"Fresh approach lifts this romance above the oridinary."

Alleyne Bedwyn wakes up in a brothel, surrounded by four ladies of the evening and one beautiful, golden-haired angel. Seriously injured in the battle of Waterloo, Alleyne has no memory of why he's there or even who he is. Forced to rely on the kindness of these strangers, he soon learns that his angel's name is Rachel York, and his attraction to her grows stronger as his injuries heal. When he hears of the desperate straits she's in due to a charming con man, he even offers to pose as Rachel's husband to help her obtain her inheritance. "Jonathan Smith" finds himself falling in love with his pretend wife even as he realizes a real wife and family could be searching for him. Rachel has also begun to love her "husband," despite knowing that he could recover his memories at any time and return to his old life. With the past and future uncertain, she can only treasure each minute of the present.

Ms. Balogh triumphs again in the latest book in the Bedwyn series. Alleyne is charming, coping with his nightmarish situation with grace and dignity. Rachel is an independent woman who's overcome a lot of obstacles in her life, and the two balance each other beautifully. I also loved the supporting cast, especially the four ladies from the brothel. While I'm not a fan of the old amnesia plot device, Ms. Balogh always brings a freshness to such romantic clichés and lifts them above the ordinary. This book could be read as a standalone (with Alleyne's amnesia, there aren't a lot of references to his family), but you'll be cheating yourself if you don't read the whole series!

Reviewed by Lenore Howard
Posted April 14, 2004

Summary

Meet the Bedwyns--six brothers and sisters--men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality....Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction...where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal...and where Alleyne Bedwyn, the passionate middle son, is cut off from his past--only to find his future with a sinfully beautiful woman he will risk everything to love. As the fires of war raged around him, Lord Alleyne Bedwyn was thrown from his horse and left for dead--only to awaken in the bedchamber of a ladies' brothel. Suddenly the dark, handsome diplomat has no memory of who he is or how he got there--yet of one thing he is certain: The angel who nurses him back to health is the woman he vows to make his own. But like him, Rachel York is not who she seems. A lovely young woman caught up in a desperate circumstance, she must devise a scheme to regain her stolen fortune. The dashing soldier she rescued from near-death could be her savior in disguise. There is just one condition: she must pose as his wife--a masquerade that will embroil them in a sinful scandal, where a man and a woman court impropriety with each daring step...with every taboo kiss that can turn passionate strangers into the truest of lovers.