"excellent Regency romance"

In 1819 London, the Marquis of Middleton, heir to the Redford Duchy, loves women and gaming. His father the Duke wants Jared to wed their neighbor Elizabeth Robertson, but he refuses. Instead Jared Broderick prefers to enjoy life with the Widow Miranda Waterstone.

Sisters Ava and Phoebe Fairchild and their cousin Greer are best friends. At a ball, Ava's heel breaks just before she declines Jared request to dance. He angrily assumes she is cutting him because of his rakish reputation. Ava leaves, but her footman places her in the wrong carriage. Inside is Jared, who kisses and caresses her breasts before she stops him and explains her heel broke. When Ava's mother suddenly dies, their stepfather Egbert tells them that since he controls their money they will mourn in poverty while he goes to France to spend time with his lover. When he returns he will marry them to the highest bidder. Greer leaves for Wales to find her uncle and rescue the three of them.

In 1820, Redford tells Jared to marry Elizabeth or else he will cut him off. Jared considers wedding Miranda, who says they cannot because his dad will cut them off. Jared realizes Miranda loves his title and wealth. He needs an acceptable wife so when he sees Ava he decides she is perfect. Ava thinks the rakish duke is perfect as a husband to help her and her sister. Can this be enough to form a relationship, let alone a loving one?

Readers will appreciate the first Fairchild's Regency romance starring an intriguing lead couple supported by a solid strong secondary cast. The story line is a welcome fun straightforward romance though that also means the lead couple is typical of the sub-genre. Julia London leaves the Highlands for a fine historical romance.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 24, 2006

Summary

USA Today bestselling author Julia London, "a gifted and versatile author" (Publishers Weekly), introduces a sexy, wildly romantic and emotionally charged new trilogy in which three aristocratic young ladies, upon discovering they are destitute, resort to desperate means to keep up appearances...and find the husbands of their dreams.

When the young ladies of the Fairchild family learn that their stepfather has absconded with their late mother's fortune, Ava, the eldest, hunts down the notoriously wealthy rakehell Jared Broderick, the Marquis of Middleton and heir to a dukedom. Much to her shock and delight, the marquis sweeps her into a whirlwind romance and proposes marriage. But after their passionate wedding night, Ava discovers Jared has ulterior motives of his own. Not only does he expect her to deliver an heir while he continues to enjoy a rogue's life, but Ava also suspects she is a pawn in her husband's quest for revenge. Marriages of convenience work for some, but for Ava a loveless bond won't do. So she devises a bold plan to confront her husband's demons so that he might be free to choose to give her his heart for the right reason: because she is the only woman he will ever truly desire.