Julia Ross, The Wicked Lover

The Wicked Lover

Julia Ross

Berkley, Feb 2004, $13.00

ISBN: 042519406X

Robert "Dove" Dovenby finds his lover Lady Grenham burning up his wardrobe in a bonfire that will make them the talk of the town. She angrily accuses him of cheating on her with some strumpet. Dove deals with her actions with an aplomb considering he knows this will be a cold winter without his bedmate or his coat.

Disasters come in threes with the third inside his townhouse. There a lady and a young man are tied up. The gentleman explains that they are in Dove's bedroom to steal an item of clothing in order to win a wager, but were caught and tied up by Lady Grenham. Dove realizes the gentleman, who claims to be George White, is actually a lady.

Countess Sylvie Georgiana barely stays alive by destroying men. Her current assignment is to obtain Dove's secrets so that treason can be proven and he will subsequently be hung. However, he is not a peaceful dove idly letting her take her best shot. All changes when love shakes up both participants.

THE WICKED LOVER is an exhilarating Georgian romance that starts off wildly when Dove returns home to the fiery ire of his mistress. The story line never slacks off until the final vows of love as the duo duel in a fabulous cat and dove game in which his enemies want him dead. Though Dove's cool rivals that of Fonzie, he realizes that he has loved Sylvie ever since she was a "young lad" while she struggles with caring for someone when her life has been that of the ultimate survivor player. Julia Ross provides an enticing tale that fans will cherish.

Harriet Klausner