Ravished Book

There was no doubt about it. What Miss Harriet Pomeroy needed was a man. Someone powerful and clever who could help her rout the unscrupulous thieves who were using her beloved caves to hide their loot. But when Harriet summoned Gideon Westbrook Viscount St. Justin to her aid, she could not know that she was summoning the devil himself…
Dubbed the Beast of Blackthorne Hall for his scarred face and lecherous past, Gideon was strong and fierce and notoriously menacing. Yet Harriet could not find it in her heart to fear him. For in his tawny gaze she sensed a savage pain she longed to soothe…and a searing passion she yearned to answer. Now, caught up in the beast’s clutches, Harriet must find a way to win his heart — and evade the deadly trap of a scheming villain who would see them parted for all time.

Publishers Weekly

As in Quick's Surrender , the crux of this new Regency is one night's indiscretion, a ruined reputation and a hurried wedding. But despite the title, this is no rape-'em-and-romance-'em. Harriet Pomeroy, the woman in question, is--at the grand old age of 25--perfectly capable of handling herself. In fact, she's more concerned with the reputation of her outsize fiance, Gideon Westbrook, aka the Viscount St. Justin, aka The Beast of Blackthorne Hall, who supposedly abandoned another woman after bedding her. After her unconventional engagement, Harriet, her sister and aunt leave the backwater of Upper Biddleton in search of polite polish during London's season while adventure and, inevitably, love tag along. An avid antiquities nerd with a decided predilection for moldy teeth, Harriet is a cheery, intensely likable character, one well matched by the battered and beleaguered Gideon. Although more romance than Regency--a few articles of clothing and a liberal sprinkling of the word ton suffice for atmosphere--genre aficionados will find this a spiffy read. (July)