The Earl Takes All

March 7, 2016
Heath draws together a couple whose genuine passion and love are hard to resist in her second Hellions of Havisham Regency (after Falling into Bed with a Duke). Edward Alcott is shocked to become the new Earl of Greyling after his identical twin is killed on the safari that was to be their last big adventure together before the birth of the earl’s heir. Worrying that the news of the earl’s death would cause his wife, Lady Julia, to miscarry—a concern in keeping with the era’s limited understanding of maternal medicine—Edward keeps it secret that the earl has died, announces his own death instead, and poses as his brother until the baby is born. Heath delicately allows Julia to mourn her brother-in-law while giving her enough intuition to realize that the husband who has returned from Africa seems somehow changed—and she quite likes the changes. Inevitably, the former ne’er-do-well Edward must reveal the truth to Julia; quite realistically, she is appalled and saddened to realize her actual husband has died. Edward’s deception creates several barriers to happiness, and once he and Julia realize they’d like to continue being spouses, they must overcome an ancient English law that forbids relatives by marriage to marry each other. Readers will eagerly follow Edward and Julia’s pursuit of an unusual happy ending. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

Starred review from April 15, 2016
If you've loved a man, can you also love his brother? Edward and Albert Alcott are identical twins, but because Albert is older by an hour, he inherits the title and lands of the Earl of Greyling. Edward becomes a globe-trotting rake, but just before Albert dies unexpectedly while the brothers are traveling in Africa together, he begs Edward to impersonate him to protect his wife, Julia, from miscarrying their child. Edward obliges and is a convincing replacement--but in the course of pretending to be his brother, he falls in love with Julia. Julia, meanwhile, has fallen more deeply for her husband, enchanted by the ways he's changed since his return. Whether their love can survive past the birth of Lady Alberta and Edward's admission, however, is complicated. In the Regency era, it was illegal for a man to marry his dead brother's wife, a legal quirk that takes the stakes of this book to delicious heights. Edward's attempts to avoid cuckolding his brother are tantalizing for both Julia and the reader, and their conflicted love is well-drawn and compelling. A steamy romance that uses the strict rules of Regency Britain to excellent effect.

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April 15, 2016
Be me. This is Albert Alcott, the Earl of Greyling's dying wish to his twin brother, Edward. Albert is terrified that if news of his death in Africa reaches his wife, Julia, in England, she will have a miscarriage. So Albert's final request to Edward is that he pretend to be his twin at least until Julia safely gives birth to the new heir. Edward, of course, will honor his brother's wishes, but pretending to be Greyling will not be easy. Before Julia married Albert, Edward shared a kiss with her that he still cannot forget. Now Edward finds himself forced into spending more time with Julia than he ever could have imagined, even as he falls more deeply in love with the one woman he can never have. RITA award winner Heath (Falling into Bed with a Duke, 2015) takes a plot that in less skilled hands might seem impossibly unrealistic and fills it with a cast of richly nuanced characters to create yet another poignant, compelling historical romance that readers will find impossible to forget.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)