The Seduction of His Wife

December 6, 2010
In a steamy Victorian follow-up to 2010's The Surrender of a Lady, Clare reunites Emma Hallaway-Mansfield, countess of Asbury, and her husband of 12 years, Richard, who left his 15-year-old bride after one night of marriage and went off to explore the world. They meet unexpectedly in a brothel, where Emma was lured in connection to her hidden profession: a painter of scandalous nudes. Newly returned to London to sell his overseas businesses, the earl is surprised to find his child bride has become a desirable woman with her own secrets. Though angry with Richard, Emma succumbs to the passion he arouses after years of suppressing her desires. Their sizzling courtship overcomes the thin premise, boosted by strong secondary characters, such as Emma's strong-willed sisters.

January 1, 2011
The last place Richard Mansfield, Earl of Asbury, expects to find his wife, Emma, is in a house of harlots; then again, it has been 12 years since Richard set eyes on Emma. The last person Emma expects to run into in Londons most notorious brothel is her husband, Richard, especially since encountering him now threatens to ruin her life, which is already spiraling out of control. What Richard doesnt know is that Emma is being blackmailed by the Earl of Waverly, who possesses a very revealing self-portrait painted by Emma, who will do anything to keep her identity as Englands most scandalous artist a secret. But Richard is equally determined not only to find out exactly what passionate secrets his wife is keeping, but also to win his way back into her life. In her second captivating historical romance, Clare turns up the sensual heat with a sizzling, sexy tale of a husband and wife engaged in a seductive battle of wits that proves to be splendidly entertaining.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)