When a tempting rogue accosts, well, kisses her practically on the eve of her shipboard wedding Miss Annabell Wheaton just knows he's going to be trouble. Her father was a man just like him and left her mother heartbroken. Annabel firmly believes in holding her own destiny between her two hands and plans to wed a man who needs her money, no love in sight. She gains an English estate to manage and a certain measure of independence in exchange for putting an earl's ring on her finger. As southern girl she has no doubt she is tough minded enough to get exactly what she wants out of life, if only she can convince her family, and her heart that she is making the best choice.

When Christian Du Quesne, Duke of Scarborough agrees to stop a silly American chit from marrying against her family's wishes he knows it is a new low in his admittedly besmirched life. Yes he needs the money but he wouldn't have taken on the task had he not also been convinced it would be the biggest mistake of Miss Wheaton's life, and a damned waste of a beautifully passionate nature to be tied to a week- chinned weed like the Earl of Rumford.

Laura Lee Guhrke has given us another delightful romp into late Victorian romance with her latest in her Abandoned at the Altar series. Book three introduces a heroine exemplifying the idea of a steel magnolia from a family of new money using the British ton's need for funds to gain her exactly what she thinks she wants from life.

I always enjoy the twists and humor Guhrke infuses into her tales. I can count on passionate love scenes, plenty of laughs and always a few surprises. That's probably why her work populates such an expanse of my keeper shelves. At any rate, I highly recommend any of her books to lovers of romance regardless of genre.

Book Summary

The last thing Miss Annabel Wheaton desires is true love. She learned the hard way that love makes a woman foolish and only leads to heartache. That's why she agreed to marry an earl who needs her money. He's got a pedigree and a country estate, and he won't ever break her heart. There's only one problem...Christian isn't about to let her marry that pompous prig...

Christian Du Quesne, Duke of Scarborough, thinks the stubborn heiress is about to make the biggest mistake of her life, and he's determined to stop her. Tempting beautiful women is Christian's forte, after all. When her family offers him a nice sum of money to stop the wedding, he's happy to accept.

Falling in love with Annabel was never supposed to be part of the bargain.

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