His Sinful Secret (Notorious Bachelors) [Mass Market Paperback]

Emma Wildes has written a gentle but passionate tale of two people who never planned on marrying but do so out of familial obligation. This is a sweet story with an enigmatic hero and a determined heroine.

Michael Hepburn, the Marquess of Longhaven comes into his title quite unexpectedly, his brother dies and he finds his life altered completely. Michael works for the Foreign Office, was a well respected soldier and is quite an adept spy. He does his duty though and assumes the title and all the trappings with it to include fulfilling the betrothal contract his brother had with Julianne Sutton.

Julianne also is willing to please her family and goes through with the marriage to Michael. He is not a complete stranger but he is reserved, and incredibly private. She is aware that this marriage will take a lot of effort on her part; she knows Michael is holding back large chunks of his life (she is not aware initially that he works for the crown).

Michael is involved in a mission which is deadly, attempts have been made on his life and he is fairly certain the culprit is a former French spy that slipped past him earlier. Assisting him on this endeavor is a beautiful woman from his past, Antonia, who still has strong feelings for Michael. She is involved with a fellow British spy but feels her heart belongs to the Marquess. The scenes with Michael and Antonia are bittersweet. It would be easy to dislike this woman but Ms Wildes has given this character many admirable qualities and her past is clearly defined. The reader understands her motives clearly.

Even better are the scenes with Michael and Julianne. He really does attempt to keep an emotional distance from his wife but not a physical one. He and Julianne have a sensual and affectionate relationship. This is where both parties are honest with each other and they never have conversations filled with hateful words. Julianne is very perceptive and this startles Michael, he did not expect to find her so intuitive and analytical. Julianne puts pieces together fairly well and she knows that she wants a marriage that is deeper than a physical relationship. Michael's whole concept of marriage, duty, and selflessness is being reconstructed thanks to Julianne's thoughtful nature.

In addition to the sweet romance flowing between the lead couple, Antonia and her fellow spy are trying to find their own future. These scenes are very passionate and reveal Antonia's vulnerabilities. Finally this story has some unexpected twists and I have to say I was quite surprised several times in this novel. This is a fine addition to the notorious bachelor series.

Michael Hepburn never thought to marry but with his older brother's untimely death he'll have to take his place as the Marquess of Longhaven. Marriage to his brother's intended comes with its own complications. While Julianne is beautiful she's also been betrothed to his brother since they were infants and knew each other quite well and he's certain she felt a certain affection for him. There's also the little issue of his newly acquired injury that will be impossible to hide and might impede him from bedding her. He certainly can't tell her about his cloak and dagger activities, can he?

Julianne Sutton has always known she'd marry the Marquess of Longhaven. She just thought she would be marrying the more personable Harry rather than Michael who's always struck her as distant and unfeeling. With Harry she had some semblance of an idea that their marriage would be comfortable if not altogether familiar but with Michael she has no idea what to expect. While the Sutton and Hepburn families are pleased to be joined by this marriage, Julianne and Michael are merely acting on a sense of duty - one that could result in abject misery for them both or if they're very lucky they could fall in love.

Michael's busy finding a way to balance his duties as a husband, Marquess and the mystery behind the recent attacks being made on him which leaves him very little time to actually spend getting to know his new bride. He's so focused on protecting her from the dangers associated with his former life he's completely unaware that Julianne has a secret of her own. Michael visits Julianne's bedroom each night and there's no doubt that their bedroom activities are a most pleasurable diversion but Julianne longs to get to know her husband better. Perhaps if she ever saw him fully clothed they could actually have a meaningful conversation, but Michael's always gone during daylight hours. Of course, that does mean that her own activities go undetected by him as well - that is, when she can escape the prying eyes of the servants he insist accompany her everywhere. Their marriage may have started out as nothing more than a sense of duty but as Michael and Julianne begin to get to know each other they discover that falling in love with each other isn't out of the picture - in fact, it might have already happened.

Emma Wildes' newest addition to her NOTORIOUS BACHELORS series, HIS SINFUL SECRET, is witty, fast paced, full of memorable characters and plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing at what might happen next. There's chemistry between Julianne and Michael that practically leaps off the pages and has you eagerly anticipating each scene they're together. They're both harboring secrets and I was more than a little surprised when the secrets were divulged and even more so at how they're directly related to each other. Like all Emma Wildes' novels this story is told with passion, compassion and enough suspense that you just can't stop reading. I'd love to see several other of the characters from this story in future novels so hopefully there will be more NOTORIOUS BACHELORS in the future.

Other titles in the NOTORIOUS BACHELORS series (so far) are:
MY LORD SCANDAL
and
OUR WICKED MISTAKE

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

In London, Michael Hepburn is stabbed in the ribs fighting off an attacker. He cannot go home due to his injury as his parents host guests. He goes to the home of Lady Antonia Taylor who with her lover Laurence patches him up. Antonia loves Michael who saved her life in Spain, but he is marrying an innocent in two days Lady Julianne Simpson out of a sense of duty towards his parents who are grieving the death of their older son Harry. Michael assumes his war time enemy Roget attacked him for the second time in a week though Laurence disagrees.

Michael feels unworthy of Julianne and fears he is betraying his brother. Still they marry and he is very gentle with his shy virgin. They discuss Harry before making love. She realizes the aloof Michael is sensitive to her feelings; something his amiable late brother would not have done. Michael and Julianne make love every night, but Julianne concludes she has his passion, name and protection but not his affection as she believes Antonia has that. His control of his feelings disheartens her; as she wants a marriage like those of their respective parents. As the newlyweds fall in love, each has secrets; his involves his war time work while hers involves her late fiancé.

The latest Notorious Bachelor Regency romance (see My Lord Scandal and One Wicked Mistake) stars a strong lead couple whose marriage is brought about by the death of a loved one; she especially shows intelligence and keen observation, which in this sub-genre are traits of the male. The story line focuses on a suspicious spouse believing her new husband whom she does not know is concealing something from her. Although the villain turns out to be weak, readers will enjoy this engaging Regency romantic suspense.

Harriet Klausner