Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn

Make Me Yours is a Harlequin Blaze Historical and only 209 pages. It feels more like a novella than a novel, but it is a fun, fast read.

It takes place in England in 1887. Mariah Eller is a widow who runs an inn in the Lake Country. One night she attracts the attention of Bertie, the Prince of Wales, a womanizer who has a rule about only having affairs with married women. The Prince sends his trusted friend, Jack St. Lawrence, to find Mrs. Eller a husband and arrange the details of their liason.

Mariah feels like she has no choice because another friend of Bertie's threatens to call her debts due if she doesn't cooperate. Jack is given a list of men who would make eligible husbands and Mariah insists on meeting them before she decides on a spouse. They are a uniformly awful lot (well, except for the one that is already engaged) and the author had me laughing at some of their antics.

Besides the humor, the book also has some wonderful sexual tension. Mariah really likes Jack and thinks he would make a good husband, but she has to convince him of that which she does by driving him mad with frustration. Mariah is a delightful character and you could certainly see why Jack would be attracted to her. She was not only funny, seductive and smart (and more than a little bit manipulative), she is also caring and compassionate.

Despite the short length, Make Me Yours is an enjoyable read with an excellent heroine. I'll rate it 8.0 out of 10 and would like to read more by Betina Krahn.