Gaelen Foley, Her Only Desire

Her Only Desire

Gaelen Foley

Ballantine, Apr 2007, $7.99

ISBN: 0345497287

In 1817 Marquess Ian Prescott cuts off his vacation to try to prevent a major war from occurring in India. The English plan to end the deadly assaults of the lethal Pindari Horde which have been harming the Hindu and English. He needs to persuade King Johar the Maharajah of Janpor not to come to the aid of one of the other five kingdoms that make up the Maratha Empire as his compatriot and brother-in-law King Baji Rao protects the deadly horde inside his kingdom. Johar has a deep problem as he is honor-bound to come to the aid of any Maratha Empire kingdom, but agrees with Ian that the horde is destroying innocent people, including Hindus.

Prim and proper Ian reaches Calcutta where he watches the un-chaperoned Georgiana Knight rescue a close friend whose husband died so she is expected to commit suicide by their families. He is attracted to her and her to him, but he fears her independent feistiness could harm his mission while she does not trust him to do the right thing by the people of India. In Janpor they reach a tentative agreement to help prevent a wider contagion even as their desire for one another ignites only to get hotter when they travel to England together.

Though the behavior of the out-of-control George could prove dangerous to others (good intentions aside), readers will enjoy this strong historical romance that brings to life India during the Regency period. The lead couple is a fine paring of a proper aristocrat expecting certain behavior from others and a wild woman used to having her way. Yet they share courage, caring of others, and love. Gaelen Foley provides a fast-paced, early-nineteenth-century tale.

Harriet Klausner