"Solid gender war tale"

After Liam Lockhart failed to regain the beastie, he married the woman who stole the valuable artifact back from him (see HIGHLANDER UNBOUND). The quest falls to his younger brother, Griffin. However, Griff lacks funding to spend any time in London even with his using the home of his best friend's grandmother while she vacations in France. He borrows heavily from his neighbor whose usury interest will cripple the lad if he fails to remit within a year to fund his search for an unknown Amelia, who allegedly bought the beastie from Lady Battenkirk who had purchased it from Liam's wife.

Anna Whittington hopes that Drake Lockhart will ask for her hand in marriage, but he seems more interested in her beautiful younger sister. Meanwhile she wonders about this so-called wealthy Scot who asks questions about her cousin, Lady Battenkirk and anyone named Amelia especially since he looks so much like last year's wealthy Scot Laird. Anna investigates and learns that Griff is an impoverished fake. She blackmails him into teaching her how to seduce Drake, but soon desires her mentor instead; he finds the beastie means little now that he is deeply in love with his troublesome student.

This entertaining Regency romance uses a theme that has been employed in many historical romances, yet the talented Julia London makes it feel as if this is the first time that an innocent asks to be trained in seduction graces a tale. The story line is fun as Griff knows from the first moment he meets Anna that her name spells trouble. This charming couple provides a solid gender war tale that readers will appreciate.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 1, 2005

Summary

Griffin Lockhart holds the key to his family's fate. Since his brother Liam failed to reclaim the priceless heirloom that could save their ancestral Scottish estate, it's now up to Grif to find it -- among the lords and ladies of fashionable London society. Disguised as a Scottish earl, Grif attends the most glittering balls, hunting for the woman who is rumored to possess his family's treasure. Along the way he catches the eye of Anna Addison, a highborn young woman whose sharp tongue and even sharper wits have limited her marital prospects but enable her to detect Grif's deception. Determined to find a husband this Season, Anna draws Grif into a scandalous bargain: She will deliver his precious heirloom -- and keep secret his true identity -- if Grif can teach her how to seduce a man and win his heart. Well aware of what a man wants from a woman, Grif reluctantly instructs her. Soon Anna is besieged by suitors and Grif's exasperation with the troublesome beauty turns into heated desire. With time running out, Grif commits a reckless act in order to claim not only his treasure, but the passionate woman he believes is his and his alone.