What a Reckless Rogue Needs

In 1821, Colin Brockhurst, Earl of Ravenshire, is a wenching ne’er-do-well. His father, the Marquess of Chadwick, threatens to sell the home where Colin’s mother is buried, unless Colin renounces his rakish ways and takes a wife. Colin believes that renovating the building will convince his father that he cares about the family holdings. He enlists the assistance of family friend Lady Angeline Brenham, who’s suffering under the cloud of a scandalous broken engagement. As the two make Colin’s house into a home, proximity and personality interact in a seductively explosive combination. When Colin proposes to solve their problems with marriage, Angelina holds off, refusing to confine free-spirited Colin while sheltering her own previously burned heart. Colin must make them both believe that a life together is possible, before he loses his childhood home forever. The characters are implausibly honorable and forgiving of one another’s faults, but a deliciously slow-burning plot make this story worth savoring. (Mar.)