The Wedding Night of an English Rogue
Jillian Hunter

In 1814, Colonel Sir Russell Althorne asks his officer Lieutenant Colonel Lord Heath Boscastle to keep his fianc e Julia safe while he is in France searching for crazy French espionage agent Armand Auclair. Heath has survived war, imprisonment, torture, and family; he would do any of those over again rather then spend time with the widow Julia Hepworth, but he owes Russell for saving his life so he reluctantly agrees. Six years ago, Heath met Julia when she shot him and he followed up by kissing her. He never forgot her, but she rejected his advances and married someone else who since died in India.

Julia also never forgot the kiss that in spite of a husband and a fianc has been the sexual highlight of her life. She became engaged to Russell when he helped her after her husband and dad died close to one another, but no longer grieving she has doubts about marrying Russell.

Heath's brother Grayson tells him Russell has impregnated his mistress and suggests he seduce his beloved Julia as Russell no longer deserves loyalty. As Heath and Julia fall in love, they first must deal with Auclair, who is in England not France, and then Russell.

From the moment the lead couple re-meets for the first time in six years, the heated romance between them makes the tale although the suspense is strong as the audience anticipates showdowns with her fianc and the crazed clever killer. The return of characters from the first Boscastle novel SEDUCTION OF AN ENGLISH SCOUNDREL adds strength to a fine story line although the finish is real but anticlimactic.

Ivy, Jul 2005, $6.99
ISBN: 0345461231

Harriet Klausner