One Whisper Away

March 21, 2011
A part-Iroquois nobleman inherits an earldom and the guardianship of his half-sisters in Wildes's strong Regency series starter. From their very first encounter, the idealistic Lady Cecily Francis, daughter of the duke of Eddington, and Jonathan Bourne, the unconventional and exotically biracial new earl of Augustine, are caught up in a scandalously public exchange of whispers and caresses. Though he hates London and longs to return to America, Augustine is uncontrollably attracted to the very English Lady Cecily and soon joins her scheme to prevent her expected marriage to dull Lord Drury. Given the historical era, it's not surprising that "sexy savage" stereotypes abound ("He was... untamed. Exotic. Perhaps even uncivilized"), but Wildes (Our Wicked Mistake) perpetuates them rather than undermining them. Despite this failing, readers will love the strong cast of intriguing supporting characters and the passionate and well-balanced central romance.

April 15, 2011
High-society types have far too much free time on their hands. Thats the only explanation Lady Cecily Francis can think up when she becomes the latest scandale du jour. Really, all Jonathan Bourne, the new Earl of Augustine, did is dry her gown after Cecily spilled champagne on herself, and now everyone wants to know exactly what scandalous words Lord Savage whispered to her. This social tempest in a teacup could work to Cecilys advantage, though, since she needs a way to derail Lord Drurys incipient marriage proposal. All she has to do now is find a way to convince Jonathan to agree to pretend to propose to her, and all her problems will be solved. Except for the small problem that Cecily just might be falling for her new alleged fianc'. Wildes knows exactly how to turn up the sensual heat in developing courtship between Cecily and Jonathan, and her latest perfectly executed hot Regency historical gets an added boost from a strong cast of secondary characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)