On Second Thought - - A Rose for Maggie

A Rose for Maggie

By Eileen Dreyer writing as Kathleen Korbel

Publisher: Eileen Dreyer

Release Date: December 14, 2016

(Originally published as Silhouette Intimate Moment #396,

July 1, 1991)

 

River Roads Publishing, a small, regional company, has scored big with the Binkley Brothers series, children’s books written and illustrated by L. Wood Dowd. The head of PR is eager to seize the moment and have the popular author touring across the country, but Dowd, an obvious pseudonym, zealously protects his identity.  The publishers know only his post office box number, the sound of his answering machine, and the skill of his lawyer. Allison Henley, Dowd’s editor, is assigned the task of tracking down the man behind the name. She is uneasy about the task, believing that Dowd has a right to his privacy, but with her job at stake, she feels that she has little choice but to comply. A single mother with a special needs daughter, she needs her job because it allows her the flexibility to earn a living and still be there when her child needs her. Thus, after some clever detective work, on a spring day, she prepares to meet Dowd, one Joseph Burgett, at his home. Allison’s image of Dowd as a white-haired cross between Mark Twain and Santa Claus is shattered the moment she meets the real Joe.

Joe Burgett is a man happy with his life. He is a carpenter who takes pride in his work and enjoys being one of the guys. He is an indulgent uncle who delights in the nieces and nephews with which his many siblings have obligingly provided him. He is a musician who plays a mean saxophone. His success as Dowd has allowed him to buy an old Victorian house he has coveted since childhood. He knows that he cannot preserve his anonymity forever, but he is reluctant to have fame change his comfortable life. Regardless of his reservations, he can’t resist Allison, the pretty, cautious young woman who has him thinking that his plans for someday may have shifted into present tense.

Allison is no less attracted to Joe and the more she sees of him, the more irresistible she finds him. But Allison has determined that there is no room in her life for romance. Her first priority is Maggie, her beautiful six-month old daughter who has Down syndrome and a heart defect that threatens her life. If Maggie’s own father could abandon her four days after her birth, unable to deal with an imperfect child, how can Allison expect another man to accept Maggie? Joe falls more and more in love with Allison and with adorable Maggie, but can he deal with the challenges that come with loving this mother and daughter? And can he persuade Allison that what they can be together is worth the risk to her heart?

I almost danced with joy when Eileen Dreyer announced that she was reissuing the books she had written as Kathleen Korbel. I eagerly downloaded them as they were released and waited for my favorite, A Rose for Maggie. This book has been on my keeper shelf and on my list of all-time best romances since the summer in 1991 when I first read it. I have reread it countless times since and loved it more with each rereading. For more than twenty-five years, it has been one of the books I cite in my response to those who ramble on about the limitations of romance.

Korbel/Dreyer takes on a tough subject and presents it with clarity and empathy. Allison and Joe are deeply human characters who are confronted with real problems. They are likable, even more so because they are not perfect. Allison, whose devotion to Maggie is genuine and powerful, is torn by fear and guilt. Joe has to ask himself not only whether he can be a father to Maggie but whether his love for Allison is great enough to surrender some of his own dreams. This novel not only touches the reader’s heart; it also pushes her to think some long thoughts.

Allison is both strong and vulnerable, and her anguish and conflict pack a huge emotional punch. Joe is quite simply one of the best heroes ever—smart, funny, loving, honest, generous, and all the other qualities that are most essential in the catalog of heroic qualities. I don’t think it is mere coincidence that this Joseph is a carpenter who commits to loving and rearing a child that is not his own. Yet sainthood aside, he is real. Maggie is not just a generic baby with a problem. She is a definite person in her own right. Lucille, who helps care for Maggie, and Joe’s large, loving family are also deftly drawn. Even the Binkley Brothers, the monsters who inhabit Joe’s books and whom the reader meets in excerpts, are memorable. And the ending is perfect.

A Rose for Maggie won a Rita in 1992, and it won a permanent place on the best of romance list of many readers. To say I highly recommend this book feels like an understatement. If I could send you all copies with a message saying “Please read this. You will be glad you did,” I would do so. If you have not read it, I hope you will. If you have not read it recently, it is well worth a reread.

~Janga

Review - - Twice Tempted

TWICE TEMPTED

A Drake’s Rakes Novel

Author: Eileen Dreyer

Publisher:  Grand Central

Release Date: November 25, 2014

This is the first book by Eileen Dreyer I’ve ever read. When PJ offered me the ARC of Twice Tempted, I was very excited to read it because I’d head good things about her books, and the premise of this story sounded great.  While there were a few aspects of the book I liked, unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I’d hoped I would.

