BOUND BY ONE SCANDALOUS NIGHT – Diane Gaston
The Scandalous Summerfields – Book 2
Harlequin Historical
ISBN-10: 0373298781
ISBN-13: 978-0373298785
April 2016
Historical Romance

England – 1815

Brussels is in chaos with news that Napoleon's troops are marching on the city. As he prepares to return to his post, Lieutenant Edmund Summerfield chances upon a young woman being accosted on the streets. He steps in to rescue her and realizes that it is Amelie Glenville, his sister Tess's sister-in-law. They manage to get through the crowds to her hotel and she begs him to take her to her door, then asks him to come in. Her fiancé, Captain Fowler, and she had a disagreement, and he left her on the streets. Edmund is furious to hear this, but when the stressed Amelie asks him to stay with her, he is stunned.

Three months later, after recovering from wounds, Edmund is in London to settle some financial affairs. As the bastard son of an aristocrat, Edmund has had to struggle to prove his worth. But he has invested wisely, and, after resigning his commission, he wants to get on with his life. However, that night in Brussels has come back to haunt him. Amelie is pregnant, and Edmund will do the right thing, despite the fact that her family is fighting him all the way.

Doing the right thing changes Edmund's future plans to return to the continent and pursue investments there. Because he has taken the brunt of the blame, despite Amelie telling her parents that it was her decision, Edmund must find a way to support the two, soon to be three, of them. But fate always has a way of stepping in.

BOUND BY ONE SCANDALOUS NIGHT is the second book in The Scandalous Summerfield's series. Amelie is a headstrong, but naïve young woman who was brought up in a household where her parents could barely tolerate each other. She had fallen hard for Captain Fowler, who let her down in a dramatic way, and when Edmund stepped in, she realized that not all men are careless with their feelings. Edmund was witness to his own mother's death in childbirth, and later was part of an equally difficult family relationship where his step-mother played loose with her love. So it will not be easy for these two young people to work on their own relationship.

I enjoyed this well written, character-driven story. While it can be read alone, do start with BOUND BY DUTY to understand more of the families involved.

Jani Brooks