Miss Sarah Hamilton, a very proper Philadelphian, couldn’t wait to have her journey end. If she thought traveling by ship was bad, squeezed into a fully loaded carriage wasn’t any better from the fetid air coming from her fellow passengers mouths and bodies. Finally arriving at the Inn near her uncle’s home, the Earl of Westbrooke, she was truly looking forward to a clean bed and chance to clean up before presenting herself on his doorstep. Unfortunately, the innkeeper taking one look at her scruffy appearance thought she was ‘in the profession’. If not for an amiable drunken lord she would never have gotten a room, but after a bath she tumbled into the bed and was out like a light. Sarah didn’t wake up until she heard a commotion at the door to her room and saw several onlookers, laughing and pointing fingers at her and – oh my God, a naked and exceptionally good looking man in her bed!
James, the Duke of Alvord, was in fact, quite delighted with his beautiful bedmate and though he’d not take advantage of the sweet thing who was sleeping so soundly when he’d arrived – was about to do just that before the interruption. Though his bedmate did not look, smell, or act like most whores, as she was pummeling him with a pillow and ordering him from her bed. Once he discovered that she was, not only the product of mistaken identity on the part of his best friend’s good intentions, but related to said friend – James, was not at all adverse in doing the honorable thing by marrying the spirited American beauty. The only problem was – she was not about to marry a duke!
**** I have to admit – I am truly enjoying these newer authors who are debuting in the regency romance genre who delight us with some fresh new slants and spicy, original and enchanting stories. Sarah was a truly likeable heroine and James was well met, though he was an absolute little devil with his double entendres that leant spice and humor to the dialogs. What I was not expecting, though it added another layer to this excellent debut, was the drama injected with James’ very evil cousin Richard. The secondary plot of Richard trying to wrest the dukedom by eliminating James was extremely dark and based upon the cover artwork and the cover description, quite a surprise and very well done. Based on this, I must say to all you lovers of romance – we just might have a new star in the making! This is definitely a new author that one should take a closer look at.
