Notorious

June 13, 2011
Veteran Regency author Cornick (Lord of Scandal) introduces an original twist to a tale that's long on passion and short on logic. Sir James Devlin may have come into a title, but he's in urgent need of money. Putting aside his scruples, he enters into a lucrative engagement with an immature young woman, while his sister, Francesca, falls in love with wealthy scoundrel Fitzwilliam Alton. At a ball, James is shocked to encounter Susanna Burney, his onetime wife, who abandoned him the day after their wedding for reasons that never really make sense. Susanna is now intent on seducing Alton, but not for love: she's a professional heartbreaker, hired by Alton's parents to end what they consider an unsuitable romance with penniless, ill-bred Francesca. Soon James and Susanna reconnect with delicious lust that somewhat masks the absurdity of their backstory.

July 1, 2011
After unexpectedly bumping into James Devlin at the Duke and Duchess of Alton's Midsummer Ball, Susanna realizes she probably should have told him they were still married. Of course, now is probably not the best moment since Susannaoperating under the alias of Lady Caroline Carewis in the midst of trying to break up Dev's sister Francesca's engagement to Lord Fitzwilliam Alton. Since leaving Devlin nine years ago, Susanna has earned a living wrecking unsuitable matches, but just as she is about to successfully conclude her latest match-breaking assignment, Susanna's pastin the form of a very cranky husbandcomes back to haunt her. All of Cornick's signature elementsa deliciously creative plot, brilliantly realized characters, and an abundance of sizzling sensualityclick neatly into place in the latest fabulously fun addition to her Scandalous Women of the Ton.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)