After losing beloved betrothed while he was away studying, Daniel Herbert spends his life attempting to help as many people as possible through his work in the medical field, regardless of ability to pay. Not much else matters to Daniel but his work and his sister, Laurel, who finally finds her true love. When Daniel inherits a barony after the entire line is wiped out, he begrudgingly takes on the title. The one thing he knows he must do, is find himself a wife who will be able to help him manage the Romayne legacy.
Jessie Kelham came from inauspicious beginnings. The actress married an older titled gentleman and with him has a good life and a daughter, until Lord Kelham dies. Waiting in the wings to scoop everything the barony has to offer is Kelham's nephew Frederick, but when the will is read and it just so happens that due to an old edict in the family line, Frederick is not the heir, but Jessie's daughter is. Now Jessie must protect her daughter from the scheming Frederick and the only way she can think of is to marry quickly. She wants someone older, like her husband was a possibly titled to have the weight of a title behind her for protection .
Off to London Jessie goes in her search for a protector and when she meets Daniel Herbert, the new Baron, she is in for quite the time of it. Neither is what the other had in mind in their search for spouses, but their attraction to one another cannot be denied. Only Jessie has a secret that if comes to light can destroy her carefully configured life. Daniel has a gut feeling that he has met Jessie before, but that's impossible, he would have remembered a lady as beautiful as she. Sometimes the plans one sets out to accomplish change drastically, such is the case with Mary Jo Putney's NOT ALWAYS A SAINT.
NOT ALWAYS A SAINT, the seventh installment of the Lost Lords series is achingly poignant tale of desperation as well as one of passion and desire. Jessie's character has undergone a transformation since her meager start, but now that she has her child, she will stop at nothing to make sure her daughter is safe. Daniel Herbert has always been a character I have loved in the series and couldn't wait for his tale. I am not disappointed in the least. Daniel's life hasn't been stellar either. Estranged from his parents in part because of their treatment of his beloved sister, he is a man of principle and honor. He has always cared for everyone but himself , but the time has come for him to wake up and see what's in front of him, in the form of Jessie. The story is well done and full of depth. I enjoyed this story immensely and hope you all will too. Yet another notch in Ms. Putney's belt for a great read!
~KIMBERLY~
I do love a story that has plenty of depth, not always easy to find these days.
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