From Booklist
Due to his history of expensive romantic entanglements, Alistair Carsington now has six months to find either a useful occupation or a wealthy heiress to wed. To prove he is not an idle fop only concerned with sartorial pleasures, Alistair agrees to help his old friend, Lord Gordmor, by traveling to the wilds of Derbyshire to convince Gordmor's neighbors to support the nobleman's proposal to build a canal. Upon arriving, Alistair, a famous war hero and eligible bachelor, finds everyone couldn't be nicer, everyone except for respectable, practical, spinsterish Mirabel Oldridge. The last thing Mirabel wants is for her tranquil little corner of England to be destroyed by a noisy, nasty canal, and she is prepared to use every weapon at her disposal--including her disheveled coiffure and unstylish wardrobe--to stop Alistair. RITA Award-winning Chase presents a splendidly written tale of two people trying desperately not to fall in love. Chase's beguiling blend of deliciously complex characters, potent sexual chemistry, and sparkling wit give this superb romance a richness and depth readers will treasure. John Charles
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Book Description
Beloved author Loretta Chase offers her long-awaited new novel--the tale of a bluestocking and a reformed rake who clash over a matter of business, and soon find themselves facing an entirely different, and delicious, sort of tension.
Miss Wonderful FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Fans of USA Today–bestselling author Loretta Chase will be completely charmed by her new hero, Alastair Carsington, and this fresh romantic tale of opposites attracting. The story opens with Alastair receiving an edict from his father, Lord Hargate: Alastair must marry an heiress. Lord Hargate has tired of paying for the romantic indiscretions of his third son. Further, Alastair has returned from the battlefield at Waterloo with a severe limp and an excessive interest in clothes. Alastair is dispatched to the wilds of Derbyshire in winter, with a charge to promote the canal proposal of Lord Gordmor. Opposing him: the very intelligent, obstinate, and unstylishly dressed Mirabel Oldridge, who wishes no change in her beloved countryside. How Alastair and Mirabel resolve their differences, uncover a deadly plot, and manage to get her out of those terrible clothes makes for most entertaining reading. Ginger Curwen
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Beloved author Loretta Chase offers her long-awaited new novel—the tale of a bluestocking and a reformed rake who clash over a matter of business, and soon find themselves facing an entirely different, and delicious, sort of tension.
Author Biography:
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Alistair Carsington-wounded Waterloo hero, third son of the Earl of Hargate, and a dismal judge of female character-is commanded by his father to find a way to be self-supporting within the next six months (either by finding an occupation or winning an heiress) or risk impoverishing his younger brothers. He then heads for an isolated corner of Derbyshire to see a botanist about a canal and is confronted with the one thing he can't resist: a beautiful, desirable woman. On the other hand, Mirabel Oldridge, intelligent, independent, if rather sartorially challenged, has enough to deal with in managing the estate of her plant-obsessed father and isn't about to let a charming dandy, however heroic and handsome, distract her. Graced with compelling prose, witty dialog, well-researched detail, and engaging, exceptionally well-drawn characters, this beautifully done historical is Chase's first new book in five years-and it was well worth the wait. Chase (The Last Hellion) has written a number of much-loved, award-winning historical romances and lives in Worcester, MA. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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