Review: The world needs more Scoundrels like this one
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2013
If you've never read a book by Annette Blair, you've led a deprived life.  Her stories are beautifully written and leave you with a nice warm feeling inside after they're over.  Oh, and there are a few parts that will steam up your reading glasses as well, of course.Holy Scoundrel is the 4th and latest book in her Knave of Hearts Series.  It is the story of Gabriel, the indigent son of the town vicar, now a man of the cloth himself.  But he is no ordinary Holy Man.  He's a Scoundrel.  A Knave of Hearts.I can't possibly describe Gabriel better than he is described by the author in the opening pages of the book when Lacey, his former love sees him for the first time after nearly 5 years.  I will quote:  "Gabriel the indomitable --named for the bright angel when he should have been named for the dark--stood frozen in vulnerability.  A heartbeat, no more, and the scoundrel narrowed his eyes, stepped forward, stretched to his full staggering height, and squared his shoulders to a stunning span.  Lucifer, sighting prey, spreading charred wings."Holy Scoundrels, Batman.Returning to the town that shunned her when she found herself expecting a bastard child, Lacey was Gabriel's first and only true love--and current worst nightmare.  It wasn't his child, you see, that she carried those years ago.  He had been betrayed beyond what his heart could bear.  Or was he?Lacey loved Gabriel with all her heart and soul.  If she would've named him the father of her child, his livelihood as a newly frocked vicar would've been ripped away from him, forever destroying the dreams he'd worked towards his entire life.  If only he'd understood that there was no way she had ever loved someone else.  A cousin and dear friend had agreed to "take the fall" as he was leaving for America anyway.  She thought it had all worked out for the best.  She'd sacrificed her happiness for Gabriel's.Brought together to help Gabriel's stepdaughter, the daughter of Lacey's cousin, they both try to resist being pulled towards each other.  But, as it always is with true love, it is impossible to fight the inevitable.This is a wonderful story.  Not only do you have the well-written and loveable main characters, but you have the added depth of returning Scoundrels (and their wives) from the previous 3 books.  It all comes together in a story that will keep you up all night as you follow Gabriel and Lacey on their path to happily ever after.