Sensual heat melts the ice in the new Disgraced Lords novel from USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans, as a marriage of convenience leads to delightful pleasure—and mortal danger. Lady Marisa Hawkestone’s nightmare is just beginning when she wakes up naked, with no memory of the night before, lying next to Maitland Spencer, the Duke of Lyttleton—a man so aloof and rational he’s nicknamed … rational he’s nicknamed “the Cold Duke.” A scandal ensues, in which Marisa’s beloved beau deserts her. As a compromised woman, Marisa agrees to marry Maitland. But on her wedding night, Marisa discovers the one place the duke shows emotion: in the bedroom, where the man positively scorches the sheets.
Taught from a young age to take duty seriously, Maitland cannot understand his new wife’s demands on his love and affection. Marisa’s hot-blooded spirit, however, does have its attractions—especially at night. In retrospect, it seems quite silly that he didn’t marry sooner. But being one of the Libertine Scholars requires constant vigilance, even more so when the enemy with a grudge against his closest friends targets Marisa. Now Maitland must save the woman who sets his heart aflame—or die trying.
Look for the enchanting Disgraced Lords series from Bronwen Evans:
A KISS OF LIES | A PROMISE OF MORE | A TOUCH OF PASSION | A WHISPER OF DESIRE | A TASTE OF SEDUCTION | A NIGHT OF FOREVER
And don’t miss her novels in the Imperfect Lords series:
ADDICTED TO THE DUKE | DRAWN TO THE MARQUESS | ATTRACTED TO THE EARL
“With complexity, depth, and hot, hot passion, A Whisper of Desire kept my emotions on a roller coaster—and I didn’t want to get off.”—Lavinia Kent, author of Sarah’s Surrender
“If you are a lover of romance and don’t mind a little heat, Evans’s novels are the way to go. She constantly reminds us what passion is all about, and because she is so on point with her facts and lively characters, you just can’t go wrong. Her latest is suspenseful, well written and a great read all around.”—RT Book Reviews
“A must-read . . . delightful . . . I laughed out loud, I cried, I wept and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.”—Night Owl Reviews (five stars)
“A compelling Regency tale full of passion and danger.”—Fresh Fiction
“This book covered everything, and yet did so in an uncluttered, coherent fashion. I ended up being awake way past my bedtime because I couldn’t stop reading. I’ll be going back and reading the first ones in the series, and I look forward to seeing how the later ones pan out.”—The Romance Factor
“I can’t wait for the [next] books in the series to come out. This is rapidly becoming one of my favourite series out there!”—Kilts and Swords
Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
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I really loved this series and I have purchased all other books by this author. It is hard to pick a favorite, but this book is in my top three of this series
With complexity, depth, and hot, hot passion, A Whisper of Desire kept my emotions on a roller coaster — and I didn’t want to get off.
I love her work, I just finished two of her last ones and she gets better and better every day.
The fourth in the Disgraced Lords series, whilst this could stand-alone. However as I love series I’d recommend reading this series in order.
Lady Marisa Hawkestone’s, sister of Sebastian, is expecting to receive a marriage proposal fro the Earl of Rutherford but Maitland Spencer, the Duke of Lyttleton witnesses the real Rutherford & has to tell Marisa the truth. The nightmare continues for Marisa when she wakes up naked, with no memory of the night before, lying next to Maitland. Maitland is nicknamed ‘the Cold Duke’, because he is aloof and rational & also a wiz with numbers. They have no choice but to marry. Maitland has a very strict regime, as he believes this will stop him becoming like his debauched syphilitic father but he hadn’t expected to be so enthralled by his wife.
Another brilliant book in the series, the woman out for revenge is still unknown but the Libertine Scholars are getting closer. ‘M&M’ are so right for each other & how their story unfolds really moved me. The female characters in the whole series are strong opinionated women & Marisa is no different, however she has a compassionate side, which she uses to help orphans. Maitland is tortured by an event that took place when he was 16 only when he confides in Marisa is she able to help him come to terms with it. He may be ‘the cold duke’ but there’s nothing cold about him in the bedroom.
A well-written book full of romance & suspense I can’t wait for Hadley’s story
I read this book for a Lisa Kleypas challenge. I had the letter M and the two main characters are “M”. Not really pertinent to the review, but…
Another book I just don’t quite know how to review. For starters, the synopsis was a little misleading to me. The premise of an honorable man taking on the challenge of marrying a woman who has been compromised through no fault of either character is appealing. The added appeal is it was clear that while he is the rather shut down “Cold Duke”, her winsome personality changes him. Hints of Julia Quinn. NOPE, not so much.
The Cold Duke aka Maitland is more than cold and more than shut down. For very good reasons, he has numbed himself from the opposite sex. He will only allow himself to have relations with a courtesan, no mistresses but a different woman each time, as he does not want to stoop to the depravity of his father. He’s looking for a wife he can have an aloof relationship for his own protection as well as hers. His father ended up contracting syphillis and going mad, but not before trying to afflict as many others before he died, and Maitland’s greatest fear is turning into a sexual beast like his father. Not really a spoiler. Evil papa passed on the syphilis to his second wife, Maitland’s step-mother which is an integral side plot. This is explored more at length later.
That, my fellow readers, is the tip of the iceberg. Maitland initially offered for the h, Marissa, but was turned down by her brother, his best friend, as he wants a love match for his sister.
Love match is not going to happen, as Maitland overhears Marissa’s beloved having a tryst with another and discussing how he plans to marry the h for her dowry. Some how, some way, Maitland and Marissa end up drugged and in bed and the inevitable MOC happens. Here is where it goes off the rails. Apparently, Maitland and his band of friends are being stalked by someone trying to avenge the evil their fathers’ did.
Per Maitland’s attempt to sexually repress himself, he backs off from Marissa on the wedding night. That’s not part of her plan. They are married and…well… they are married. Consummation occurs and, oh my, for someone sexually repressed or one who hopes to be sexually repressed, let’s just say the Duke knows what he is doing. Once again, let me get my fan out. Law’s a mercy!
Sadly, he puts a kibosh on future action much to his bride’s chagrin and ours, okay mine. He loses the fight more than occasionally, but the h is confused and hurt that her husband doesn’t want her. A hysterical conversation with her brother who wants NOTHING to do with the info doesn’t really help her.
The two main characters struggle with what marriage means for them: for him a match for procreation and someone to help him soothe the beast within; for the h it means love and intimacy.
Along the way, more details of the evil woman who is haunting the Disgraced Lords pops up, and the story takes a dark turn. From here the story takes a step into the ugliness that society has to offer: prostitution, STD’s, infidelity, pedophilia, lunacy, and murder. I am not going to do a spoiler alert because at this point you are either titillated to read or not. There is no gratuitous violence or sex, but there is quite enough between the lines that could make some readers uncomfortable.
I was a little shocked in the latter part of the story as there are a couple of events that shocked me. When you read as much as a Goodread reader does, it’s nice to be shocked even though it may be ugly at times. So NO SPOILERS!!!! I am sure there are some readers who saw things coming, but not me!
I probably should have read the other books first as I missed a lot of back story. One character I really liked was Helen, Marissa’s sister, who has a yen for someone. Despite some googling, I don’t think she gets her HEA. Sad face. It’s odd how sometimes we can fix on a minor character that gets no redress.
I recommend this with a couple of caveats. This is not a cute, sweet little Regency novel. There are dark layers and people behaving despicably. The H and h are not of that ilk I am happy to report. If I review a BDSM novel, I’m not going to go on and on about bondage as that is is an integral part of the story. In a Regency like this, I like to forwarn to the more delicate reader.