"Not your run-of-the-mill historical!"
This isn't one of your usual run-of-the-mill historical
romances. This one is about a Duchess who is an older woman
and who has just lost her tyrannical husband through a
quirk of fate. She is still numb because she cannot believe
that she's finally out from under his thumb when she meets
this younger man in her garden who takes her into the
gardener's cottage and makes love to her all night long in
such a way that she finally feels like she's come alive.
Then unfortunately she becomes ill and all memories of that
night are wiped from her memory. She only has her dreams of
that night. Olivia Thorpe now has to try to get on with her life. She
has to get the ancestral home ready for the new heir who is
going to be coming back to England from America where he
has lived since he was a child. Then she is given an
opportunity to get involved in politics when she's
approached about the deplorable situation of the girls who
work in the match factory. She also comes face to face with
Willoughby Barnes, a painter and sometimes gardener. The
minute she sees him face to face, all of her memories of
that glorious night come rushing back. Will is 15 years her
junior and many stations below her. It could never work or
could it? This book wasn't just about Olivia and Will and their great
age difference. It was so much more. There were so many
stories intertwined and of course, there is the mystery of
how Quinton Thorpe, the Duke, really died. All these
situations combined had me deeply enmeshed in this book.
This is the first book of Julie Beard's that I've read but
it has made me definitely want to look up her backlist. Reviewed by Kathy Boswell
Posted April 5, 2002
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted November 19, 2006
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After more than twenty years, Olivia, Duchess of Brandhust,
is finally free—free from the shackles of a lovless
marriage to a cruel, domineering husband. An in one
reckless night of passion, she experiences that freedom—in
the arms of Will Barnes, a man she meets by chance in the
moonlight of a garden, a man forbidden to her by the
unwritten laws of Victorian society.
Once the night is over, Livie returns to her role of
grieving widow. But memories of that night haunt Livie—and
Will as well. Unable to forget her or the fierce emotions
she inspires in him, he returns. With his working-class
background and artistic talents, Will is unlike anyone
Livie has ever known. Despite the scandal that threatens
their love, and the differenced between them, she cannot
resist him, or the beauty he brings to her life. But when
Livie's enemies try to destroy her with vicious accusations
about her marriage, Will is determined to save her, even if
it means giving her up. Somehow, Livie must prove to him
that their passion is worth any sacrifice, and that he is
much more than the duchess' lover—he is her love...
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