; death of a parent

It pains me to write this review, and I’ve been putting it off for MONTHS. Let me start by saying that I absolutely ADORE Lorraine Heath. She is, hands down, my favorite historical romance author. She can do no wrong in my book.

But this book wasn’t it. And it pains me to say that I did not like it.

I had such high hopes for A Tempest of Desire, too! The premise sounded like the perfect amount of bonkers that I come to expect from Lorraine Heath. She can make those wild, outlandish plots work like no one else. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a story of a woman who CRASH LANDS HER BALLOON and washes up on shore on the private, secluded island of Viscount? That sounded like so much fun! But honestly, it felt like nothing really happened in this book, and I struggled to stay engaged during the parts where they were on the island together. I was, and I hate to say this, a bit bored while reading it. It wasn’t until they went back into society that it felt like this picked up for me, but that unfortunately comes quite late in the book.

The romance is where this book really fell flat for me, which pains me SO much to say. Lorraine Heath can write the most emotionally charged, heartbreakingly angsty, and incredibly swoonworthy romances. And yet. With this book, I didn’t understand why we were supposed to care if Langdon and Marlowe got together or not. Their entire relationship felt like it was based on lust, and I felt that there was no emotional connection. It also felt like they were more in love with the IDEA of the other person than anything else. And the fact that she was essentially another man’s mistress for the majority of the book – something that is mentioned a lot – didn’t add the tension I wanted and kind of killed the mood. I wanted the romance to have more substance, more feelings, more tension – just more overall.

Now I will admit, it has been nearly a decade since I’ve read the Scandalous Gentleman of St. James series, so I truly did not remember who Viscount Langdon is. I do wonder if having that backstory would help a bit, as I struggled to feel a connection to him. He was a bit of a drama queen and very “woe is me” at the beginning. And I get it – he did go through something incredibly traumatic. But the way he was acting in the beginning felt over the top. I appreciated learning more about the struggles he faced after his accident. You could see that it profoundly affected his self-worth, but I loved how supportive his family was once he opened up to them. Langdon made some questionable choices in how he pursued his relationship with Marlowe, which definitely impacted my enjoyment of the romance, but he came around in the end. I just wish we saw his emotional struggles and journey in the romance play out more on the page.

Marlowe was a conundrum to me. I felt like I wanted to root for her, but also like I didn’t know her? She’s supposed to be this incredibly famous courtesan, but I wasn’t buying that as she’s only really been on the scene for a hot second with one guy. While you learn more about her past, I still felt that she was somewhat two-dimensional, even though there were elements there that felt like they should build her out more.

As much as I was hoping to love A Tempest of Desire, it was not for me. But I still absolutely love Lorraine Heath and will continue to read anything and everything she writes! The Duchess Hunt remains my favorite historical romance and a book I highly recommend to everyone. Her Westerns hold a very special place in my heart, and everyone should read them! So even though this book didn’t work for me, I’ll still be here, shouting about my love for Lorraine Heath’s books every day.

Thank you to Avon Books/NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts, ideas, and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Another excellent, adventurous, and deliciously sexy book from a reigning queen of Historical Romance, Lorraine Heath.

Forced proximity, class differences, secret identities, grief, and true love.

I wanted to like this but I had a hard trying to get into this story. I think I decided that it wasn’t for me and that’s alright.

Crash landing in her hot air balloon, Marlowe washes up on the shore of an isolated island inhabited by Viscount Langdon. He rescues the most beautiful and well known courtesan in London. The lady he's desired for a long time. She desires Langdon, though she is the mistress of someone else. He carries a secret from a railroad accident. She keeps her own secret. Passion flares until it can't be denied. They're lovers, not a courtesan and her protector. Heath delivers a very sensual and compassionate romance.
Descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

There was a lot of angst and buildup in this slow-burn book which focused on a viscount and a courtesan holed up on his desert island, building on attraction that initially sparked when they were first in society. However the angst became rather repetitive, comprising 3/4 of the book until the last bit where everything changed. The plot was shallow and in general, this trope is a hard one for me to swallow, but Lorraine Heath is a classic. I just preferred this less than her other works. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Lovely romance, but what can you expect from Lorraine Heath. She is one of kind. If you are looking for a swoon worthy hero, great banter ,and a destiny type romance, this book is for you!

This was a pleasant read, though a bit slow in the beginning. There is forced proximity, a depressed viscount and a lower-class woman who does what she can to get by. They are both scarred and both stubborn. There is attraction between them and even though I think the author was going for sizzling, it mostly came across as tepid. A nice story with not too much drama, I recommend it for when you are looking for something nice and soothing.

Thanks #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #ATempestofDesire by Lorraine Heath in exchange for an honest review.

I am a total and complete fan of Lorraine Heath's books. I have yet to read one that I didn't love. She can take the most bonkers storylines and make me totally on board for it. This book wasn't totally bonkers but it was still amazing. I loved both Langdon and Marlowe at every point in the book and I can't say that very often. I especially loved that Marlowe was a balloonist (probably not the correct term for it). I don't think I've ever read a book with a female hot air balloon pilot. I also adore both the mistress trope and forced proximity so that was a bonus to this book that made me love it even more. Make time in your reading to read this one, it's worth it!

The first half of this novel involves only two characters marooned on an isolated island in the middle of a storm. Lord Langdon has been hiding as he recovers from a railway accident and Marlowe has crashed down in a hot air balloon. There's chemistry, forced proximity and a huge social divide - she's a courtesan and he's a Viscount - but there's very little action. It's obvious that both have secrets but each is holding their cards close to the vest. The pacing is extremely slow. Eventually the couple will return to London and society and will need to confront their differences. But not a whole lot happens in this book. I had to make myself finish this book, it did get more interesting in the second half.

This is just one of those Lorraine Heath historical romances where you have to suspend your disbelief and be like, yeah, sure, an air-balloon-flying courtesan who lands on a tiny island in a thunderstorm. I'm not here for realism, I'm here for yearning and happily-ever-afters. And in that regard, it did a phenomenal job. Marked down a tiny bit because Lorraine Heath loves a good cast of characters, and this title felt a little lacking (especially if you didn't read the series focusing on the generation prior).

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! I just couldn't get in the mood for this one, but I do love this author!

I enjoyed this book overall. I really loved both the main characters individually. Marlowe is a courtesan who is also an adventurer (and who has a secret past). Viscount Langdon is popular, handsome, and from a loving family with a secret at present. Personally, I am not a fan of insta-love or insta-lust and it was hard to get past that with these two characters. While I think Heath eventually made the love make sense, it was difficult for me to buy the story at first. I do think both these characters are interesting and the story was a quick read.