One Night in London

A bargain that was all business...and pure passion.
Neither wealth nor beauty will help Lady Francesca Gordon win custody of her young niece Georgina, saving the girl from a cruel stepmother; she needs London's top solicitor for that.  But when Edward de Lacey, son of the powerful Duke of Durham, hires away the one man who can do the job, Francesca decides Edward himself must champion her case...if only she can melt the dashing lord's stony heart.
Edward has reason to be guarded, though.  London's tabloids have just exposed a secret that could ruin his entire family.  When Francesca offers a unique chance to undo the damage, Edward is forced to agree to a partnership...and now, each moment together feeds the flames of his scandalous longing for the passionate widow.  But when Georgina disappears, fate will test them both...and leave their love hanging in the balance.

Here is another author whose books I've seen around quite bit but never got a chance to read them.  I found this one while browsing through the romance section at my local library, which is not very big but it does have a good selection of titles.  I was also pleased to see that it is the first of a series.  I dislike reading a series out of order.


The Duke of Durham has died.  He has left his three sons, Charlie, Edward and Gerard a mess to clean up.  There is a slight possibility that his sons were illegitimate...he was briefly married when he was young, there wasn't an annulment or a divorce. And for the last while he was being blackmailed.  Each of the brothers dealt with this information differently, Edward hires the best lawyer to get at the bottom of this ordeal, Gerard sets off to look for blackmailer and Charlie doesn't really care all that much.  This  is when Lady Francesca Gordon enters, she is furious that Edward has "stolen" her lawyer and demands that  he help her find her missing niece.


I found the premise of the story to be entertaining, three siblings trying to safe their "family", Francesca's desperate need to find her niece believing that she was in danger, Edward discovering that he was more passionate than he thought, but... Yes, but.  I couldn't not warm myself to either Francesca or Edward.  Ok, maybe not Edward, I found him endearing but Francesca was another story, I'm not sure what precisely caused my dislike but it was there and I think it may have clouded my judgement on the overall book.


One Night in London by Caroline Linden (2.5/5) Historical Romance; Published: Avon Books (9/2011); New Author; Series: # 1, The Truth About the Duke; Library; Books 2012 (30);