Southern Gentlemen

Boys from the wrong side of the tracks fall in love with girls from the town's wealthiest families, while girls marry within their own social groups before finding happiness with the town's bad boys and true Southern gentlemen. These are the twin plots at the nucleus of this engaging pair of stories from veteran romance authors, Blake and Edwards. In Blake's offering (after Kane), Rip Peterson, ex-con turned electronic mogul, returns to Montrose, La., intending to carve himself a place in society with the help of beautiful Anna Montrose. In exchange, he'll restore her beloved ancestral home (which he now owns) to its original grandeur. If she fails, she must agree to marry him. Edwards (Rising Tide) pits attorney Billy Ray Wainwright against the most powerful judge in the county when he offers protection and council to the judge's widowed daughter-in-law, Carolina Grayson. The judge is as crooked as they come, and will stop at nothing to gain custody of his grandchildren, including branding Carolina a murderess. Fans of Blake and Edwards will be rewarded two-fold with these richly textured, heartwarming stories, and first-time readers will be hooked. (June)