Expected Release Date: January 1, 2012 (Available Now)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Author’s Website: http://www.leciacornwall.com/
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: No
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy
Official Blurb:
Lady Evelyn Renshaw is married to England’s most notorious traitor…
Or is she?
No one has seen Lord Philip alive for months. The Crown wants to hang him. The ton wants to know if Evelyn is as guilty as her husband, and Philip’s enemies expect Evelyn to pay the price for her husband’s sins.
Captain Sinjon Rutherford has troubles of his own. He needs a place to hide while he proves himself innocent of some very nasty charges. The Crown offers assistance, but only if Sinjon helps them uncover the truth about Evelyn’s part in her husband’s treason. He’s planted as a spy in her household, disguised as a servant. But Sinjon is no footman…and he doesn’t have time to fall in love with the enigmatic Evelyn, but the lady needs a strong protector, and a lover.
And it seems the lady has some dark secrets of her own, secrets that can get them both killed…
Lady Evelyn Renshaw might as well be a ruined woman. Married to an accused traitor, she has no idea if her husband is even alive or not, and is living in a sort of limbo, waiting for notification of her husband’s death or capture. Accosted during a ride in the park by a French spy convinced that Evelyn knows more than she’s been letting on, she’s rescued by the handsome Captain Sinjon Rutehrford, recently returned from war.
Sinjon has his own problems — he’s been falsely accused of rape, murder, and treason, while the real perpetrator is a celebrated hero, and he’s returned to England to prove his innocence. When he’s approached by agents of the Crown, he agrees to pose as a servant in Evelyn’s household to report back on whether or not Evelyn knows more than she’s letting on about her husband’s activities or whereabouts.
But neither Evelyn nor Sinjon could predict the scorching chemistry or passionate desire between them, and each has their own reasons for avoiding falling in love. Sinjon isn’t the only one keeping secrets in the Renshaw household, however, and soon both Evelyn and Sinjon find themselves in the middle of a deadly play for power…
What Worked For Me:
- Sinjon is divine. Not only does he have his own tortured history, but his determination to not only clear his name but to protect Evelyn was wonderful.
- I enjoyed Evelyn’s character as well, especially with her reluctance to enter in to an affair with anyone, let alone her new footman. Evelyn was an easy character to sympathize with,
- The chemistry and sexual tension between Evelyn and Sinjon is simply crackling on the pages, and the angst caused by their affair was fantastic.
- I normally despise adultery or infidelity in my romances, but in this case, while Evelyn was technically cheating on her husband with her affair with Sinjon, it was not only forgivable but also understandable given the circumstances.
- I absolutely adored the fact that Sinjon was placed in Evelyn’s house to spy on her, and that his own situation made him powerless to stand up to his superior when he started to develop feelings for Evelyn.
- I also really enjoyed the drama of Evelyn’s family, from their own secrets, to their insistence that Evelyn take a lover for her own good.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
- I prefer that villains, especially those married to one of the protagonists, have some sort of redeeming quality. This adds extra drama to the story, in my opinion, and when Philip was made out to be completely awful, it too away from the story a small bit.
Full of mystery, suspense, angst, and steam, I loved that I actually wound up caring about the characters and was completely enthralled by the relationship between Evelyn and Sinjon.
The angst caused by Sinjon’s deception was delicious, and the suspense and action in the story kept me drawn in from the very first chapter. I found that the pacing was wonderful, even though it took a while for any sort of physical relationship between Evelyn and Sinjon to actually begin, and the mystery of both Philip’s whereabouts and the location of a missing relic certainly kept things moving.
While this was my first experience with Lecia Cornwall, I can guarantee that it won’t be my last.
4/5 Stars
