A Gentleman Never Tells
*Starred Review* As it turns out, fate just couldn’t be content with sticking Roland Penhallow in Tuscany for a boring, yearlong sabbatical with his brother, the Duke of Wallingford, and his brother’s friend, Phineas Burke. It also had to throw Roland’s first love, Elizabeth, into the mix. Now married to the vindictive Count of Somerton, Elizabeth hopes that by putting enough distance between herself and her husband, she can keep custody of her young son, Philip, but her plan depends on living quietly with her cousin, Alexandra Morley, in the castle they rented in Tuscany. Any hint of scandal would give Elizabeth’s husband the leverage he needs to take Philip away. Unfortunately, the castle is double-booked, and Roland and his friends simply refuse to seek new quarters elsewhere. Now Elizabeth must do everything in her power to resist resuming her romance with Roland from where they left it six years earlier. In the second delectable addition to her elevated historical trilogy, which began with a Shakespeare-oriented A Lady Never Lies (2012), Gray pays tribute this time to composer Verdi while again dazzling readers with scintillating wit, lusciously layered characters, and sizzling, sensual romance, proving she truly is the newest incandescent star in the romance firmament. --John Charles