Loretta Chase, Not Quite a Lady

Not Quite a Lady

Loretta Chase

Avon, May 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 0061231231

In 1812 she was a child having a child due to the seduction of wicked Geordie Blaine while her governess failed to act. Only seventeen, Lady Charlotte Hayward is forced to give up her son. Unable to emotionally recover from the treachery of her lover and from not even holding her offspring once, Charlotte remains an enigma to the Ton, as she chose to rusticate and never marry, rejecting all suitors as she vows to be a perfect lady even if she is NOT QUITE A LADY anymore.

A decade later, Lord Hargate worries about the scholarly pursuits of his youngest son Darius, who studies animal mating behavior so that he can use what he learns to seduce women. Everyone agrees he is a heartless rake who insists love does not exist and does not care one iota what his behavior causes. His father, tired of the vulgarity of his most rakish son, exiles him to a property in Yorkshire with the hope the lad will have no oats to sow. However, next door is the challenge of a lifetime as Charlotte refuses to have anything to do with him. As the immovable meets the irresistible, sparks fly eventually into a loving inferno with Darius knowing that the way to her heart is finding her son.

This entreating and intelligent historical romance contains a strong lead couple and a fully developed support cast. The deep storyline is driven by the two-step between the immovable Charlotte and the irresistible Darius. Fans will enjoy Loretta Chase's poignant look at Regency society through the loving relationship between the fallen woman and the troublemaking mating scientist.

Harriet Klausner