Six years ago, Angela Sullivan fled to a convent after her reputation and virtue were destroyed by an unrepentant rogue. Angela tries to follow the nuns' exemplary behavior but restlessness envelops her. When a famous rake arrives injured at the convent, Angela is assigned to care for the worthless peer. The safety she felt at the convent evaporates as the "Lord Invalid" flirts with her. Memories of balls, dances and pretty clothes consume her thoughts, along with the dangerous man who sets her on fire.

Phillip Kensington's past finally catches up with him. Attacked and left for dead by men he owes a great deal of money to, Phillip, the Marquis of Huntley, lands in a convent with a beautiful angel caring for him. He flirts and teases her until she tells him of her past. Phillip has never been bothered by guilt for his actions, but seeing the result that a callus man has inflicted sets Phillip on a course of self-reflection. He has disappointed so many in his life and the thought of disappointing Angela terrifies him.

Betrayed by one man, Angela refuses to let Phillip break her heart. If he wants her, Angela demands that he face his past and accept it before he begins a future with her.

Ms. Rodale gives readers their money worth as she sets multiple challenges and roadblocks before her characters find happiness. She's creative in finding a solution for her tortured hero to redeem himself and come to terms with his past, yet still show the collateral damage his action took on his innocent victims. It gives the tale a bittersweet ending with readers glimpsing into the lives of those women he wronged and the life they lead now. A solid read that begs for another story from this author on the minor character Lady Jane Grafton.

Book Summary

If Lord Phillip were not in pain, he’d consider himself lucky to be in a hospital full of women, albeit nuns. His reputation has preceded him, but as he stays on, his thoughts of novitiate Angela Palmerston grow nobler—as her thoughts of him become less than holy…