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From Publishers Weekly The daughter of the marquis of Brandenburg, Lady Sophie York is a beguiling and flirtatious innocent. One of the most marriageable young women in Regency London, she's also secretly brainy. Yet she finds herself in love with a man she is dead set against loving: Patrick Foakes, a handsome rake. Sophie has determined never to marry, since her father is a notorious philanderer who constantly humiliates Sophie's mother with his flagrant pursuit of Frenchwomen. Sure that Patrick will always be a libertine, she turns him down when he asks for her hand. She then accepts the proposal of his stodgy friend, Lord Slaslow. Patrick is stunnedAa little relieved, but mostly stung: the proud lothario has fallen for Sophie. After Patrick adopts a disguise as a favor to Lord Saslow, the fiery pair are thrown together. They find they can't resist each other, so they bed and marry. But each has separate, unspoken fearsAshe of his assumed infidelity, he of her early death from childbirthAthat puts them at cross-purposes, until tragedy strikes. James (Potent Pleasures) proves herself a notable chronicler of the genre here. Her spritely tale takes on substance with a subplot about events in the Ottoman Empire. In addition, while the customary hallmarks are in evidenceAthe breathless, drawn-out sex scenes; the misunderstandings that almost ruin everythingAthese contretemps flow naturally from the characterizations and plot, and contribute to an engaging story. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review “A steamy, satisfying romantic romp . . . romance writing does not get much better than this.”——