cover image Seven Nights to Forever

Seven Nights to Forever

Evangeline Collins, Berkley Sensation, $15 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-425-23683-3

A scorned husband finds love in the arms of an elegant courtesan in this passionate and touching Regency. Respectable country gentlewoman Rose Marlowe supports her brother and repays her dead father's substantial debts by working seven sensual nights a month in an exclusive brothel. Wealthy merchant James Archer, locked into a terrible marriage as the price of his younger sister's entry into high society, seeks satisfaction in her arms. As their seven nights speed by, Collins (Her Ladyship's Companion) builds a skillful and sensitive portrait of their journey to passion and love. James's villainous wife is shallowly portrayed, but his surprisingly mature sister, Rebecca, and, especially, the bisexual prostitute Timothy Ashton, Rose's close friend, deserve their own turns in the spotlight. Though the setting is not particularly specific or rich in period detail, the sizzling central romance is exceptionally good and will entirely satisfy fans of sensual historicals. (Nov.)