79. An Independant Woman (unnamed series, 1) - Candace Camp, HQN Historical Romance, March 2006, ISBN: 0373770979, 397p.
Featuring: Juliana Holcott and Nicholas Barre
Synopsis:
Only one person ever treated Juliana Holcott with anything other than disdain--Nicholas Barre, the orphaned heir to the estate where she spent her childhood. And when wild, rebellious Nick left home, Juliana was left to fend for herself.
Forced to seek employment as a lady's companion, Juliana resigned herself to a life of lonely independence...until Nick's innocent attentions at a ball cause her to lose her position, and he offers her the only recompense he can--a marriage of convenience.
It now falls to Juliana to prove that he is capable of the love they both so richly deserve. But when a guest at their wedding turns up dead, they must pursue a more urgent quarry--a murderer.
Will one man's greed and bloodlust ruin their chance at happiness...or will love conquer all?
Comments:
I enjoyed the story. Both the hero and the heroine are likeable. The heroine is a strong woman (appropriate, of course, considering the title), but not over-the-top so. I was unable to find any series title/information, but this story is followed by A Dangerous Man--as I should know considering I read them in the opposite order.
The great gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap [Hah! It most certainly is not!], it consoles, it distracts, it excites. It gives knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is moral illumination. ~ Elizabeth Hardwick