Twice Tempted is the story of Alex Knight, Lord Whitmore, and Fiona Ferguson. Alex is a member of Rake’s Drakes, a group of aristocrats who are secretly covert agents for the Crown. Years ago, Alex saved Fiona and her twin sister Mairead from life on the streets and delivered them to the safety of their grandfather’s home. Or so he thought. Little did Alex know that the Ferguson girls’ grandfather was a cold, harsh man more concerned with reputation and appearance then their well-being, and would throw them back out on the street at the first opportunity.  Once Alex finds out, he’s determined to find Fiona and her sister and help them take their rightful place in society. However, fate intervenes and instead, Fiona and Alex get caught up in a complicated web of secrets, lies, murder, and treason.

Fiona Ferguson is a woman who seems to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders.  Charged with the care of  Mairead from a young age, she has become stoic, independent, and fierce, and protective. Through bitter experiences from her past, she learns to rely and trust no one.  While Fiona has indeed been tested enough for ten lifetimes, and her strength and determination is incredibly admirable, her character frustrated me at times. Her flight or flight response seems perpetually set to flight. Every time an obstacle is encountered, her instinct is to run away and start over, instead of making the hard decisions and having the hard conversations to deal with the issue. Fiona never trusts Alex’s feelings, and keeps chalking it up to his feelings of honor and duty.  In fact, her choice to run one last time was especially maddening because it was SO self-sacrificing that it bordered on martyrdom.  Her rationale was that she loved Alex too much to make him choose between her and his father, so she and Mairead were going to disappear to spare him that agonizing choice.  While noble on the surface, added to a litany of similar thoughts and actions, it became way too much. For some reason, she also keeps beating herself up for what she’s done in her past, as if it were all her responsibility and all within her control. Many would consider what she did to survive and protect her sister admirable, but Fiona thinks herself inadequate and unworthy of the love of a good man because of her “failures”.  However, I will say that I really enjoyed the relationship between the sisters, and truly do admire the kindness and patience Fiona exhibits in dealing with Mairead, whose quirks and idiosyncrasies stem from a form of autism and can make her challenging to manage.

From the beginning, Alex Knight is a man haunted by demons from his past. He has incredibly high expectations of himself and like Fiona, beats himself up for every perceived failure and shortcoming. I never fully understood why he seemed compelled to take on everyone’s problem as his own and blame himself every time something went wrong, even when it was clearly out of his control.  There were moments I wanted to shake him and tell him to get over himself, and to give himself a break already.  I also found his near-worship of Fiona a bit disconcerting. He clearly has held a torch for Fiona for quite some time, but he seems to have put her on a pedestal and think she can do no wrong.  That is a relationship dynamic I have trouble dealing with.  However, I do like that he is honorable and brave, and determined to protect Fiona and Mairead no matter what the costs. One of my favorite parts of the book is the relationship between Alex an d his father, Sir Joseph. The father/son dynamic was really wonderfully done.

I did like the suspense and mystery aspect of the book, and Dreyer does a great job of depicting the slums and rookeries of London. I also really enjoyed the wide cast of secondary characters, including street urchin Lennie and Alex’s friend Chuffy, who ends up having a sweet secondary romance with Mairead. In fact, sad to say, I ended up liking the Chuffy/Mairead relationship better than Alex and Fiona’s.

While Eileen Dreyer’s books and stories appeal to many, Twice Tempted definitely did not work for me. I didn’t connect to the couple, and while the plot was good, I wasn’t wowed by the writing. I may give her books another chance in the future, but given what I’ve read so far, I don’t have high hopes.

~Lisa

Historical Hookup Blog Tour

We're delighted to welcome the Forever "Get Hooked on Historicals" blog tour to the Romance Dish today.  This tour celebrates new books from historical romance authors Elizabeth Hoyt, Eileen Dreyer, Jennifer Delamere, Anne Barton and Lily Dalton.  Research is an intrinsic part of writing a good historical romance and good research usually helps me learn something while reading that romance.  What, we wondered, have the creative minds behind those books learned from their research? Read on to discover the most interesting thing each of our five authors has learned from researching.

“What is the most interesting thing you learned from researching?”

Elizabeth Hoyt, DUKE OF MIDNIGHT:

Ha! Lots. Recently I learned that actresses in the Georgian period didn't have nearly the bad rep as they did later—most were professional women without "protectors." Also, there were a lot of women playwrights.

