SEDUCTIVE SECRETS – Lynne Connolly
Secrets Trilogy, Book 1
Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 1-6054-042-8
June 2008
Historical Romance

Eighteenth Century England

You’re invited to the wedding of the century…

Isobel Thoroughgood never expected to reestablish a courtship with Nick, the Marquess of Cardington, after all these years. Now a widow who’s been laid low by the gossipmongers of the ton, Isobel has suffered in private and in public. As a young woman, she rebuffed Nick’s suit and proposal, even after first accepting, and ran off with Harry Thoroughgood for pastures yet unknown. At the time, Isobel validated her actions to herself by acknowledging a fear of Nick’s passion and ardor, even though he had never shown anything more than was expected of an affianced couple. Her marriage to Harry had been less than happy, and society has an excellent memory. It was a long time before Isobel was accepted back into polite company.

Witness as Nick and Isobel join hands in matrimonial bliss…

Nick has no idea what possessed him to propose to Isobel again, but he feels in his gut that this is what he was made for – a life by her side. With a marriage to the woman who had snubbed him all those years ago, a heap of baggage is part of the matrimonial gift. Nick never knew what had drawn Isobel to Harry Thoroughgood, but he knew that the match was never a good one. There were several rumors running around town of the man’s predilections and pursuits, and none of them savory. Isobel was simply made for better things. Despite his mother’s arguments and his ex-mistress’s jealousy, Nick knows he’s made the right choice in asking Isobel to become his wife…again. Now if he can just make everyone else see why there is no other woman for him.

And begin their lives as a happily married couple…

Against a backdrop of a bucolic working farm in which the owner is a proud farmer intent on bettering his land and the welfare of his people, SEDUCTIVE SECRETS are just the things to liven up a quiet town. Nick, the aforementioned farmer, is intent on making Isobel see that he only wants her happiness. Isobel, however, has never truly known that cheerful emotion. All of her life, she was just a means of getting what her family wanted, and that was a good, solid, rich marriage. She’d stunned them when she broke out of the mold and ran off with Harry. That impetuous action brought her a lot of misery, but it had shown Isobel what rashness can do to a woman. She’s not sure if marrying Nick is the topper on her cake of disaster, but she cannot deny the feeling of safety, security, and heartfelt longing she feels in his arms.

You can only pick your friends, not your family…

While Ashby, Nick’s ancestral home, may seem like a lake of tranquility, it harbors such seething secrets and great tension, that it won’t be long before the top blows. Smart men know to never invite their ex-mistresses to the wedding. In Nick’s defense, Mariah Seyton is family, if only by marriage to his cousin and heir, Duncan Seyton, and he knows that a scorned woman is never a happy one. His mother, the now Dowager Marchioness, is not a basket full of posies either, especially when her authority over the household is questioned. And the Fleckneys, Isobel’s own family, have now realized the wealth they’ve just come into – by marriage. They cannot see the bride, their own daughter and sister, through the monetary figures dancing in their heads.

Yes, SEDUCTIVE SECRETS may be what dances in Nick’s head, but he’s got a long row to hoe before marital bliss is achieved. With the entire list of guests, including friends and family, who all make out a well-rounded cast of characters, he’ll have a lot of wading to do before he dives into a sea of happiness. This is where Lynne Connolly excels, not only in sticking to the correctness of the era, but making the people of her story come to life. Nick has known for most of his life that he loved Isobel, faults and all. The day she ran off with Harry was when Nick became a rogue, or tried to. He tried to tup all of the willing females of London, but soon found he had no taste for it. Isobel, now an experienced widow, has no concept of what makes a marriage work, despite the nine years she spent as Thoroughgood’s wife.

I found SEDUCTIVE SECRETS to be a stellar beginning to a trilogy I’m already clamoring for the rest of. I’ve known for a while that Ms. Connolly is not only a respected historian, but also a very talented author who excels in bringing historic romance to life.

SEDUCTIVE SECRETS definitely heads up my list of highly recommended reads this month, and I’m fairly chomping at the bit to read ALLURING SECRETS, the second in this very talented author’s Secrets Trilogy, out now, featuring Severus, one of Nick’s best friends featured in SEDUCTIVE SECRETS.

Amy Cunningham