Product Description

With her trademark sensuality and dazzling storytelling, Julia London brings us the Rogues of Regent Street, three dashing, aristocratic gentlemen whose scandalous exploits are the talk of the ton. Adrian Spence, Earl of Albright, has earned his notoriety on the dueling field, and in the finest drawing rooms—and boudoirs—of England. This is his story....

It was strictly business as Adrian Spence claimed the woman his brother desired. A hasty wedding, and Lilliana Dashell was his—sweet revenge on the father who disinherited him and the brother who let it happen. Their wedding night is a revelation as passionate, innocent Lilliana ignites fires Adrian tries desperately to deny. By day he is a stranger. By night he is the lover of her dreams, and she a shameless wanton in his arms. But Adrian is determined that no woman will ever possess him. And Lilliana knows that her only hope of taming this very dangerous gentleman is to unlock his deepest mysteries and open his shuttered heart to love....

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77137 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-11
• Released on: 2000-04-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Romance author London (Wicked Angel) launches the three-book Rogues of Regent Street series with this tale of revenge and redemption set in 1834 England. Following a tragic duel, Adrian Spence, the Earl of Albright, is rejected by the harsh father he has always sought to please. In retaliation, Adrian enters a whirlwind courtship and weds the woman sought after by his younger brother, Benedict, who is his father's favorite. It's a fateful choice, both for the earl and for his na?ve, high-spirited bride, Lilliana Dashell. Although passion blooms between them, Adrian seems incapable of expressing love, and the marriage soon hits rocky ground. Benedict does his best to come between the pair, and old secrets haunt Adrian as he charts a self-destructive course. Although the reader may grow impatient with the pair's stubborn refusal to communicate, London deftly builds emotional intensity and maintains as underlying mystery that keeps the story humming. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

High praise for Julia London's breathtaking novels:

Wicked Angel:

"Wicked Angel is a charming, wickedly delightful story....well-written, absorbing...I loved this book. The characters are so real and vibrant. I cannot wait until her next book."
--All About Romance

"A complex and emotionally powerful love story."
--The Romance Reader

"As in her first novel, the well-crafted plot and the likable characters will keep the reader entertained, but it is the tale of star-crossed love that will have readers quickly turning the pages."
--Reader to Reader

The Devil's Love:

"A dazzling debut by a fine new talent...the sensuality, endearing characters and their powerful love will carry this tale straight into your heart."
--Romantic Times

"Julia London writes in a style reminiscent of the historical romances that defined the genre."
--Affaire de Coeur

About the Author
Julia London was raised on a ranch in West Texas, where she spent her formative years in the middle of vast wheat fields driving a tractor at the reckless speed of five mph. In spite of her humble beginnings, Julia went on to earn a degree in government and eventually landed in Washington, D.C. There for nine years, Julia had her brush with greatness when one day she actually shared an elevator with a senator from Iowa. She eventually returned to Texas and now lives in Austin with two enormous Labrador retrievers. Wicked Angel is Julia's second book and a sequel to her first, The Devil's Love. Julia is currently working on her next book for Dell.

Customer Reviews

Pretty Good
Julia London is generally a good storyteller, and there are parts of this book that are extremely well-written and humorous, especially those where the heroine attempts to shake the hero's disinterest; these are amusing enough in themselves to justify reading the book.

However, I do not consider this book on par with some of her other novels. I really didn't like the hero that much, nor did I find all of his psychological problems particularly interesting. I find it implausible when 18th century characters spout 20th century college psychology. And I find one of the basic premises, that he would kill his best friend, to lack credibility.

With that disclaimer, this isn't a bad read, just not as good as some of her other books.

A really vindictive hero
I devoured The Dangerous Gentleman in less than a day. As I read the first three-fourths of this book, I knew I had a five star rating in my hands. However, in the end, the misery over the continued perils of the leads' relationship was so relentless that I had to reduce it to four stars. Regardless, it was still a very engrossing read and packs more than one big surprise.

Adrian Spence, the Earl of Albright, is one vindictive hero. In the opening pages, he has just killed a man in a duel. Deciding to hide out for a while, he travels to his family's country estate. There, he encounters his enraged father. Adrian knows his father has never loved him and realizes he wants a reason to disinherit him. He wants to give his unentailed properties to his favorite son, Benedict. When Adrian's father hears of the fatal duel, he uses it as a reason to finally disinherit Adrian and tells him to never return to the family country estate. Adrian is very upset although the actual disinheritance does not surprise him. His greatest sorrow is that of losing his beloved country estate.

