Jane Fenton knows little about London’s notorious underground, except that her drug-addicted brother disappeared there a few years ago.  When she meets Viscount Nicholas Stoneworth, a man who recently returned from the underground to civilized society because of his brother’s untimely death, she seizes the opportunity to ask for his help. A boxer, womanizer, and libertine in the underground, Nicholas needs lots of convincing before he decides to take on her charity case; in fact, he proposes a trade.  If Jane agrees to train him to live like a gentleman again, he will agree to help find her brother—or at least obtain information about his demise.

This strange arrangement sets the story in motion.  Once a respectable member of society, Jane has been forced to work as a lady’s maid after her father’s death and her brother’s disappearance.  Therefore, she must sneak around at night visiting Nicholas for his tutorials, while he must sneak around the underground searching for clues about her brother while outwardly living life as a gentleman back in London.

Although they start out at odds with each other, Jane and Nicholas soon form a romantic bond, because of their mutual losses of beloved brothers and because they both feel like outsiders in their worlds.  He is not entirely comfortable in society or the underground anymore; she no longer yearns for the society that shunned her, but doesn’t enjoy her new role as a servant either. These emotional connections help fuel their growing physical attraction for each other.

In Her Notorious Viscount, Jenna Petersen creates an intricately plotted story filled with interesting characters.  Nicholas’s passionate nature and animalistic tendencies make him especially tempting to tame.  His family’s reactions to his behavior (angry father, placating mother, guilt-inducing sister-in-law) feel genuine.  The weakest link in this character chain, however, has to be Jane, a woman whose irritating outbursts make her seem childish sometimes. Not only do her rash comments alienate her from other society women, but could even threaten her life. Despite Jane’s bravery and loyalty, her unrestrained and unfiltered observations make her a slightly less-likable heroine.