SCOUNDREL OF MY HEART

A lady must choose between what she wants and who she wants.

In order to gain her inheritance—her late grandmother’s cottage—Lady Kathryn Lambert must marry a titled gentleman. She sets out to draw the attention of the Duke of Kingsland, who's made it known he's searching for a wife, but her heart yearns for another man, an unsuitable scoundrel. As a second son—a "spare"—Lord Griffith Stanwick is used to being seen as unworthy, but that doesn’t mean he’s unambitious. His eyes are set on an unused property he wishes to turn into a new sort of club for men and women to meet and mingle. His eyes are also drawn to his sister’s friend Kathryn. He admires her intelligence, boldness, and coppery curls. He agrees to help her attract Kingsland's attention, but with every moment in her company, his feelings for her grow. Lovely prose showcases how much these characters pine for each other, physically and emotionally, and crave lives full of happiness and purpose. The internal struggles of their conflicting desires drive the story. Although this is the start of a new series, the hero is the brother of the heroine from Beauty Tempts the Beast (2020). The timelines of these books have some overlap, and readers unfamiliar with the predecessor may find the midstory time jump here to be jarring. Intrigue surrounding the traitorous Stanwick father feels frustratingly underexplored and is left open, presumably for a future book.

Sensuality shines in this tale of yearning.