by Mary Balogh
First published 2011
Hannah Reid became Duchess of Dunbarton at nineteen when she married above her common birth. Now thirty and widowed, she claims her freedom with a bold declaration. She will take a lover, and she knows exactly who she wants: Constantine Huxtable, the most scandalous man in England's upper circles. Constantine lost his rightful title of earl due to his illegitimate birth, so he lives without restraint on his country estate. He makes a practice of seducing newly widowed women for brief, passionate encounters. Hannah seems perfect for his usual pattern. But when these two meet, their affair ignites something neither expected. What begins as a calculated arrangement becomes something far more dangerous. Both Hannah and Constantine must face the truth that desire has its own rules, and walking away unscathed may prove impossible.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult, adult-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-romance
Setting: England
Period: 19th-Century
400 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press