WHEN A MASKED MAN . . .

Twenty years ago Maximus Batten witnessed the brutal murders of his parents. Now the autocratic Duke of Wakefield, he spends his days ruling Parliament. But by night, disguised as the Ghost of St. Giles, he prowls the grim alleys of St. Giles, ever on the hunt for the murderer. One night he finds a fiery woman who meets him toe-to-toe-and won't back down . . . 

MEETS HIS MATCH . . .

Artemis Greaves toils as a lady's companion, but hiding beneath the plain brown serge of her dress is the heart of a huntress. When the Ghost of St. Giles rescues her from footpads, she recognizes a kindred spirit-and is intrigued. She's even more intrigued when she realizes who exactly the notorious Ghost is by day . . . 

DESIRE IGNITES A DANGEROUS PASSION

Artemis makes a bold move: she demands that Maximus use his influence to free her imprisoned brother-or she will expose him as the Ghost. But blackmailing a powerful duke isn't without risks. Now that she has the tiger by the tail, can she withstand his ire-or the temptation of his embrace?

The author of the New York Times bestselling Maiden Lane series and the Legend of Four Soldiers series as well as the Prince Trilogy, Elizabeth Hoyt writes "mesmerizing" (Publishers Weekly) historical romances. She also pens deliciously fun contemporary romances under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in central Illinois with three untrained dogs, two angelic but bickering children, and one long-suffering husband. Central Illinois can be less than exciting, and Elizabeth is always more than happy to receive missives from her readers. You can write to her at: P.O. Box 17134, Urbana, IL 61873 and connect with her online at Facebook and Twitter.

Eileen Dreyer, ONCE A RAKE:

Oh, that's a tough one. I've learned so much. I think that for this trilogy it is that the Regency period was a true Renaissance period for amateur scientists, and that those scientists made amazing discoveries. Men and women of leisure made break-throughs in every science from astronomy to chemistry to physics to paleontology. For instance, there was a sixteen-year-old girl named Mary Anning who lived in Lyme Regis (and makes a cameo in ONCE A RAKE) during that era, who discovered the first entire, intact dinosaur skeleton. Not only did Mary, an uneducated girl, make some of the most dramatic contributions to the new science of paleantology, she opened the door through which Darwin walked, and challenged her contemporaries' belief in God (if God was infallible, how could there be evidence of an animal that no longer walked the earth. How could God make a mistake?).

All he wants is her help . . .Colonel Ian Ferguson may be a rake, but he's no traitor. Accused of trying to kill the Duke of Wellington, the disgraced Scotsman is now a fugitive-from the law, the army, and the cunning assassin who hunts him. Wounded and miles from his allies, Ian finds himself at the mercy of an impoverished country wife. The spirited woman is achingly beautiful . . . and hiding some dangerous secrets of her own.

All she needs is his heart . . . 

She was a child nobody wanted. Now for Lady Sarah Clarke, holding on to her vanished husband's crumbling estate is her final chance to earn respectability. She knows that hiding the devastatingly handsome Ferguson will jeopardize her home. Common sense demands that she turn him in. But a single, delirious kiss shatters her resolve . . . and awakens a passion that neither of them can escape.

New York Times best-selling author Eileen Dreyer has won five RITA Awards from the Romance Writers of America, which secures her  fourth place in the Romance Writers of America prestigious Hall of Fame. Eileen is an addicted traveler, having sung in some of the best Irish pubs in the world.  Eileen also writes as Kathleen Korbel and has over three million books in print worldwide. Born and raised in Missouri, she lives in St. Louis County with her husband Rick and her two children. Connect with Eileen online at Facebook and Twitter.

Jennifer Delamere, A LADY MOST LOVELY:

When doing research for A Lady Most Lovely, I came across an amazing tidbit about a shipwreck off the southern coast of Australia. A racehorse aboard that ship survived by swimming seven miles to the shore. That’s how the story of Tom Poole and his stallion was born.

A Heart of Gold

Socialite Margaret Vaughn is the wealthiest heiress in London-or so everybody thinks. Saddled with debt left by her father, she agrees to marry a rich man who can save her family's estate. But when her fiancé turns out to be just another poor social climber, Margaret faces financial ruin-and social humiliation. Just when she thinks all is lost, she finds an unlikely angel in Tom Poole . . . 

