ONE NIGHT OF SIN

Author: Gaelen Foley ISBN: 0345480090 6/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: BALLANTINE/Ivy
Time Period: Regency 1817

Lord Alec Knight, the most daring and handsome rogue in all of London, is a smooth-talking aristocrat with an abundance of high-society lady admirers. With his irresistible wit, lucky hand at the gaming tables, and enticing charisma, he can have any woman he wants. But when the only girl he would have considered marrying ties the knot with someone else, Alec realizes he doesn't want to be with just any lady-he wants to find the love of his life. The boldly spirited, beautiful Miss Becky Ward takes his life by storm after he rescues her from peril. Alec soon learns that she is on the run from her cousin, the murderous Prince Mikhail Kurkov. Becky has uncovered a menacing secret about the prince-now nothing will stop him from hunting her down. In the midst of danger, Alec and Becky find themselves deeply drawn to each other. After the two spend an all-consuming night of sin, Becky's knight in shining armor vows on his honor to protect her until the end. But before long, Alec is protecting her with more than honor-and it seems the once untamed rake of London just may have found what he has been searching for all along . . . true love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Breathless.

That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of how Gaelen Foley's ONE NIGHT OF SIN leaves me as I'm reading. Especially in those parts where the heroine takes flight or struggles to flee her pursuers. Those are some of the most intense, edge-of-your-chair action sequences you'll find in historical romances which feature such strong and intelligent heroines. No one, and I mean no one, writes those types of scenarios more vividly, or puts you into the thick of the action, like Gaelen Foley does.

As usual, Foley's prose is fantastic, blending characters, exemplary dialogue, sizzling sensuality and vivid action seamlessly from one chapter into the next. Alec and Becky are a perfectly matched set of opposites that attract—Alec, with his charisma, charm and smoldering sexuality, versus Becky's determination, intelligence, and spitfire personality. It's those qualities in Becky which, in the end, earn her Alec's respect, devotion, and after a long fought battle, his unconditional love. Alec's journey of awakening from a past filled with emotional pain and hidden hurts takes a bit longer than I really wanted it to, but his eventual come around in the end is well worth the wait.

The secondary characters, dastardly villains and Russian influences, help keep steady pace to an already page turning plot. But be forewarned: This is not a book to start if you're short on time, or when it's an hour before your bedtime. This is a book that will have you burning your candles at both ends if you're not careful—and if that happens, when all's said and done, you'll be very glad that you did!

Nancy Davis