Caroline Linden, What a Woman Needs

What a Woman Needs

Caroline Linden

Zebra, Aug 2005, $3.99

ISBN: 0821779303

His father holds the title and the related purse strings as Stuart Drake learns when dad cuts him off without any money for the scandalous rumors of impropriety that is rampant amongst the Ton. Refusing to beg or correct the record, Stuart fears the small estate he recently purchased will be lost unless he marries a wealthy heiress. He chooses amiable pretty and most important rich Susan Tratter to court as his future wife though he knows he does not love her.

However, her pretty Aunt Charlotte Griffolino is like a lioness protecting her cub though the age difference between the women is slight. Charlotte wants better for her niece than a gold-digger so she fans the gossip fire that further devastates Stuart's already tattered reputation. When someone from Charlotte's past kidnaps Susan, she turns to Stuart to help rescue her niece. As they risk their lives and definitely their reputation, Charlotte and Stuart fall in love. However, she has a secret that once he learns of it she feels he will detest her; while he is abashed with how he sought wealth and believes she will never accept he found love instead.

WHAT A WOMEN NEEDS is an entertaining regency romance that sets the tone with the opening bondage scene and never slows down once Charlotte and Stuart begin battling for supremacy. The storyline is action-packed as the lead couple turns from animosity to a tryst to amateur sleuths falling in love. Though Stuart's angst seems overly done, Caroline is a unique heroine with a sexual past; together they make a formidable team starring in a fine historical tale.

Harriet Klausner