Sari Robbins, What to Wear to a Seduction

What to Wear to a Seduction

Sari Robbins

Avon, May 2006, $5.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0060782471

In 1811 London, Prescott Devane has vowed to never be an escort again after overhearing the Ton talk about him with disdain. As he recovers from injuring his hands rescuing a little girl who was on fire at the orphanage where he was raised, he is also mentally shook up because of the murder of his mentor Headmaster Dunn, and his best friend at the orphanage who married someone else and kept it a secret from him that she was an aristocrat in hiding.

Widow Lady Edwina Ross tries to hire Prescott as a fianc to help her catch an aristocratic blackmailer. He says no until she mentions she has business ties at the docks that could help his ventures, so he agrees. Then he kisses her; both are shook by the reaction. At the same time Spymaster Tristan Wheaton asks his retired mentor Sir Lee to unmask Alexander Quince who is blackmailing the Ton, apparently using information gathered from espionage circles. As the two cases converge, Prescott and Edwinna fall in love, but he knows she is too good for him.

The fine lead couple whose diverse background serves as a key ingredient in the plot makes this an excellent Regency romance, as their relationship slowly grows once respect occurs. The solid support cast, especially her peers at the Society for Enrichment & Learning for Females and those at the orphanage, add depth to understanding Prescott and Edwinna respectively. Though the climax seems too easy, fans will enjoy Sari Robin's latest "Anderson Hall" tale (see ONE WICKED NIGHT and MORE THAN A SCANDAL).