Tempting the Bride

The final installment in Thomas's Fitzhugh trilogy (after Ravishing the Heiress) provides a sizzling series conclusion as romance ignites between an independent businesswoman and a nobleman. Helena Fitzhugh, sister of an earl, is a college-educated 19th-century English-woman who owns a publishing company. David Hillsborough, Viscount Hastings, has loved Helena since their childhood; he proves it by interrupting a tryst between Helena and her lover, Andrew Martin, right before Martin's wife shows up, but Helena is none too pleased that the rescue involves Hastings kissing her just as the door bursts open. Hastings's suggestion of a rushed marriage is derailed when Helena is hit by a carriage and suffers amnesia, but he relishes the chance to convince her of his love before she remembers that she hates him and his acerbic wisecracks. Helena's self-possessed intelligence makes her a standout heroine, and Thomas has an exquisite ability to transport the reader into the outstanding story. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency. (Oct.)