Lady Windermere's Lover

April 14, 2014
The third book in the Wild Quartet (after The Ruin of a Rogue) features the previously absent Damian, Lord Windermere. Damian, the steadiest of four expelled Oxford companions, unwillingly married Cynthia Chorley in order to reclaim his childhood home, which had been purchased by her uncle. He then took a diplomatic post in Persia. Cynthia tries to make the best of her life alone in London, spending time with her absent husband’s friends. When Damian’s diplomat bosses summon him home to wheedle an art collection out of the hands of his former best friend, the Duke of Denford, who’s rumored to be Cynthia’s lover, the spouses are forced to reunite. The plot focuses on the love triangle and the external pressures on Cynthia and Damian’s relationship, with the diplomatic intrigue taking a definite secondary role. Neville makes numerous references to the events and characters of the previous books; newcomers will not be lost, but series fans will get the most from this installment.

June 1, 2014
A year after marrying his wife-a commoner-to regain an estate he gambled away, Damian, Earl of Windermere, is surprised to find himself drawn to the accomplished beauty he married.After Damian lost Beaulieu on his 21st birthday, he completely changed his life, giving up the wild ways he'd adopted at Oxford. He pursued a life in the diplomatic service, distancing himself from his college friends and becoming increasingly estranged from his former best friend, Julian, who had since inherited a dukedom as well as the town house next to his own in London. Then, six years later, he married Cynthia, whose uncle held the deed to Beaulieu and refused to sell, practically blackmailing Damian into the marriage in order to tie his family to a title. Returning to London after a yearlong posting in Persia he accepted immediately after his wedding, Damian is shocked to discover that the backward, dowdy wife he left in the country has blossomed into a fashionable London lady he's proud to call his own. Unfortunately, she also seems to have taken up with his old circle of friends, and rumor has it she's involved with Julian. Lady Cynthia has a number of secrets, but she's not involved with Julian beyond friendship, and while she and Damian seem to be growing closer, his insistence that she apologize for an affair she didn't have is infuriating. Of course, his lack of trust in her makes it more difficult to divulge her other subterfuges, as well. Then there's the matter of Damian's job, his ex-mistress, his sinister mentor and his inability to embrace aspects of his past that brought him joy. Is it possible that if Cynthia helps him face his past and become more aligned with his true nature, they might find lasting love?A smart, witty and emotionally dense love story that explores friendship and trust along its passionate and compelling journey.

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June 15, 2014

Seven years ago, on his 21st birthday, a drunken Damian lost his late mother's estate, Beaulieu, in a card game--and vowed to get it back, whatever it took. What it took was marriage to a woman he didn't want and he abruptly left for diplomatic business abroad. Now, Damian, Earl of Windermere, has returned to find that his quiet wife, Cynthia, has become a sought-after beauty--one who supposedly has taken a lover, Julian Fortescue, the Duke of Denford, Damian's former good friend. But all is not as it seems, and as Damian sets out to reclaim his wife, Cynthia isn't about to let things go on as before, and it doesn't take Damian long to learn she isn't the naive wife he left behind. That Damian is on a secret mission for the Crown to locate a missing art collection that Denford is reputed to have in his possession simply adds to the fun. VERDICT Neville takes a clever premise, likable protagonists, and a broken relationship that needs mending, adds a few old secrets, plenty of political machinations, and a touch of jealousy and spins it into a lively tale of mystery and romance that adds another chapter to her popular quartet. Neville (The Ruin of a Rogue) lives in rural Vermont.

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