THE SEDUCTION OF AN ENGLISH SCOUNDREL

The first in Hunter's new Regency trilogy focusing on the Boscastle family opens with beautiful bride Lady Jane Welsham left at the altar. The rakish Grayson Boscastle, who's both marquess of Sedgecroft and cousin of the groom, decides that as head of the family, he should redeem Jane's reputation. Sedgecroft won't take no for an answer, even when Jane emphatically refuses, so the couple embark on a round of social events that cements Jane's standing and sparks a romance between the unlikely pair. But Jane fears Sedgecroft's reaction when he learns her secret: the jilting was a sham fabricated with the groom, who wished to marry another. Telling himself he needs to teach her a lesson, Sedgecroft pretends to set Jane up as his mistress, even while he secretly plans to marry her. Dispirited by his dishonorable intentions, Jane still rushes into seduction. Readers may wonder why Jane bothers, as Sedgecroft regularly leaps over the line between alpha-male hero and egotistical bully. Hopefully, the next volume (The Love Affair of an English Lord , due out in June 2005) will feature a hero who understands that real love doesn't involve emotional ill-treatment and a heroine who won't accept anything less. Agent, Andrea Cirillo at the Jane Rotrosen Agency. (May)