Let Sleeping Rogues Lie is as scintillating as the title sounds rolling off the lips. Sabrina Jeffries weaves a tale of deception, half-truths, and omission. Sordid pasts litter throughout the story, many alongside the main characters, and a few directly related to the main characters. The only thing to watch out for is the mention of child abuse, which was inflicted on the male lead and drives him in ways he’s only beginning to discover.
Anthony Dalton, Viscount Norcourt, never thought to be titled. He was after all, the second son. His father must have bemoaned the facts of his heir and spare, a simpleton and rogue respectively, but no more than Anthony bemoans his dead brother’s idiocy. Dying and leaving his daughter without a guardian was quite possibly the worst move imaginable on Wallace’s part. Now poor Tess is being held by Anthony’s aunt and uncle, the Bickhams.
The Bickhams, Eunice and Randolph, are without a doubt the worst people in all of England. Becoming parents of one biological offspring did not make them kinder. Cruel to their own daughter, their offenses against Anthony as a young boy, still give him nightmares. Anthony can’t stand the darkness, the loneliness of the night. Perhaps, this is why Anthony is such a rakehell, filling his nights with the company of willing widows and whores. Only delving further into his character will tell.
Determined to win custody of his niece, Anthony fights for respectability. He quits his partying, and his lascivious behavior, even going so far as to curb his drinking of strong spirits. Now he must gain Tess a school, to prove the advantages of money and title against those of a seemingly stable home life. Unfortunately, it is coy Miss Madeline Prescott that gets in his way by helping him.
First he’s offered up as an expert in rakehells and rogues to the headmistress of Tess’ new school. He must show his responsibility by showing up promptly every day for two weeks and teaching the young misses about fortune and virtue hunters. And in offering her help, Madeline wants Anthony to do her a favor. She needs to clear her father of scandal with the testimony of one man, a man known to be in Anthony’s wild party circles. Anthony curses his rotten luck even as he yields to the temptation that is Madeline Prescott. On her part, Madeline is just as affected by Anthony as he is by her.
Can a love built on deception last? Would the truth break the fragile bonds growing between them or make them stronger? Only trust and faith will tell.
Rating: 3 Stars
Originally posted 2008-08-14 05:29:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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