Devil Takes a Bride (Knight Miscellany #5)

Lizzie Carlisle, the heroine of Foley's fifth Knight family Regency (after Lady of Desire), possesses a sly, stubborn streak that quickly endears her to the reader, as well as to Devlin "Devil" Strathmore. As a companion to elderly Lady Augusta Strathmore, Lizzie pens a note to Devil implying that his lonely aunt is near death in order to get the notorious rake to visit. Angry at the deception but intrigued by Lizzie's wit and candor, Devil tries to seduce the bluestocking, but he forces himself to leave when he realizes that he could fall in love with her. Love would complicate Devil's plan to seek revenge against the aristocratic rogues who murdered his family 12 years earlier. The rogues, all members of the infamous Horse and Chariot Club, have almost accepted Devlin into their group, but when his aunt dies, he finds himself in a curious position: he must marry Lizzie to inherit his aunt's vast fortune. The gentle sparring that ensues between the two is amusing, and their tantalizingly brief sexual interludes will stoke readers' hunger for more. In this entertaining, if somewhat melodramatic, tale, Foley manages to do what few authors have-write a truly sensual romance, possessing depth of plot and character, that isn't overburdened by sex scenes.

Romance