The Duke and the Lady in Red

Starred review from February 9, 2015
Heath’s magnificent third Scandalous Gentleman of St. James historical (after Once More, My Darling Rogue) highlights the ways that Victorian aristocrats flouted the conventions of society. Rose Sharpe catches the eye of the Duke of Avendale at a notorious club called the Twin Dragons. Though Rose is no stranger to duping wealthy men, her plan to support her makeshift family with Avendale’s funds goes awry. Reluctantly, she commits to spending one week at Avendale’s palatial home. As Rose gets to know Avendale better, she realizes there are hidden depths behind the scurrilous facade he shows to society. And when he unearths her reasons for swindling him, she sees a caring side of Avendale that seals her love for him once and for all. Heath excels at writing passionate romantic tension, and this emotional page-turner showcases her stunning ability to delve into the characters’ innermost souls. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

February 15, 2015
Determined to protect her clan of social outcasts, swindler Rosalind Sharpe comes to London with a con in mind but gets caught in a web of desire and deceit with the roguish Duke of Avendale.When con artist Rose comes to London in time for the grand opening of the Twin Dragons, a former gentlemen's gaming club now open to wealthy female patrons, she plans on making social connections with a number of rich gentlemen, in hopes of setting them up as future marks. Instead, she meets the Duke of Avendale, and the attraction between them is instant and intense. Torn between actually entering into a relationship with the man and defrauding him of a fortune, Rose decides her family secrets are too volatile to trust him with. But when her plans go awry and she winds up beholden to him, she discovers that Avendale has a few dark secrets of his own, and he's far more forgiving of her foibles than she ever imagined, especially after he discovers whom she's protecting and how honorable her intentions are, even though they've forced her into a life of crime. Heath's latest Victorian-set romance, the last in her Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James Place series, pits two unconventional romance leads against one another, but somewhere along the way, they fall into attraction, then fascination, and then, finally, love. An extraordinary cast of secondary characters is loosely fashioned after some of the most famous human curiosities of Victorian England. A beautiful, unconventional romance that entwines two fierce, lonely hearts who believed they were unlovable and reminds us of the best and worst of human nature.