November 1, 2008
When her distant cousin Mary Templeton jilts Jasper Renshaw at the altar, Melisande Fleming takes a chance and proposes to Jasper herself. After all, even if the devastatingly handsome nobleman turns her down, at least Melisande figures she wont waste six more years of her life waiting for him to notice her. After being dumped by two fianc'es, Jasper believes marrying Melisande is a satisfactory solution to his search for a suitable wife, and he immediately accepts her unexpected offer. What begins as a simple marriage of convenience soon becomes quite complicated, though, as both Melisande and Jasper do their best to keep their respective secrets from each other while at the same time trying desperately not to fall in love. Hoyt expertly sifts a generous measure of danger into the latest intriguing addition to her Four Soldiers, Georgian-era series as the search for the traitor who betrayed Jaspers military unit continues. Her ability to fuse wicked wittiness with sinfully sensual romance is stunning.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)