Wedding Night With the Earl

January 11, 2016
Grey’s sizzling final Heirs’ Club of Scoundrels Regency trilogy installment (after The Earl Claims a Bride) reveals how the right woman can cause a stubbornly unwed man to change his mind about marriage. Adam, the Earl of Greyhawke, is presented with the guardianship of his cousin and heir, young Dixon. He decides to return to London from Yorkshire to finally accept his responsibilities. He has sworn off marriage since his first wife and child died during childbirth, but Adam is intrigued by Katherine Wright, the beautiful niece of a powerful duke. He’s not dissuaded by the injury to her leg that prevents her from dancing; instead, Adam decides to help her learn to dance with him. When one stolen kiss turns into more, Adam realizes that he must guard Katherine’s reputation or be forced to marry her. Grey’s sensual novel is filled with riveting love scenes in which the handsome hero tutors the maiden in the ways of lovemaking. The only snag is that it’s somewhat difficult to believe that a man who’s sworn off marriage would willingly dally with a duke’s virginal niece.

January 1, 2016
An earl shuns society after his wife dies in childbirth, but guardianship of his young cousin forces him to leave his isolated hideaway and re-enter the London social whirl. Grey (The Duke and Miss Christmas, 2015, etc.) returns with the final installment in her Heirs' Club of Scoundrels Trilogy with the story of the eighth Earl of Greyhawke. Adam Greyhawke is tormented by guilt after his wife and baby die during childbirth. He isolates himself in a rural cottage, but when an emissary from the prince deposits a 5-year-old orphan on his doorstep, Adam realizes he must return to London and get a handle on the Greyhawke estates. Because Adam doesn't intend to remarry, the boy, Dixon, is his heir. But on his first foray into London society, Adam meets Miss Katherine Wright. Katherine walks with a cane after injuring her leg in two childhood accidents--first a carriage accident that killed her parents and siblings, then a tumble down a staircase. Adam believes she could learn to walk independently and even dance, and he can't resist being the one to teach her. Katherine, meanwhile, has promised her uncle she will settle on a husband before the end of the season and is determined not to be distracted by a handsome earl who swears he will not remarry. Still, their secret dancing lessons and near-scandalous behavior threaten to take away their options and force them to marry. The story benefits from both characters' intelligence and wit, although Adam's reluctance to marry is rather abruptly dispensed with. He understandably fears that any child of his will be too large and will kill its mother, but the novel tumbles too quickly toward its ending, and he isn't given a chance to gradually overcome his fear. Overall, however, this is a lively novel written by a skilled author. A fun and absorbing read.

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February 15, 2016
Miss Katherine Wright won't dance, so don't ask her. At first, Adam Greyhawke can't figure out why the lovely beauty refuses his request for a dance. It is especially frustrating because for the first time since his wife Annie's tragic death two years ago, Adam finds himself romantically intrigued by a woman. Adam attempts to engage Katherine in conversation, which only further piques his interest, and it is only when Katherine turns to leave that he realizes she uses a cane to walk. While Katherine might believe she will never experience the giddy delights of waltzing across a ballroom, Adam knows she can dance if she wants too, and he is going to be the one to show her how. Grey brings her Heirs Club of Scoundrels trilogy (The Earl Claims a Bride, 2015; The Duke in My Bed, 2015) to a heartfelt conclusion with this gracefully written historical romance that deftly mingles poignant emotion and sensual passion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)