After amassing a fortune in the gold fields of Australia and surviving a harrowing shipwreck, Tom Poole is the toast of London society. Yet despite his newfound fame, he's never forgotten his own humble beginnings. When he learns of Margaret's plight, he offers her financial assistance-but his interest is not strictly business. Taken with her beauty and grace, the rugged adventurer wants nothing more than to win Margaret's heart. But can he convince the proper, refined lady that, despite their social differences, they are a match made in heaven?

The youngest child of a Navy pilot and a journalist, Jennifer acquired a love of adventure and an excitement for learning that continues to this day. She's lived in three countries and traveled throughout the U.S. An avid reader of classics and historical fiction, she also enjoys biographies and histories, which she mines for the vivid details to bring to life the characters and places in her books. She resides with her husband in North Carolina--where, when not writing or dreaming up romantic adventures for her characters, she can be found fantasizing about her next ski trip or European vacation.  Connect with Jennifer online at Facebook and Twitter.  

Anne Barton, ONCE SHE WAS TEMPTED:

The Portrait of Madame Recamier (1802) served as inspiration for my heroine’s scandalous portraits. Though the beautiful young woman in the painting, Juliette, was known for being kind and affectionate, she didn’t get her own happily-ever-after. Married at the age of fifteen to a man thirty years older—and who apparently had an attachment to her mother—Juliette was still a virgin at the age of forty. At least the style of sofa that she liked to recline and pose on was named after her—the recamier.

A PORTRAIT OF A LADY. . . or is it? The risqué painting owned by Benjamin Elliot, the earl of Foxburn, features a stunning beauty with sapphire eyes, golden hair, and creamy skin. Ben recognizes this particular English rose the instant he meets her-though she's wearing considerably more clothing. In person, the demure debutante is even more irresistible . . . 

In desperate need of money for her sick mother, Daphne Honeycote had posed for two scandalous portraits. Now she must hide her secret to save the Honeycote family name. Ben's possession of one painting makes him an insufferable thorn in her side-and yet he may be her best chance at finding the canvas's companion. As she becomes drawn to the dark-tempered earl, can Daphne risk laying bare the secrets of her heart?

Anne Barton began swiping romance novels off her mom's bookshelf as a teenager, so when she had the chance to spend a semester in London-home to her favorite heroes-she packed her bags and promptly fell in love with the city, its history, and its pubs. She dreamed of writing romance, but somehow ended up a software analyst instead.

Fortunately, a few years and a few careers later, Anne found her way back to writing the stories she loves and in 2011 won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart® for Regency Historical Romance. She lives in Maryland with her husband (who, sadly, is not a peer of the realm-but a great guy nonetheless) and her three children, who try valiantly not to roll their eyes whenever she quotes Jane Austen. Her weaknesses include reality TV, cute-but-impractical shoes, and caffeinated beverages of all kinds. Connect with Anne online at Facebook and Twitter.  

Lily Dalton, NEVER DESIRE A DUKE:

I enjoyed researching Regency Christmas traditions for Never Desire a Duke. Christmas, in that time period, was much more low key than what we celebrate now. Instead of putting up gobs of decorations, and spending too much money on gifts, and being subjected to in-your-face marketing at every turn, a Regency Christmas usually meant a gathering of family and friends for a time spent together and a nicer than usual meal. Those celebrating might attend a church service, or undertake to do some sort of charity for those less fortunate. There were traditions like mistletoe and the kissing bough, and waits (or carolers) might come around and offer a song. All in all, I really liked the simplicity of Christmas in those days and that it was more focused on people than “stuff”.

A Marriage Beyond Hope

Lady Sophia has long been estranged from her husband, Vane Barwick, the Duke of Claxton, whose rumored list of amorous conquests includes almost every beautiful woman of the ton. Yet a shocking encounter with him in a crowded ballroom-and a single touch-are all it takes to reawaken her furious passion for him. But how can she trust the man who crushed her dreams and took away the one thing she wanted most?

A Love Beyond Reason

Claxton has never forgiven himself for the youthful mistake that ruined his marriage to Sophia. Now, after nearly a year abroad, the reformed rogue vows to win back the only woman he's ever truly loved. He'll do whatever it takes to prove he can be the honorable husband she deserves-and the passionate lover she desires. As the snowdrifts deepen outside their ancestral home, can they rekindle the flame that burned so bright and find a new path to forever?

Lily Dalton grew up as an Army brat, moving from place to place. Her first stop after relocating was always the local library, where she could hang out with familiar friends: Books! Lily has an English degree from Texas A & M University and after graduation worked as a legal assistant in the fields of accident reconstruction and litigation. She now lives in Houston, Texas, with her family. When she isn't at work on her next manuscript, she spends her time trying out new recipes, cheering on her favorite Texas football teams and collecting old dishes, vintage linens and other fine "junque" from thrift stores and flea markets.  Connect online with Lily at Facebook and Twitter.  

