cover image Jilting the Duke

Jilting the Duke

Rachael Miles. Kensington/Zebra Shout, $4.99 mass market (352p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4086-6

Debut author Miles’s reluctant duke is set on revenge against the woman who jilted him, and he sets out to make her pay—with passion—in this cozily scrumptious historical romance, the first in a Regency-era series. Orphaned Sophia had promised herself to Aidan, the third son of a duke, but she married his best friend soon after Aidan went off to war. A decade later, Aidan has the title and a quiet career with the Home Office—and has been named co-guardian of the widowed Sophia’s son. All his schemes for making Sophia pay for throwing him over fly out the window when she is threatened by a shadowy foe. The normally formulaic foundation of period pieces is tweaked with just enough intrigue to set this novel apart from others of the genre. Rather than focusing on the typical parade of dresses and debutantes, the novel draws readers in with unusual characters and the interplay of secrets and lies. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Sanford Greenburger Associates. (Feb.)