"a charming tale from a fresh "voice""

One of the things I enjoy as a reviewer is discovering new writers. Too often readers - myself included - go with what we know. The author that delivers the same thing time-after- time: Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Linda Howard. Only after reading these writers for decades, they are "comfort" reads. Like that old fuzzy sweater you curl up with on cold winter days. It's faded, nothing special, but you know it will keep you warm. Readers opting for that often will grow bored with Romance writing in general. Then it's time to branch out, find new voices. Reviewing gives me to chance to check out new talent and I am often surprised how refreshing it is to come across a new voice that has a fresh view on the basic formulae. Sure, they might not be as polished as Roberta, Krentz or Howard, but they bring something even more enchanting - passion! - a burning enthusiasm for writing that the big names often don't have anymore. Alyssa Goodnight is one of these delightful finds.

The plot is nothing really new. It's what Goodnight does with it. At twenty-five, Emily Sinclair is a spinster, firmly on the shelf, so has the advantages younger marriageable age misses are not permitted. However, she is burden with an overbearing father and shrew of a stepmother who are determined she marry within a month - to the worm of a nephew of the stepmother. Worn down, Emily agrees - with the provision if she finds another marriage proposal before the month is up, she marry this man instead. In a huff, and determined to grab life by both hands before she is caged up and married against her will, she crashes into Brandon Davenport, Viscount Ashwood.

Brandon Davenport is weary of the marriage mart and being a target for mothers with lasses needing titled husbands. He is determined to remain a bachelor. So he is delighted to find Emily is not the typical ton belle. She is mouthy and enchanting. Neither knows who the other are when highwaymen ambush them.

It doesn't take long for Emily to decide Brandon is the answer to her husband needs, but the lad has sworn never to marry. Yes, the formula is one seen dozens of times, but Goodnight brings such energy into the tale, she makes if fresh and a delight to read. Goodnight's story is imaginative, the characters charming, complex. They make you care. A sexy romance moves at a heady pace showing this is an author to take note of for future books.

So this is one of the wonderfully "fresh" voices that are a delight to discover. So tired of the same-old same-old, check out this charming story.

Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted August 28, 2005

Summary

She needs to find a husband but in truth would rather not. Miss Emily Sinclair has just answered the summons that will change her life. On the eve of spinsterhood, she is offered a month to find a willing gentleman or suffer a marriage to her stepmother's odious cousin. Neither choice seems palatable. He wants to remain a bachelor and is weary of marriage- minded misses. Lord Brandon Davenport has had more than enough of marriage— the infidelity, the gossip, the inconvenience. It has all reaffirmed his conviction to never involve himself in such a predicament. Of course, need and want are very different matters...or are they? When the two find themselves grudgingly paired in the ambush of highwaymen, temper is matched equally with desire, leading Emily to realize that Brand is the perfect prey for her husband hunt. But is Brand too cagey to be caught in her trap?