ISBN: 978-0-373-29605-7
Publisher: Harlequin Historical
Source: I bought this book to read and review
Living in a gray world of silhouette, Lord Taris Wellingham conceals his fading eyesight from society. He has long protected himself from any intimate relationships.
Plain twenty-eight-year-old Beatrice-Maude Bassingstoke does not expect to attract any man, especially not one as good-looking as her remote traveling companion.
Forced by a snowstorm to spend the night together, these two lonely people seek solace in each other’s arms. The passion they unleash surprises them both. Then a new day dawns..
I picked up One Unashamed Night by Sophia James because of a review that I read. I’m no longer sure which review it was that prompted me to find this book, but I am certainly happy that I did! The was a beautifully written love story. It wasn’t complicated, it wasn’t full of characters that were difficult to keep track of, it was simply a love story.
Lord Taris Wellingham is gradually losing his sight. He goes to great lengths to hide this fact from society and this has resulted in his relative isolation from all but family and one friend for several years. He finds himself on a public coach heading to London in a bad snowstorm. One person who is on the coach with him is Beatrice-Maude Bassingstoke a plain 28 year old new widow also heading to London. When the coach crashes in the middle of this storm Taris and Beatrice head off to get help. Once help is directed they find themselves spending the night alone in a barn.
Taris is trying to hide the fact that his is almost blind and Beatrice is trying to find herself after her 12 years with an abusive husband. After spending a passion-filled intimate night, Taris is changed. Beatrice discovers who Taris really is (the brother of a duke) and tries to come to terms with his inaccessibility. Taris’s perceptive family identify that something changed in Taris after his night with Beatrice and do what they can to further their romance. Reading the descriptions of how Taris hides his fading sight from others made me really aware of what a stigmatism that would be in Regency England.
I have read some bombs from Harlequin Historicals, but as another reviewer commented, “they at times put out some gems”. This book would be a gem. If you are looking for a complicated book, this isn’t it. If you are looking for a pleasant way to pass a few hours – pick up this book!
For more of this author’s work. Check out her website. HERE