cover image The Virgin and the Rogue

The Virgin and the Rogue

Sophie Jordan. Avon, $7.99 mass market (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-288544-9

A powerful aphrodisiac drives the smoldering sixth Regency in Jordan’s Rogue Files series (after The Duke’s Stolen Bride). Charlotte Langley’s romance with her childhood friend William Pembroke had a hiccup when she and her sisters, Marian and Nora, briefly lost everything after the death of their father, but now that Marian is married to the wealthy Duke of Warrington, Charlotte and William’s engagement is back on. Their relationship is comfortable, chaste, and boring. Enter Kingston, illegitimate stepbrother to the duke and a known rogue. His visit to his stepbrother’s estate happens to coincide with Nora, an herbalist, accidentally mixing Charlotte a cordial that makes her overcome with lust. Their steamy first encounter escalates into a torrid affair as the effects of the love potion linger. What little plot breaks up the sex scenes follows a predictable formula, but Charlotte and Kingston’s chemistry and the welcome humor Jordan weaves throughout will keep readers turning the pages. This erotically charged historical romance packs a passionate punch. Agent: Maura E. Kye-Casella, Don Congdon Assoc. (May)