WICKED UNDER THE COVERS

Author: Barbara Pierce ISBN: 0312348215 7/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: ST. MARTIN'S PRESS
Time Period: Regency 1807

A WICKED BARGAIN… Handsome, ambitious, and newly wealthy, Maccus Brawley has severed ties with his dangerous past and is close to securing his place in polite society. All he requires is some guidance in fashionable manners—and who better to instruct him than a young lady with breeding, brains, wealth…and a scandalous reputation? Lady Fayre Carlisle needs his help as much as he needs hers, but their scheme soon gives way to unbridled bliss. And although Maccus is known for his daring, dallying with the fiery, vulnerable beauty might be his riskiest venture yet. LEADS TO A WILD DESIRE With one false step, Fayre lost both her honor and her heart, thanks to her father’s scheming ex-mistress. Others might retreat in shame from the ton’s gossipmongers, but Fayre is determined to pay back those who humiliated her, and Maccus Brawley is proving to be an unexpected and seductive ally. With all that Fayre has learned about temptation, how can she risk her heart a second time? Yet with every illicit encounter reaching new heights of passion, how can she resist?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Take your typical bad boy trying to turn his life around and throw in a not-so-typical good girl, and you end up with this amazing story you won't want to end. Barbara Pierce has created a witty and heated romance with a heroine that has already fallen from grace without the help of her irresistible hero. This, as all true romance readers know, is an uncommon and worthwhile find in romance novels. Even though the heroine, Fayre, is no longer chaste, she remains endearingly innocent throughout the book. She suffers heartbreak after heartbreak, yet she's still willing to risk her heart for true love.

Pierce definitely has a way with the more sensual scenes—the episode in the kitchen gave a whole new meaning to domestic bliss. There's no disappointment from this author when it comes to the steamier side of romance. The wit and banter between the characters is remarkably entertaining, while the ending brings together action, wit and several misunderstandings that had me laughing, smiling and cheering for the triumph of true love.

Pierce has written a story for those of us who have risked everything on love, lost, and are willing to risk it all again for a chance at happiness. I, for one, would like to thank her for it.

Amanda Rutherford