Many readers will consider The Cad a keeper, and with good reason. I came pretty close myself.

Bridget Cooke is a very memorable heroine. She is a stunning beauty, but her lovely features have been marred by a jagged, two-inch facial scar, relegating her to a life as an unacceptable in an era where perfection is the name of the game. Considered unmarriageable at 25, she has bounced around for seven years from relative to relative, and is currently a companion to her spoiled and insensitive cousin, Cecily. Bridget’s scar has made her the brunt of cruel jokes (her boorish family feels they are simply being honest), and the object of advances by men who have a twisted sense of attraction. Her scar also has made her strong, independent-minded, and PDF (pretty damned feisty) at a time where women were expected to defer to men on every issue, and to adhere to all that is proper.

Widower Lord Ewen Sinclair, who not only is not a cad, but is one of the most wonderful heroes you’ll ever discover, sees Bridget across the proverbial crowded room, and is enthralled (by the time he’s finished telling her why her scar doesn’t bother him, you’ll wish you had one!). He corners her and asks her to become his mistress. Furious that he would make such a dishonorable proposal to a lady, she gives him a dressing down that leaves him more captivated than ever. After a few more carefully constructed “accidental” encounters with Bridget, he forgoes the mistress angle, and wants her for his wife. But, he’s going to be careful. His first wife was not at all what he had expected her to be, and, when he marries this time, he’s going into it with his eyes wide open.

Not only is Bridget scarred, however, she is poor, the daughter of the third son of a baron, and her mother is, of all things, Irish! Well, no one believes Ewen wants to marry Bridget … they all warn her he is just setting her up for a fall. But, they marry, in a very quiet ceremony where Bridget knows no one. As soon as she signs the papers, Ewen slips them into his pocket. He sweeps her out of London immediately to travel to meet his ailing father, but they stop along the way at Ewen’s country estate (where he always took his paramours), and, after two weeks of honeymoon sex, he leaves. No announcement is forthcoming in the Times, and the servants treat Bridget like the bawd they think she is. So, did Ewen marry Bridget, or did he pull a fast one just to get her into bed? While Bridget is left alone to ponder all this, an incident occurs that tests the limits of her trust for the man she has grown to love, but knows relatively little about.

Edith Layton has crafted this story beautifully. Her writing style is lovely, the dialogue sparkling, humor dry and funny, her hero and heroine vivid and alive. Fully-drawn secondary characters who aren’t simply accessories, but who are elemental to the story, will leave you hoping for sequels (Drum and Rafe, certainly, and Gilly, too). When the author has three hunky men, fearless, brave, riding their steeds through the night to support their friend’s cause, my heart just goes pitty-pat.

I loved this book … so, why isn’t it technically a “keeper” for me? When Ewen and Bridget are separated, it’s for a long time, and I felt every minute of it. Pivotal to the plot as it was, it still bothered me, stressed me out, and made the story about fifty pages longer than perhaps it should have been. But, the big issue I had was, for a spy, a man who had relied on his wits, and certainly his memory, to get himself and his comrades out of hot water on more than one occasion, I had trouble believing that Ewen “forgot” a major event in his past, and was so distracted by love for his new wife, he also “forgot” to take care of some official business. It was these two points that caused poor Bridget all her grief, and were the only things in this story that didn’t ring quite true.

Now, forget what I just said, and go read this book. I highly recommend it, and am certain you will just adore Ewen. If author Layton plans stories for cousin Drum, and best friend Rafe, I will be a very, very happy woman. Thank you, Ms. Layton, for a truly charming story.