TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL

Author: Kristina Cook ISBN: 0821779818 6/2007 HISTORICAL Publisher: KENSINGTON
Time Period: 1806 Essex

HE’S NOTORIOUS FOR HIS WICKED WAYS… Frederick Stoneham thoroughly enjoys the life he leads as one of London’s most disreputable rogues. When his father arranges for him to wed Lady Eleanor Ashton, he believes his decadent lifestyle can carry on uninterrupted. After all, he remembers Eleanor to be plain and timid—not the kind of wife who will demand attention or insist he leave his mistress. But Frederick has a change of heart when he sees the striking beauty Eleanor has become… CAN SHE REFORM HIM? Eleanor is stunned to discover she is to wed Frederick Stoneham—the man she has secretly pined after for years, despite his reputation. When Frederick’s former mistress tells her a horrible lie, Eleanor feels betrayed. But Frederick’s persistence—and a passion that refuses to be ignored--are slowly melting Eleanor’s resolve. Now Frederick must prove to Eleanor that his days as a rake are in the past and that she is the only woman he will ever love…

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL is a terrific way to start out your summer! It is wonderfully written in a sweet, yet provocative voice, and tailor made for the romantic at heart.

Lady Eleanor Ashton (I love this name as my daughter's first name is Ashton!) is quite simply, one lovely heroine. She is the requisite damsel in distress, very much in need of a gentleman's helping hand and yet not willing to budge even a tinge and admit to that horrid truth. When she finds out that she is to be married to the ultimate reprobate, Frederick Stoneham, she thinks she just might faint. For even though Frederick is the epitome of everything a well bred girl should hate, Eleanor finds herself strangely drawn to him in a way that she cannot explain, and refuses to acknowledge. Even after he has hurt her in the past in a terribly embarrassing way, she can't help but think of him when she is all alone. But, Eleanor figures she is the only one who knows her little secret, and so she will go on the way she always has with none being any the wiser. She even decides that she will find herself a decent husband, regardless of what her father says! One heated confrontation later with none other than our lover boy, and we are on the road to a very steamy romance!

Frederick Stoneham knows his reputation. He doesn't need anyone reminding him that he is barely acceptable for polite company, especially a little snotty miss that he remembers as being plain and timid. When he goes to collect his little, timid bride, he finds a spitfire that gives tit for tat! He decides then and there that he will never marry such a woman! He will find his meek, mild wife so that he can lock her away on his estate and continue with his reprehensible habits. The problem is, even before the game has begun, Frederick decides—unbeknownst to himself—that he doesn't really want a meek and mild miss, when he can have a spitfire like Eleanor!

Kristina Cook brings together a wonderful, passionate, romantic love story in TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL. This is the perfect book to wile away a lazy day at the beach or in the hammock in the backyard. With the perfect ingredients for disaster, a Hell-bent little she devil of a heroine, and a gorgeous rake for a hero, TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL is not one that anyone will soon forget!!

Kristal Gorman