Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Surrender becomes Her-Shirlee Busbee

Surrender becomes Her
Shirlee Busbee
Zebra, Jul 1 2009, $14.00
ISBN: 9781420105391

In 1795, Lord Marcus Sherbrook felt he was too young to be guardian of seventeen year old Isabel Dunham. In fact he cannot understand why his father or some other more responsible person was not chosen instead of him. He struggles to make wild Isabel behave, but fails when she elopes with a military officer heading to India for a tour of duty.

A decade later, now a widow with a son, Isabel returns to England. Marcus wants nothing to do with the mature Isabel, but is attracted to her. When he learns someone is trying to blackmail her, Marcus proclaims they are betrothed. He gut reacted, which leaves a stunned Isabel a choice between marriage and scandal. As they fall in love, he suddenly finds himself in an untenable situation between his beloved and his country.

This is a fabulous Regency romance starring a headstrong female and an equally as obstinate male. The suspense is woven into the plot to enhance the relationship war between the lead couple, which leads to more problems and a great late twist leaving Mr. Perfectly Behaved unable to control his impulses when it comes to her, but fins himself needing to face a hellish choice. Their gender battles in 1795 and in 1805 make for a super fun time for sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

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