Hazard

April 1, 2002
Beverley's newest (following The Devil's Heiress) is an engaging, if thinly plotted, Regency-era love story featuring Lady Anne Peckworth. Demure, reserved and polite to a fault, even after being jilted twice, Anne is the perfect heiress. Although her substantial fortune guarantees a certain amount of attention from the beaux of London, her crippled foot means that she is always seen as slightly damaged goods. Racecombe de Vere is a charismatic ex-soldier with no prospects and a mysterious family background. Although he's completely unsuitable as a match for Anne, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. Determined to find herself a husband and shake off her self-imposed isolation in the country, Anne heads to town on a mission to make her way in society, but she can't rid herself of her feelings for Race. Will she settle down with a proper husband, or will she take a chance on exactly the wrong man? Race remains a bit of a cipher throughout the novel—Anne's initial resistance to his charms is exaggerated, and her reactions sometimes overpower their interplay. Nevertheless, Anne's rare combination of intelligence and spunk enlivens this standard plot, and fans will appreciate the spicy chemistry between her and Race.

April 15, 2002
It's another quiet day in the life of Lady Anne Peckworth. Cosseted daughter of a duke, considered fragile because of her limp, she is somewhat looking forward to her pending engagement. But when her sister reads a letter that announces that Anne's fiance has married another, she's not really surprised. After all, that's twice she has been jilted. There was no great love lost anyway. Just when she has resigned herself to spinsterhood, her brother shows up with a guest. Race DeVere has been sent by Anne's latest ex-fiance to make sure she'll be all right after she hears the news. When Anne's sister goes into labor that same night, Race and Anne spend a long evening together. Each is reluctantly fascinated by the other. Race determines to bring Anne out of her shell. Anne is determined that she must marry. Both are excruciatingly aware of the huge difference in social standing. Anne looks elsewhere, but no one comes close to Race. Fans of Beverley's Company of Rogues series will truly enjoy this delightful adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)