Scandalous Deception

In 1820 adviser to Czar Alexander English Lord Edmond Summerville learns his twin brother Stefan, the Duke of Huntley, is in danger as someone wants him dead. Used to the lethal contest of Russian politics, Edmond leaves his mother's homeland to go to England, the land of his father, to help his sibling. Edmond insists on being bait to draw out the killer by pretending he is the Duke. Fearing her stepfather's depraved assaults are getting worse, Brianna Quinn turns to her childhood friend, Stefan for safety; as a Duke he can keep her odious relative away from her. However, she realizes immediately that the duke who greets her is not Stefan, but his brother Edmond. They are attracted to one another so when the Czar needs him she accompanies him back to Russia. As they fall in love, someone threatens his beloved forcing Stefan to choose between his beloved and his beloved Russia. This terrific historical romance is at its best when the hero is in Russia as the audience obtains a powerful taste of Czarist intrigue a century before the Revolution. The segment in England is well written also especially as the lead couple get reacquainted, but does not possesses the uniqueness of the Russian chapters. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action as heroic Stefan risks his life for his brother, the Czar and especially for Brianna. Rosemary Rogers provides an exciting early nineteenth century romantic intrigue thriller. Harriet Klausner

Brianna has known the twins all her life, Stefan, she had always considered her friend, his warmth and trust in everyone a beacon of security. Edmund was the very opposite. And it was Stefan's very trust in all that causes Edmund to leave the polictical intrigue of the Russian Court to try to discover who in England wishes his brother dead. Into the mix storms Brianna, desperate to come under Stefan's guardianship and protection, since her step-father has proven to be a villian who would rape her and steal her innnocence. Brianna encounters Edmund pretending to be Stefan and using her beauty and a little blackmail she manages to get the protection she needs against her step-father, and a whole lot more than she bargained for from the presistant and quite irresistibly sexy Edmund. The love story was one that allowed you to learn of the character and grow to love them, and because of it the romance between Edmund and Brianna is one that is hard to forget once you've finished that last page. Of course, in most of Ms Rogers book I have found this to be true. She takes you to the very heart of her characters and lays them bare to you. The adventure behind the romance is interesting, always making me feel as if I am seeing what I am reading and living the adventure right along with the characters. Ms. Rogers does that very special thing----she brings you into the story, makes you feel a part--she doesn't just tells you how characters feel, she shows you....and I think it is this very special magic that makes all of her books MUST reads--and will always make them memorable.