reviewed by
LOLA SPARKS
As much as I loved In the Thrill of the Night, the first book in Hern's "merry widows" trilogy, Just One of Those Flings, which details the romance between widow Beatrice and Gabriel, the Marquess of Thayne, left me cold.
Beatrice's niece, Emily, is having her debut Season, and Beatrice is to chaperone her. She's much too busy to take a lover, as per the agreement of her widow friends. But one evening at a masked ball, Beatrice finds and takes said lover, throwing every caution to the wind. Alas, he is masked, and she too is in costume, so they don't know exactly who it is they slept with.
Gabriel is busy searching for a wife; he is recently back from India and it's time to settle down. If only he could stop thinking about the woman he met and wooed at the masked ball. If only she could be his wife. But how to find her? Especially when the lovely Emily is right in front of him. Still, he finds himself drawn to her aunt--and must figure out why.
If you like your romances quick and hot, this may be the book for you. I am not a fan of authors throwing the couple together--and by together I mean in bed, or against a wall, or wherever they've chosen to do the deed--by the end of chapter one. Rather than find this ploy exciting, I find it impossible to believe. Thus, for me, the rest of the book suffered. Glimpses of Adam and Marianne from In the Thrill of the Night maintain the tie between books, and the friendship between the widows remains strong.
One final book in this series--Lady, Be Bad, coming in the summer of 2007; I do think it a shame that Signet Eclipse didn't want a story from each of the five ladies.