While departing he stops in the nearby village and discovers that his spineless brother, Benedict, is planning to marry Lilliana Dashell, the daughter of a local country gentleman. Apparently Lilliana's father is seriously in debt and has agreed to give Benedict 60% ownership of his estate in exchange for payment of his debts. Adrian sees his father's sordid manipulations in all of it and knows the marriage would be very advantageous for his father since the rich farmland property adjoins his. Adrian decides to wreak revenge on his father and brother and immediately makes a much more attractive offer for Lilliana's hand. Adrian has wealth of his own and can easily afford this well-planned revenge. His offer comes with only one condition - he and Lilliana must marry immediately. He knows that he has probably met her at some time during their childhood but does not remember her. But oh, this is such a fine revenge.

Lilliana is a spunky yet gentle heroine who has always been in love with Adrian Spence. She doesn't really want to marry his brother. But since the marriage is probable and will help her family's finances, she has resigned herself to it. When she is informed of Adrian's request to marry her, she is ecstatic. She can't believe it is really happening and is somewhat suspicious. After all, he doesn't even know her, does he? As he pours on the charm, he convinces her to marry him. He knows he is a highly desirable candidate for marriage to a titled lady much less the daughter of a country gentleman. As soon as they are married and in his coach heading toward Adrian's own country estate, his charm disappears. Adrian makes no effort to converse with Lilliana and seems not interested in her a bit. As we see into his thoughts, we realize that he thinks she is just a boring, country girl without any attractive attributes. He thinks she talks incessantly. He feels no guilt over using her so badly. And as each hour, then day, passes, we really, really want him to get his comeuppance.

Lilliana senses something is wrong as soon as they depart from their wedding. But she is an optimistic sort of gal and keeps hoping for the best. Then she discovers that he didn't even know who she was before he sought her hand. Later she realizes he totally avoids all contact with her during the day. After that, understanding dawns as his superior attitude towards her penetrates her optimism. The only time he seems to appreciate her is during the night before he retires to his own bed. At first she is distressed, then devastated, and finally believes her life is ruined and feels such a fool. At last, she decides she is not going to take it anymore. Her gentile manners are laid aside and she lets her naturally adventuresome personality take over. It is totally entertaining as she surprises Adrian and then silently crosses him or disobeys his edicts. He, in turn, attempts to conceal any emotion towards her actions. This is a thoroughly enjoyable part of the book.

Then, gradually, the real problems begin (yes - it can get a lot worse). Benedict begins to visit the couple frequently and since the brothers have never been close, Adrian is highly suspicious of his brother's actions. Benedict was a real pain - deliberately causing even more problems between Adrian and Lilliana and he finally gets very tiresome. Unfortunately, this is a book that relies heavily on The Big Misunderstanding formula. And it is not just one misunderstanding, but one piled on top of yet another. During all of this, Adrian and Lilliana's sensual relationship is interwoven - on again - off again. These scenes rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).

The Dangerous Gentleman is the first in a series of three books referred to as the Rogues of Regent Street. The second - The Ruthless Charmer and the third - The Beautiful Stranger. This is the first of London's books I have rated less than five stars. She is a favorite author and although this book had some aggravating pages, I have to highly recommend it. It is not often that I praise a book that has The Big Misunderstanding unresolved for so long. But it is just a testament to London's writing skills that it still captivated me totally - right to the last page.

If you can afford the time and money.
I have recently bought a few hundreds of romance novels based on the lowest and hightest rating reviews I gathered from this website. It's very helpful indeed. I always read the lowest ratings first and see if I still want to get the book despite of that. The Dangerous Gentleman was my first book by Julia London. She is quite a new talent. There were moments in her book that made me laugh aloud. She certainly knows how to write but she can never equal Judith McNaught in style. If you have read Miss McNaught's books, you will surely find Miss London's lacking in many aspects--like those in the low ratings. I don't think that this book is deserved to be rated four or five stars unless you have not yet had the pleasure to read the same romance genre written by other truly talented authors, such as Judith McNaught, Amanda Quick, Andrea Kane, Julie Garwood, to name a few. I don't think that I will pick up more of Miss London's book now that I have satisfied my curiosity about her writing style. Don't read those talented authors I mentioned above first if you really want to give Miss London a try.