A Whisper of Desire: A Disgraced Lords Novel

Lady Marisa Hawkestone and Maitland Spencer, Duke of Lyttleton, wake up in bed together, naked, with no memory of the night before or how the got there after presumably having been drugged by an enemy of the Duke's longtime circle of friends. Although nothing untoward occurred, the ensuing scandal forces the two to wed. Despite finding tremendous passion in each other's arms, Maitland holds back in the light of day and for several following nights, leaving Marisa bewildered, hurt and a little angry. What happened in Maitland's past that makes him feel he must keep himself so tightly controlled? Will Marisa be able to penetrate his defenses and make him open up to her before their marriage is damaged beyond repair? Will they learn who wishes to harm them in such a public way before the menace moves on to causing physical harm? Can Maitland keep Marisa safe from both the outside threat and from his own dark side? This novel features the typical Regency romance plot in which two people who don't know each other well are forced to marry and must overcome communication barriers to learn to love each other, usually not realizing the depth of their true feelings until one or the other is in grave danger. However, this book is unique in that it also touches on the dark underbelly of London in that era, including topics such as sexual abuse, venereal disease, and child prostitution. These harsh realities are jarring when juxtaposed against absurdity of some of the elements of the plot, such as the very idea that two people already alert against possible attack could be drugged and placed in a chamber with their clothes taken, without a single person (not even the woman's brother or a single servant) seeing a thing. In addition, after all the build up to the finale, the conclusion of the book was most unsatisfying. While I understand the goal is to promote sales of the next book, some kind of mini-resolution or intermediate step would have been more gratifying. Still, the fast pace of the action and the well-drawn, fully-developed main characters made this an enjoyable read.

I absolutely loved this novel. It broke my heart when she found out she couldn't have children. I actually cried. Plz keep writing these wonderful books. I'm on the next book in the series.

A complicated hero. An inquisitive heroine. A hidden menace that threatens everything they hold dear including their lives. Bronwen Evans has created a world with darkness hiding in the shadows. A Whisper of Desire is a story of complex pieces. Ms. Evans is the consummate puppet master as she leads her audience through concealed clues and mysterious faceless adversaries. Every breath and every step brings into focus the scattered clues. A thriller that is as seductive as it is addictive. I received an ARC of Whisper in the Dark in exchange for an honest review.