Trial by Desire (Hqn)
*Starred Review* Readers will be blown away by Milan’s second historical romance, following her excellent debut, Proof by Seduction (2010). At the outset, Lady Kate Carhart’s marriage is perfect in every way except one: her husband, Ned, doesn’t love her. Ned is always the perfect gentleman, but Kate wants a bit more passion and a lot less politeness from her new spouse. Just as Kate is about to set her plan to seduce Ned into motion, however, he announces that he is leaving the country on business. Now, after three years apart, Kate is certain that she has successfully gotten Ned out of her system; but when he unexpectedly returns home, Kate discovers she isn’t quite as over him as she believes. Milan deftly incorporates realistic historical grit in her coverage of the Opium Wars, social candor in her treatment of domestic violence, and stunning emotional depth in the mesmerizing plot, and the result is an exquisitely sensual and unforgettable romance by one of the genre’s incandescent new stars. --John Charles