Readers, tell us about some of the most interesting things you've learned from reading historical romances.  One randomly chosen person leaving a comment on this blog before Friday, October 18th (Midnight EST) will receive all five of the books shown above, courtesy of Forever Romance.  

Review -- Never A Gentleman

Never A Gentleman
The Drake's Rakes Series, Book 2
By Eileen Dreyer
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: March 29, 2011






Grace Fairchild has spent her entire life painfully aware of her shortcomings. Plain of face, incredibly tall and thin, and walks with a limp due to a bad leg. Not exactly attributes that have suitors lining up outside her door. A soldier's daughter, Grace is practical above all, but that doesn't stop her from dreaming and longing to be loved by the man of dreams. She thinks she is in the midst of a very sensual dream one night when she awakens to find herself naked and in bed with an equally naked man. And not just any man, but the ton's most dashing rogue!

Diccan Hilliard has no idea how one of his enemies managed to drug him, strip him and place him in Miss Grace Fairchild's bed. But he knows what his next step must be; they must be married without delay, for neither he nor Grace can afford a scandal. Even though Diccan has always liked Grace---he'd nicknamed her Boadicea once upon a time---he had absolutely no desire to spend the rest of his life with her. And Grace didn't want to be married out of duty and obligation. But marry they do, and Diccan is surprised that he desires Grace, and the feeling is very mutual. Their passion for one another continues to grow, but Diccan is up to his neck in secrets and intrigue. Can their fragile relationship survive his lies just as they realize how much they need each other? And will they have the future they both deserve before an enemy from the past takes their lives?

I completely adored Barely A Lady, the first book in the Drake's Rakes series, but I do believe I loved Never A Gentleman even more. Grace and Diccan captured my attention when they first appeared in Barely A Lady---there was so much more that I wanted to know about them---so I'm thrilled that Eileen Dreyer gave them their own story. The marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes, and Grace and Diccan's marriage certainly qualifies. Diccan is charming, the darling of the ton, but many times he is more like a bumbling fool when it comes to dealing with his growing feelings for Grace. Is there anything better than watching a man brought to his knees by the woman he loves?


He'd once nicknamed her Boadicea. He'd been more right than he knew. She was magnificent. A goddess; a warrior queen clad in a tattered old scarlet Guards' jacket, sensuous as summer. And he wasn't the only one who saw it. Men smiled. Ladies straightened in saddles, unwilling to be shown up. He felt himself swell with unfamiliar pride. He had always respected Grace. For the first time since he'd run from her bed, he thought he understood why she had so thoroughly aroused him.


Grace is a heroine I could completely picture being friends with. She's loyal, intelligent and witty. She's been told all of her life how unattractive she is, and while she longs for a man to love her, she never thinks it will happen. She is reluctant to marry Diccan under the circumstances they find themselves in, but she knows that this may be her only chance to have a husband, maybe have children someday, and show him that she can make him happy....in bed and out. Diccan shows Grace her sensual side and she revels in it. But she wants more than desire; she wants Diccan's love.


But worse was to come, for after such primal, explosive lovemaking, Diccan untied her, tossed away the blindfold and carried her to the luxurious four-poster bed where he made thorough love to her again, this time with gentleness and tenderness and a smile that could capture the heart of a stone.

It captured her, the bits that hadn't already succumbed. And when she fell asleep, still in his arms, she knew she had made a grave error. She had wanted him too much to protect her heart. She had pretended it didn't matter that only one of them had meant the love they shared.


Because this is a romance, we know that Grace and Diccan will get their happily-ever-after, but getting there is a long and often painful process. Diccan betrays Grace in many ways---it's for his job and duty to his country, but that doesn't make it less painful---and when Grace discovers this, I could almost feel her shock and pain like a blow to the solar plexus. I ached for her, cried for both her and Diccan, and felt my heart break much like hers. By the end of the story, Grace's heart was mended by the love she and Diccan shared, and my heart was also put back together piece by piece with every page I turned.

Never A Gentleman will have readers experiencing the entire gamut of emotions and turning the last page with a sigh of satisfaction. While this book can stand alone, I recommend reading Barely A Lady first, so you can learn more about Grace and Diccan, as well as the rest of the stellar cast of secondary characters, including Lady Kate---Diccan's cousin and Grace's dearest friend---whose story is next. Ms. Dreyer has written another winner. Fans of historical romance won't want to miss this one. Never A Gentleman is now on my keeper shelf next to Barely A Lady, and I'm saving a spot for Always A Temptress which will be released this summer. Those Drake's Rakes know how to sweep a lady off her feet, so start reading this series and get swept away.

