Candice Hern, In the Thrill of the Night

In the Thrill of the Night

Candice Hern

Signet, Feb 2006, $6.99

ISBN: 0451217845

In 1813 the five wealthy Merry Widows serve as the board of trustees for the Benevolent Widows Fund. Though their late spouses were kind individuals, each has vowed to not marry again as they like the freedom death provided them. One of the quintet, Lady Gosworth tells her companions that she spent the winter warmed by a youthful lover. Grace, Beatrice and Marianne are shocked, while Wilhelmina just smiles. The ladies agree to consider lovers and to continue to support one another regardless.

Marianne turns to her late husband's best friend Adam Cazenove, a noted rake, for guidance. He detests the thought of Marianne with a lover, though he rationalizes that the memory of David may be why he rejects the idea. She persuades him to go over her list of possible candidates, but he finds a reason to eliminate most; those he cannot cross off in good conscience he plans to stop any tryst from happening. If anyone is going to sleep with Marianne it will be him, though he is betrothed to Clarissa Leighton-Blair, and he fears he is not the man that David was.

IN THE THRILL OF THE NIGHT is an amusing chick lit regency due to the wild antics of the lead male. Though Adam is engaged and rejects the notion of twenty nine year old Marianne remaining celibate the rest of her life (he assumes marriage one day), he cannot tolerate any of those pretenders sleeping with her, so he performs humorous intercessions to prevent the men from doing so. Fans will enjoy his zany escapades as he eventually realizes that he loves Marianne, but doubts she reciprocates because he assumes David filled her soul.