Whisper of Scandal

August 23, 2010
Desperate to deflect an unwanted suitor, widowed Lady Joanna Ware plants a passionate kiss on her husband's best friend and fellow adventurer, Alex Grant. Within an hour, rumors are flying that she's his mistress. Cornick steers this standard Regency plot into uncharted waters when Alex and Joanna head off to the Arctic Circle in search of her husband's bastard daughter. Drawing on the history of Arctic travel, Cornick gives the reader a compelling landscape as backdrop to the burgeoning romance, along with wonderful scenes such as a London ball celebrating Alex's exploits with ice sculptures, white satin waterfalls, and an artificial version of the Northern Lights. Several of the lively side characters will presumably feature in the planned sequels, currently set for release in November and December.

September 15, 2010
Everyone in England believes David was a hero, but his wife Joanna knows the truth. She was always being abandoned by her late husband while he explored the North Pole or embarrassed by his numerous affairs. Alex knows David was a hero because David saved his life. Alex also knows better than to believe anything Davids widow says, because his friends dying words were to never trust his deceitful wife. Keeping their distance is easy to do, until a codicil to Davids will is found, which announces that Joanna and Alex have been appointed joint guardians of a child no one knew David had with a Russian woman. As the two travel north, they quickly discover their irresistible passion for each is strong enough to melt the ice at the North Pole. In the first in a beguiling new trilogy, Cornick gives the Regency historical a deliciously fresh twist with her sexy tale of daring explorers, bold women, and the uncharted dangers of the frozen North.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)