Beyond Scandal and Desire

November 27, 2017
Heath (the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James series) launches a winning and steamy Victorian series featuring a family of highborn bastards who seek financial and social success, presumably all finding love along the way. Entrepreneur Mick Trewlove, the illegitimate son of the Duke of Hedley, has spent years plotting to bring down his half-brother, the Earl of Kipwick. In addition to ruining him financially, Mick plans to seduce Kipwick’s naive and sheltered fiancée, Lady Aslyn Hastings. But Mick quickly realizes that he’d prefer a more honorable union with Aslyn. She yearns for a brighter, more exciting life than what she can hope for with Kipwick, whom she loves as a brother. Mick must decide whether he should abandon all his plans in favor of earning Aslyn’s respect and love. The premise of this story isn’t particularly complicated, but Heath builds a community of fascinating, intertwined characters that readers will be eager to get to know as they cheer for the driven hero and the spunky, smart heroine.

December 15, 2017
Should he take his revenge or take her as his wife?Mick Trewlove, the bastard son of the Duke of Hedley, was abandoned to a baby farmer the day he was born. Even though he survived to become one of London's most successful businessmen, he's been scheming for years to be "paid what he was owed" by destroying his half brother, the future Duke of Hedley, and stealing his fiancee. That fiancee, Lady Aslyn Hastings, hasn't the slightest idea what Mick has planned for her when they first meet in the Cremorne Gardens--she only knows that his company causes "riots in her imagination and body" and that he's the most unsuitable man she's ever met. Mick slowly seduces her, in word and deed, but when he succeeds, finds that he doesn't feel the triumph he hoped for. So as he chooses between sweet revenge and true love, she must choose whether their love is worth ruining her reputation over. As the first book in the new Sins for All Seasons series, Heath's (Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses, 2017, etc.) latest sets the stage for a continued exploration of the fates of illegitimate children in the Victorian era, with mixed results. The author's talent for chemistry is as bold as the fireworks that explode in the first chapter. For all the passion between Mick and Aslyn, however, the plot is meandering, and the conflict between the two is a bit of a fizzle. Mick's adopted sister Gillie is a bright spot, however, and readers will look forward to reading her story in the next volume.An early Victorian romance more notable for its climaxes than its climax.

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February 15, 2018

For years, Mick Trewlove's anger at his illegitimate birth and abandonment by his noble father has festered. Now a wealthy entrepreneur, Nick hopes that he might at last be acknowledged. But when the Duke of Hedley ignores his requests, Mick decides to exact his revenge by bringing down his legitimate half-brother, the duke's heir, and ruining his intended bride, Lady Aslyn Hastings. It's a perfect setup--until Mick's feelings for Aslyn get out of hand and a stunning plot twist turns everything upside down. VERDICT Carefully researched details, a fascinating look into the baby-farming scandals of the period, and a wealth of intriguing bastards make this steamy, cleverly plotted Victorian a perfect start to a rollicking series. Heath (An Affair with a Notorious Heiress) lives in Plano, TX.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2017
It simply isn't fair. Mick Trewlove is every bit as much the duke of Hedley's son as the earl of Kipwick is. But because Mick was born on the wrong side of the blanket, he was given away as a newborn baby by the duke, who still refuses to acknowledge his existence. Meanwhile, Kipwick, the duke's legitimate heir, has been given everything he could ever want in life. Well, all this is about to change. It has taken time for Mick to become one of London's most successful and wealthiest businessmen, but now he is going to use every weapon he has at his disposal to take everything Kipwick holds dear away from him, starting with his intended fiancee, Lady Aslyn Hastings. RITA Award-winner Heath's new Sins for All Seasons series is off to an impressive start with an unforgettable, emotionally charged love story that will dazzle and delight readers with its exquisitely crafted characters, deliciously sensual romance, and impeccably rendered historical setting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)