Bound to Be a Groom

In this lighthearted historical romance that quickly diverges from the straight and narrow, Mulry (A Royal Pain) achieves an atmosphere of anticipation on every page. Anna Redondo debuts following a convent education in 1808 Badajoz, Spain. Her plan to become a courtesan is almost immediately foiled by a chance meeting with Sebastian di Montizon, an eligible nobleman in need of a suitable wife who’s willing to take a firm hand in the bedroom. With very little effort, they make an arrangement that swiftly encompasses Anna’s lover, Pia, and Sebastian’s former intimate companion, Duke Farleigh Edward. Their passions and interweaving relationships are impelled by good luck bordering on the improbable, an anachronistic sense of sexual equality, eager divergence from stated orientations, and youthfully reckless disregard for social proprieties. Nonetheless, the sweet and gentle attitudes of all involved mix headily with power exchange and the quartet’s single-minded pursuit of satisfaction. (May)