Deceived
Nicola Cornick
ISBN: 0373771649
HQN, July 2006, 384 pp
Historical – Regency
$5.99 $7.99 (CDN)

Reviewed by Marilyn Rondeau
January 2007

Fleet was not exactly the place one would go in search of a husband, but if one were as deep in debt, and desperate to boot, then it would beat Almack’s. So it was that Princess Isabella Di Cassilis had come looking for the perfect man. In theory, finding a man already in prison for debt made him assuming his new wife’s debts a moot point -- what would be the harm for him? Only one problem with this plan was the man known in the Fleet as John Ellis, her intended husband-to-be, was in reality Marcus Stockhaven, the Earl of Stockbridge, the man who had captured her heart, her innocence, and whom she’d jilted on the day of their wedding 12 years earlier. Her plans were to quickly annul the marriage once she received an expected inheritance, but much to her chagrin she is surprised when Marcus a very free and prosperous looking husband, shows up looking for his wife and a long waited wedding night!

This was a very witty, yet poignant story that I relished for the many emotions the author elicited by the very deep characterizations she fashioned for the main characters. Yes, this plot has been done before but not with such a deft hand that could even make the reader have sympathy for the villain in the piece. The dialogs alone are worthy of remark as when a very proper gentleman asked Bella’s sister Pen if she’d like to partner him in a ‘reel’ her outrageously funny reply was “I only reel when I am drunk, ….”, gives you some idea of the wit employed in this highly entertaining story.

Marcus and Bella were both passionately strong characters still harboring strong feelings for one another in spite of the passage of time. Marcus’ thoughts of revenge were complicated for several reasons – Bella’s jilting him being foremost in his mind but also for the fact that in marrying her cousin India, he felt guilty for never being able to love her the way she deserved. Isabella was still and always had been in love with Marcus but was terrified of letting herself love him again knowing he had every right to hate her -- that for him, it would be revenge and she wouldn’t be able to bear to lose him again. All in all a powerful story, rich, witty and sensual – a divinely delicious treat.