~ Gannon

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Review -- Barely A Lady

Barely A Lady
Book One: Drake's Rakes Series
By Eileen Dreyer
Publisher: Grand Central
Release Date: June 29, 2010

HE CAN'T REMEMBER...
Olivia Grace has every reason to despise Jack Wyndham, Earl of Gracechurch, who scandalously married and then divorced her, ruining her completely. Yet when she finds an injured Jack on a battlefield wearing the enemy's uniform, she can't resist saving him. He might have broken her heart, but can he truly be a traitor?

WHAT SHE'LL NEVER FORGET...
When Jack awakes he is shocked to discover that he has lost Olivia's love---and much of his memory. Did he really destroy their marriage? And what do his dreams of blood-soaked French uniforms and revenge mean? As the noose of danger tightens around them, Jack and Olivia must determine which is most frightening: the threat of the hangman, their own tempestuous history, or the passion that flares between them once again.

Bestselling romantic suspense author Eileen Dreyer brings her talent to historical romance with her first book in her Drake's Rakes Series. Brimming with sensuality, intrigue and luscious prose, Barely A Lady will leave readers sighing with satisfaction and breathless with anticipation for the next book.

Olivia is in Brussels, acting a chaperone for a perfectly odious family. But since her divorce left her persona non grata as far as the ton is concerned, she must make due no matter how disagreeable the circumstances may be. Lucky for her---though she does not think so at the time---her employers leave her behind, and Olivia is taken in by the lovely (and slightly scandalous) Lady Kate, Dowager Duchess of Murther and her companions, Lady Bea and Grace Fairchild. Fearing that Lady Kate will find out her true identity and put her out, Olivia is torn between keeping the secret or revealing the truth and accepting the consequences. But when she finds her ex-husband wounded on the battlefields of Waterloo wearing a French uniform, she fears that things have gone from bad to worse. But when Jack awakens with no memory of the past five years, Olivia has no idea how to handle the situation.

Jack has no idea why he is injured, but when he sees Olivia he is overjoyed. In his mind, they have only been apart a short while---a cooling off period after a spat---but he is overcome with love and desire for his 'Livvie.' Olivia can't help but respond to his passion, but she pulls away as memories of the pain she has endured over the past five years overwhelms her. Jack doesn't understand her behavior, and Olivia can't tell him what has happened; the doctor has diagnosed Jack with amnesia and cautions everyone not to tell him about events he doesn't remember for fear it may kill him. Jack must remember it all on his own. While he struggles with his memory, his love and desire for Olivia remain constant and he continues to woo her. Olivia remembers why she fell in love with Jack, even as she struggles with the pain of his betrayal.



She missed him. Sweet God, she missed him, and she hadn't allowed herself to admit that for years. She shouldn't allow it now, because it would make it so much harder later when he left again. But it was as if her body had been waiting for his hands to waken it. For his mouth to bless it. For his body to meet it.


The reason behind Olivia and Jack's divorce is not made known immediately, so while I felt sorry for all Olivia had endured, I was moved by Jack and his amnesia, enjoying watching them rediscover one another. But when Jack finally recovers his memory and becomes righteous with indignant anger toward Olivia, I wanted to jump through the pages and throttle him!! His cousin, Gervaise, is in the thick of it, and he continues to feed the fire of Jack's anger. Jack has some serious making up to do in order to redeem himself for Olivia (and me!). And he most certainly does, in such a way that my eyes welled with tears at the love and trust that finally shone through.


Jack turned to Livvie then and, smiling, gently closed her gaping mouth with a finger beneath her chin. "I know, my love. You have no reason to believe me. But I've remembered some lessons I learned in the last years. One was that you were, indeed, as Sergeant Harper said, the truest lass I've ever known. I'm just sad I didn't remember that lesson sooner. The other is that trust is based on faith. Not evidence. And, oh, Livvie, how could I ever have mislaid my faith in you?"


Barely A Lady is a gem of a book that will have readers cheering for the hero and heroine, booing the villain, and smiling through tears as they reach the end. I now have a new favorite on my keeper shelves! And I suspect that Book 2, Never A Gentleman, will be joining it when it's released. Brava, Ms. Dreyer!


~ Gannon