"wonderful eighteenth century romance"

In 1764 the ennui that engulfed Earl Robin Fitzvitry ends when he observes a sight he never would have imagined ever seeing. While dining at the Tete de Boeuf Inn in Abbeville, France, he observes Sister Immaculata in the courtyard mumbling curses like a sailor in apparently several languages. Unable to resist her paradoxical profanity, he learns she needs an escort to take her to England; intrigued, Robin agrees to take her.

Sister Immaculata is actually Petra d'Averio hiding in a nun's outfit. She feels guilty because she is attracted to her escort while wearing a sister's garb. He also proves to be hiding something from her as he risks his life to keep her safe. Petra may love Robin, but leaves him so that her enemies will leave him alone. Robin refuses to accept that his beloved just left as he needs her safe and at his side.

With wit and humor, Jo Beverley proves a wonderful eighteenth century romance starring two amiable lead characters whose first encounter is one of the best in recent memory. The tale is filled with non-stop action as the rake and the nun fall in love, but out of her fear for his safety she leaves to keep safe while due to his feelings he needs to keep her protected. Jo Beverley provides a tremendous historical due to the antics of this lead couple.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 24, 2008

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Summary

When Robin Fitzvitry, the fun-loving Earl of Huntersdown, encounters a cursing nun in a French inn, he can't resist the mystery. He offers to help Sister Immaculata reach England, expecting amusement on the tedious journey home from Versailles.

Petre d'Avernio is not exactly a nun, though she has spent years in an Italian convent with her mother, whose death has left her in danger. She must find the only person who might protect her—her true father, an English lord who does not know she exists. The gorgeous earl Robin Fitzvitry will be a dangerous ally, but she's glimpsed her pursuers and must race to the coast. She will resist him, use him, and eventually escape him with her virtue and secrets intact—she hopes.