Not Quite a Lady

In her latest Regency romance, Chase deftly weaves a tale of passion, sacrifice and growth with humor and charm to spare. Handsome, charming and an intellectual of the first order, Darius Carsington, fifth son of the earl of Hargate, spends his life in two pursuits: "(1) studying animal behavior, especially breeding and mating behavior, and (2) devoting his leisure hours to emulating this behavior"—with women. But his demanding father finds Darius's interests worthless and gives him a choice: either marry or go to work renovating his father's recently acquired countryside estate. Darius chooses the latter, making him neighbors with Lady Charlotte Hayward, a beautiful woman who's vowed never to marry, and the young pair's clumsy, comical first meeting does nothing to diminish the immediate chemistry between them. Behind her vow, though, Charlotte hides a shameful 10-year-old secret that she's loathe to reveal—and which a marriage would surely uncover—but nonetheless finds herself falling hard for Darius. Meanwhile, Darius is struggling to maintain his longstanding belief that there's no such thing as love. Amid all the reluctance, trysts and unexpected devotion, a hidden rival steps up to capture Charlotte and threaten to expose her. Chase knows what her fans want—strong characters, a swift pace and plenty of heated encounters—and once again she delivers, with considerable wit. (May)