Lady Derring Takes a Lover

February 1, 2019

Left destitute by her debt-ridden husband's death save for a derelict building on the London docks, Delilah Swanpool, Countess of Derring, sees hope and independence under the dust and grime and, with the aid of her late husband's mistress (a quirky turn of events), sets about transforming the former Palace of Rogues into a respectable boarding house, the Grand Palace on the Thames. But there is more to her husband's past than she knows. The cigar smuggling trail leads Capt. Tristan Hardy to her door, and she has no idea that the far too attractive sea captain she has just rented a room to is eying her and her staff with suspicion. A resourceful, forthright heroine intent on living life on her own terms and a duty-bound hero give in to love and breathtaking passion in a story so lyrically written that parts of it read like poetry. VERDICT Sparkling banter, deep character insights, and a colorful supporting cast bring a clever scheme to life, setting up a series to savor. Historical readers will rejoice with Long's return to the subgenre and will be intrigued by hints of the next "Rogues" title. Long (First Time at Firelight Falls) lives in Northern California. [An editor's pick, p. 21.]

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2019
When a widowed, penniless aristocrat opens a boardinghouse, she hopes to make her own way in the world and create a sense of family for her disparate tenants, including an enigmatic Navy captain who makes her heart skip.Delilah Swanpoole, Countess of Derring, hadn't loved her husband, though she'd tried to be a good wife. However, when she discovers he was "in debt up to his eyeballs" at his death, she decides to be bold. The one valuable thing her husband left her is a building by the docks, and when she goes to inspect it, she runs into the earl's mistress, Angelique Breedlove, whom he has also left penniless though he'd promised her a pension. Delilah realizes the abandoned building could be the savior of both of them, and she convinces Angelique, whom she quite likes, to go into business with her as proprietresses of London's newest boardinghouse, The Grand Palace on the Thames. Boarders are slow in coming and very eclectic, but for Delilah, the most compelling guest is Tristan Hardy. He's a captain with "an air of implacable, insufferable authority. As though he moved through the world with ease in part because he knew destiny wouldn't dare countermand his orders." According to Tristan, he's looking for rooms while the ship he's purchasing is prepared for long merchant runs--which is true, but he's also the Navy's blockade commander, and his main reason for being in the area is to track down some illegal cigars. As the investigation expands, his attraction to Delilah and his affection for the household grows, becoming increasingly complicated when the cigars seem to have connections to The Palace. In the first book of the Palace of Rogues series, author Long returns triumphantly to historical romance with this beautifully written and achingly romantic story of two characters who are blindsided by each other and must fight for their love when it's tested. A large cast of entertaining characters keeps the plot moving while breathtaking writing elevates the story on every page.Unique, delightful, and swoonworthy.

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Starred review from February 15, 2019
If her husband, the Earl of Derring, wasn't already dead, Delilah Swanpoole would be sorely tempted to kill him herself. It turns out he was up to his ears in debt, but he did leave one unencumbered asset from which Delilah is determined to forge a new life for herself and, generously, for her late husband's equally impoverished mistress: The Grand Palace on the Thames. When it opens its doors, one of the first to take a room is tall, dark, and taciturn Captain Tristan Hardy. For months Tristan has been tracking shipments of smuggled cigars, and he now believes that the trail has led him to Lady Derring's boardinghouse. But getting Delilah to spill her secrets just might require Tristan to use more than mere words. RITA Award-winning Long (The First Time at Firelight Falls, 2018) is celebrated for her winsome way with words. With Lady Derring Takes a Lover, the first in an exhilarating new series, the author's literary prowess is in glorious full bloom with an engaging cast of exquisitely rendered characters, a deftly constructed plot that validates the power of hope and love, and inexhaustible measures of dazzling wit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)