Synopsis
Meet three noble bachelors and a quartet of American girls of questionable manners! New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp delights with an exciting new series featuring love, laughter, and intrigue.
When Mary Bascombe’s stepfather tries to sell her and her sisters to the highest bidder after their mother’s death, she resolves to take drastic action. Although their British mother was estranged from her family, Mary decides the four will flee to London and take their place in society as granddaughters of the Earl of Stewkesbury.
Dashing Sir Royce Winslow doubts the honesty of the young women’s claim—despite their charms, they seem to be hiding something. His attraction to feisty Mary, however, is no ruse, so when the sisters are shipped off to Willowmere, the earl’s country estate, to acquire some polish, Royce is quick to join them. When an unknown villain attempts a kidnapping, Royce and Mary are thrown together as they confront the danger . . . and Royce learns that while high society may sing the praises of proper behavior, it is a most improper American who is winning his heart.
Publishers Weekly
Regency romance veteran Camp (The Wedding Challenge) launches the Willowmere series with this steamy romp. Four American orphans—practical eldest sister Marigold (who prefers the much more sensible name Mary), shy Rose, knife-totin' Camellia, and silly Lily—land in 1824 London, hoping for support from their ultra-wealthy grandfather, the earl of Stewkesbury, who cast out their mother for marrying for love. Conveniently rescued from a mugger by proud and elegant Sir Royce Winslow, Mary is soon smitten by his bulging muscles and lustful kisses. Meanwhile, the sisters reluctantly enter the upper-class English milieu, encountering handsome bachelors, horrid villains, and Royce's conniving old flame, Lady Sabrina. Extended foreplay and explosive climaxes will entertain modern readers, but they may not find the lust a satisfactory substitute for old-fashioned elegance, which the story almost entirely lacks. (May)