"Once bitten, twice shy" is the law that Oriana St. Albans lives by. The young widow was wrongfully used by a dissolute lord and so ridiculed by the gossips, that "privacy" is the goal she strives for.
Meeting Dare Corlett, she feels an instantaneous flame spark between them. Dare is determined to have her and is a gentle persistent suitor. The evolution of the emotion he declares as "an affectionate, loyal, decent feeling" to the true discovery of his love for Oriana is displayed against the background of the Isle of Manx and the lives of the people high and low.
The author has let us peer back into the daily life of estates in 1799, when landowners in essence were the givers of life and death to the people living and working on their lands. The mines were a dangerous place to work and Margaret Evans Porter has shown an insight into the hero's attempt to help his people live a decent and healthy life.
Though "Improper Advances" has several sensual scenes, they were tastefully done. It was nice to see a hero really contemplate his actions and try to understand why the heroine acted as she did. This coupled with his sincere desire to win her love, gave this book an undeniable glow. Thank you Margaret!
Below is the book's back cover description.
Sir Darius Carlett assumed the beautiful, elegantly dressed female paying a late-night visit is a lady of dubious reputation. To his regret, she turns out to be a respectable widow who wishes to rent his countryside cottage for the duration of her brief holiday on the Isle of Man
During her stay in the peaceful glen, Oriana Julian is troubled by her dashing landlord's suspicion that she might be an adventuress after his fortune. After their mutual curiosity ignites into passion, she still cannot admit that she's the notorious opera singer Ana St. Albans, driven into seclusion by rumors about her private life.
And when Dare chases her all the way to London, determined to uncover her secrets and eager to claim her as his mistress, Oriana faces a scandal far greater than the one she was so desperate to escape.
