Bath, England – 1814

All of her life, Lady Iona Newbury has bowed to her loving family’s wishes and done exactly what is expected of her -- be a dutiful daughter. She had hoped to achieve her life’s dream and become a sculptress, but her father’s recent news rings in her ears like a death knell -- she’s to marry her cousin Lord Byron Lovington, her father’s heir to the Newbury dukedom. In this, she’ll accomplish two things: a suitable marriage, keeping the title within the family. Her family sees it as a crowning feat, but Iona is appalled at the way they quickly plan her future for her. There’s only one thing to do -- have some fun while she plots a way to break the betrothal. And she knows just the person to give her lessons in roguish behavior, Lord Nathan Wynter.

Beneath the surface, Nathan Wynter, the Marquess of Portfrey’s second son and general ne’er-do-well, is a man of deeper understanding with a solid core of responsibility. He would never tell anyone that he has always dreamt of managing the lands and estates of the Portfrey’s vast holdings, but as a second son, those dreams will go unrealized. No one is more surprised than Nathan when Lady Iona requests his service in showing her how to loosen up and be wicked. She asks him to take her on any adventure he can think of so she may experience a bit of excitement and liveliness before she enters into a marital collar.

While Nathan is more than intrigued, he cannot help but wince because this is not the behavior that he would like to engage in with Iona. It has always been his dearest hope that he would be able to buy back into his father graces, thereby earning him even a scrap of affection from the rest of his family. A marriage to a respectable lady would certainly go far in rebuilding a relationship with the old Marquess. While Nathan has done well for himself and is not the rogue that British society thinks him to be, his circumstances and exploits have not earned him a fond reputation either. In fact, many would be surprised at just what Nathan has endured to remain a member of his family, despite their treatment of him.

While Iona can see the good in Nathan, and, indeed, has a great deal of affection for him, she still has no wish to marry. Marriage would be the end of her independence and her dreams of becoming an artist. And while she will do anything to change her father’s mind, she shudders at just what lengths she may have to go to to achieve that goal. But her occasional night outings with Nathan lead to a deeper friendship and the yearning for something more, something that Iona has no experience in. It’s not long before she not only longs for time spent with him, but the feel of his lips against hers as well.

Nathan and Iona share a past in which they were the matchmakers for Iona’s dearest friend, May, and her new husband, Viscount Evers, Nathan’s friend. While Iona has stood by and watched Nathan become a blackguard among the ton, she cannot ignore her knowledge that still waters very well run deep with him. He is not the rogue that others paint him to be. Otherwise, she never would have trusted him with her lessons. Iona is not an imbecile who will sit and listen to any pretty word that her suitors may have for her; there is much more to her than just an innocent girl. She’d give anything to shake things up a bit and let her hair down. With Nathan, she can do just that, while remaining safe in his protection from anyone who would want to hurt her.

While Cerridwen Press presents LADY IONA’S REBELLION as one of their Cotillion Regency titles, there is a bit more meat and emotion in this tale than others I have read. Let’s face it: I fell in love with Nathan Wynter. Rogue, blackguard, rebel, black sheep, you name it; he’s been called all of these and worse, some names even by his own father. But despite the slurs and accusations the ton in Bath and London has heaped on him, he continues to want to do right and become someone his father would be proud of. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Nathan a tortured hero, although I don’t know how any son would abide the emotional abuse by his own family. Instead, Nathan learned how to make lemonade out of lemons and do what he feels is right. It’s almost an act of desperation that he begins to think that a respectable marriage would surely win him his father’s good graces one again. Nathan just never expected that Iona would be the candidate he would consider as a wife. But when Iona pleads with him to take her on the adventures of Bath’s nightlife, it becomes Nathan’s duty to not only teach her, but to save her from herself.

I would almost consider LADY IONA’S REBELLION to be more historical romance than traditional Regency romance, but who am I to dither over something as simple as genre? What I can tell you is that Dorothy McFall’s latest is probably my favorite Cotillion Regency from Cerridwen Press yet. Filled with emotion and torment, a steamy romance in which the hero and heroine can barely keep their hands off of each other, and a tender, heartbreaking realization and reconciliation, LADY IONA’S REBELLION meets every requirement that we deem necessary for it to be a Perfect 10. The writing is crisp, the tension so thick that you can cut it with a knife, and the cast so alive and vivacious, down to even the most secondary of characters.

Can you tell that I highly recommend LADY IONA’S REBELLION? It’s a stunner to be sure...

Amy Cunningham