LADY BE BAD: THE MERRY WIDOWS SERIES
CANDICE HERN
ISBN# (10) 0451221915/(13) 978-0451221919
August 2007
Signet Eclipse
Penguin Group Inc., 375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
Paperback
$6.99
320 Pages
Historical Romance
Rating: 4 Cups

Grace Marlow is the widow of the Bishop Marlowe, who was a fine upstanding member of London society. She continues to do good works in his name after his death. However, she has a secret; she is member of the Merry Widows a group of friends who are open to having affairs instead of marrying again. So far she has not become a true member, but that may be about to change.

When John Grayston, Viscount Rochdale boasts that there is not a woman in London whose bed he cannot seduce his way into and, an acquaintance decides to make him put his skills to the test with a not so friendly bet. If he cannot get Grace into his bed, he loses his prize mare; if he wins he gets a horse he has been wanting.

Grace is stunned when Rochdale begins paying attention to her. At first she rebuffs his advances but slowly he awakens feelings inside her that have been dormant fat too long. As for Rochdale, what started out as a pleasant task to win a bet becomes something much more. All too soon he finds himself wishing that he had never made such a stupid wager in the first place because Grace is the woman of his dreams. He could lose more than a horse if she finds out why he started courting her in the first place. Nobody is more surprised than Rochdale to find that he could lose his heart.

This installment of the The Merry Widow Series is wicked, sweet and full of hot, tense scenes where one or both of the parties is holding back and it works because of who the heroine is. Her awakening to her sensual nature is slow, steady and very well done. The scene where she blows her top when he finds he has a conscience after all is one of the funniest things I have read in a while. This story a wonderful example of how to reform a rake correctly, by letting him do it himself. As for the other widows and their men, they were just icing on the cake. Lady Be Bad is too good to miss!

Jenn
Reviewer For Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer For Karen Talk About New Books