The Saint

October 6, 2003
This conventional Regency-era romance from Hunter, who's best known for her medieval romances (Lord of a Thousand Nights
, etc.), is a sizzling take on the guardian-ward formula. Vergil, Viscount Duclairc, is unexpectedly thrust into the role of guardian to high-spirited American heiress Bianca Kenwood when his older brother dies suddenly. Though high in the instep, the Duclaircs are dangerously low on money, and Vergil hopes to replenish their coffers by marrying Bianca off to his rakish younger brother, Dante. Though Dante is willing, the lady is not. Bianca wants to be an opera singer, not a wife. Nevertheless, she falls in love—and quickly into bed—with the mysterious Vergil, who finds himself taken with her despite her independent ways. Their relationship, though highly sensual, feels strained, and Vergil's opportunism concerning her money may trouble readers. Hunter weaves in an excellent subplot involving blackmail and suicide, but this tale—the second in a new trilogy (following The Seducer
)—fails to meet the high standard set by her exceptional medieval novels.

Starred review from September 15, 2003
In prolific and best-selling Hunter's newest historical, Vergil Duclairc, Viscount Laclere, has enough to worry about without the complication of having to track down his new ward, the American Bianca Kenwood. His siblings court scandal so that it's all he can do to keep the family's standing socially and financially. He tries to be proper, and yet here he is in a gaming establishment watching a singer perform and hoping to find out where she has hidden Bianca. But the singer has not abducted Bianca--she is Bianca. Having landed in Liverpool, Bianca, independent and resourceful, eludes the arranged escort and sets out on her own because she has no intention of allowing an unknown viscount to rule her life until she attains her majority. Music is her passion, and her plan is to become a great opera singer. But such an occupation is not proper for a young lady, and Vergil and Bianca seem destined to be at odds in Hunter's amusing, witty, and intriguing account of how love helps, not hinders, the achievement of dreams.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)