Seducing An Angel
Huxtable Family Series – Book IV

By Mary Balogh
       

Stephen Huxtable, Earl of Merton is one of the Season’s most eligible bachelors. Young, wealthy and with the looks of an angel and the sunny disposition to match, he is the one most debutantes have their sights set on. But, so does penniless and beautiful widow Cassandra Belmont, reputed to have killed her late husband with an axe just a year beforehand. She knows that she can seduce him and make him want her as his mistress, and if she fails both her and her small but unconventional household will starve. But she has not reckoned that he will have his own demands as well…

Once again a Huxtable comes to the rescue of somebody who has been wronged and cast as a villain by society. Cass hides many secrets and thinks that she will never trust a man again, while Stephen thinks that all he wants from a wife is a bland nature and youth. By this stage in the series a pattern has been established, and at times I yearned for more of a break from what felt at times a set mold. However, Ms Balogh is a writer of considerable talent and what could have felt a shade stale was enlivened by her indisputable gift for writing romance. Other Regencies might boast plots concerning spies, murders or exotic locations but few can match this writer for creating chemistry between her characters or for depicting people falling in love. Some editing might have made a tauter story and there is certainly room for some new elements but once the covers are opened, it is all too easy to just get swept along.