Viscount Brenner is not happy to learn that he is the executor for and guardian of the Fitzmanning children. After all, his mother left him behind to start a new life with their father. His father raised him to disdain emotion and do his duty. Now, his duty leads him to children his mother had with the Duke of Manning. The Duke's wife had passed away so he married his long time love and took her on a wedding trip to Italy. Neither one expected to die of a fever on their wedding trip.

Gerald hadn't seen his mother since he was very young. He couldn't feel any affection for half brothers and sisters he'd never seen before. When he enters Welbourne Manor, Gerald expects to meet the Fitzmannings, not a beautiful young woman who turns out to be another illegitimate daughter of the Duke.

The more time Gerald spends at Welbourne Manor, the more he realizes how happy his is there and how much that has to do with his growing affection for Miss Justine Savard.

Torn between his affection for the Fitzmannings and his duty to his father, the Earl of Linwall, Brenner must carry out his duties to his charges and yet keep his heart separate. The Duke of Manning was a close friend of the Prince Regent. The Prince requests a small house party so he can express his condolences to the family.

The house party will make Brenner aware that Justine has had other suitors in the past. Even though now married, Mr. Kinney is pressing his offer of a carte blanche. Incensed at his insensitivity, Brenner interrupts and becomes Justine's protector as well.

ANNALISE AND THE SCANDALOUS RAKE by Deb Marlowe

Ned Milford always longed to be an artist. His talent was not sufficient to become the painter he longed to be. When he inherited a small home in London, he planned to open a gallery. When his father blocked his plans, Ned became a caricaturist. While keeping his work as the Prattle secret, Ned has come to Welbourne Manor in the hopes that the outlandish stories told about the Fitzmannings will be true; providing him with a number of opportunities to use his pen.

Ned has ingratiated himself with the Duke of Manning and his younger brother so that he can be invited to the latest house party at Welbourne Manor. Upon his arrival, Ned sees Annalise Fitzmanning and finds his thoughts turning away from his work.

Annalise is a talented artist who works in oils. Ned is awestruck by her beauty and the results of her talent. As the house party progresses and nothing outrageous happens, Ned is drawn closer to Annalise. He focus shifts from his work to studying her and her relationship with her family. Only Ned sees the quiet strength that sustains her in the face of the many obstacles she faces.

CHARLOTTE AND THE WICKED LORD by Amanda McCabe

Charlotte Fitzmanning is the youngest sister. She's been in love with Andrew Bassington from the time she was very young. Drew is a good friend of her oldest brothers, Nicholas and Stephen.

Charlotte has always been a bit of a hoyden. At the age of 16 she is caught spying on him, from up a tree, while he was swimming. Charlotte is mortified and is convinced that she will overcome her ridiculous crush.

Now that Charlotte is eighteen and with the marriage of her two older sisters, she is the hostess at Welbourne Manor. She has worked very hard planning a house party to prove to the world, and Drew, that she is a mature young woman.

Drew's older brother has passed away leaving him to care for his ailing mother, his grieving sister-in-law, and his young nephew. Drew is no longer the irresponsible young man about town. Given the circumstances, he is even considering marriage. Nicholas and Stephen persuade him to attend the house party so that he can meet a potential bride there.

When Charlotte learns her bothers' plans, she is devastated. What she doesn't know is that there is another plan that she hasn't been told about.

As the house party progresses, Charlotte's attempts to be grown up are thwarted by her brothers and the accidents that she can't seem to avoid. Drew finds himself drawn to her spirit and caring; allowing some joy back into his life.

Each author has written about a couple who must see beyond their own concerns. They must face the events of the path and learn to make their own future. The number of siblings and half-siblings between the four parents adds a great deal of interest to the stories.

While I enjoyed each story and the characters immensely, I felt that some of the transitions between days of the parties were a little abrupt. Some of that may be due to the galley format. It also seemed that there were some large gaps in the stories. It was almost as if large sections had been cut out to meet the word count. The transformation of Gerald Brenner was hard to believe in the time frame given.

There was two secondary characters in the third story which had a past relationship. At one point, it appeared that we would be given more information and then nothing more. It was a little disappointing. Overall, a good read.

Book Summary