AT YOUR PLEASURE

The unusual setting and fascinating historical backdrop immediately set Duran's latest novel apart; then she adds in-depth characterization, intrigue and passion, drawing readers straight into her unforgettable romance. Rich in texture and color, detailed and absorbing, here is a novel to sink your teeth into.

By candlelight, she lures him Glittering court socialites and underworld cutpurses alike know that Adrian Ferrers, Earl of Rivenham, is the most dangerous man in London. Rivenham will let nothing not the deepening shadow of war, nor the growing darkness within him interfere with his ambition to restore his family to its former glory. But when tasked by the king to uncover a traitor, he discovers instead a conspiracy and a woman whose courage awakens terrible temptations. To save her is to risk everything. To love her might cost his life. At swordpoint she defies him Lady Leonora knows that Rivenham is the devil in beautiful disguise and that the irresistible tension between them is as unpredictable as the dilemma in which Nora finds herself: held hostage on her own estate by Rivenham and the king's men. But when war breaks out, Nora has no choice but to place her trust in her dearest enemy and pray that love does not become the weapon that destroys them both.

MEREDITH DURAN blames Anne Boleyn for sparking her lifelong obsession with British history. A graduate student in the social sciences, she spends her free time collecting old etiquette manuals, guidebooks to nineteenth-century London, and travelogues by intrepid Victorian women. She is the author of four novels, all published by Pocket Books. The Duke of Shadows has reached a worldwide audience by being translated into seven languages and was the winner of the Gather.com First Chapters Romance Writing Competition. The Duke of Shadows and her second novel, Bound by Your Touch, were ranked among the top 100 romances of all time in the 2010 All About Romance poll. Her other books include Written on Your Skin and Wicked Becomes You, which was a Romantic Times Top Pick and was included on Woman's World list of Best Beach Reads for Summer 2010. Her next novel, A Lady's Lesson in Scandal, will hit the shelves in July 2011.