The Seduction of an English Scoundrel

March 14, 2005
The first in Hunter's new Regency trilogy focusing on the Boscastle family opens with beautiful bride Lady Jane Welsham left at the altar. The rakish Grayson Boscastle, who's both marquess of Sedgecroft and cousin of the groom, decides that as head of the family, he should redeem Jane's reputation. Sedgecroft won't take no for an answer, even when Jane emphatically refuses, so the couple embark on a round of social events that cements Jane's standing and sparks a romance between the unlikely pair. But Jane fears Sedgecroft's reaction when he learns her secret: the jilting was a sham fabricated with the groom, who wished to marry another. Telling himself he needs to teach her a lesson, Sedgecroft pretends to set Jane up as his mistress, even while he secretly plans to marry her. Dispirited by his dishonorable intentions, Jane still rushes into seduction. Readers may wonder why Jane bothers, as Sedgecroft regularly leaps over the line between alpha-male hero and egotistical bully. Hopefully, the next volume (The Love Affair of an English Lord
, due out in June 2005) will feature a hero who understands that real love doesn't involve emotional ill-treatment and a heroine who won't accept anything less. Agent, Andrea Cirillo at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

March 15, 2005
Poor Lady Jane Welsham is left standing \b0 at the altar. It is a humiliation of monumental proportions and a scandal in the making. Grayson Boscastle, Marquess of Sedgecroft and the missing groom's cousin, is hosting the wedding in his chapel. Surrounded by his unruly siblings and former mistresses, he starts to feel responsible for rectifying the situation, realizing that his rakish ways have set a bad example for his cousin. So he proposes a two-pronged solution. His brother will try to locate the groom, and he will escort Lady Jane back into society. His popularity and attentiveness will quell any gossip associated with her situation and will make her seem desirable once again to a future fiance. Grayson is quite proud of himself, then surprised to find himself in love. Lady Jane is equally as smitten, but there's a catch: she wasn't exactly humiliated. Hunter has written an absolutely delightful tale that's impossible to put down, and readers will simply love Lady Jane and Grayson. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)