Morgan St. James, Viscount Barlowe, was your typical London rake until he tried to rescue his servants from their overcrowded quarters during a fire on the eve of his wedding. As a result of that fire, many of his servants and their children were burned to death. Morgan suffered severe scarring on his neck, hands, arms, legs and back, which caused his fiancé to call off the wedding. Although the fire was set by an arsonist, later thought to have died in another fire, Morgan was vilified in the newspapers for allowing his servants to die in a situation that could have been avoided had he not housed them 5 to a room. After the fire, Morgan removed himself from society, which ‘lovingly’ nicknamed him The Beast. It was only after some serious cajoling from his friends that he decided to visit his club for the first time in 3 years. While at the club, he spies a most intriguing woman who has given all the other pathetic swains the cut direct, yet meets his eye in invitation.

Julia Prentisse has a desperate plan. Her family has also been ostracized from society. Her uncle is pressuring her to choose one of three hideous suitors and she is also receiving letters from the arsonist who terrorized London a few years ago. She, along with everyone else, believed him dead. Since Morgan has fascinated her for many years, she proposes a bold idea to him. Marry her and attempt to find the arsonist who destroyed Morgan’s life. Amazingly, Morgan accepts her proposal.

In essence, this is a marriage of convenience story. Both Morgan and Julia have no other options to obtain what they most desire. Morgan wants the arsonist and Julia wants to be free from her uncle. They have little in common despite their united efforts in trying to capture the arsonist. Julia is a bluestocking and Morgan is a member of the House of Lords. Julia hopes that Morgan will come to love her, and Morgan cannot believe that Julia would actually desire him because of his scars.

Morgan is an extremely tortured hero. It takes him most of the book to release his guilt and grief over the fire. I found the author’s portrayal of his pain from the fire to be very realistic without dwelling on it overmuch. Morgan is true to his character as a member of society. Until he met Julia, he never thought about London’s slums or reforming conditions for those who reside there. Julia was outspoken about her beliefs, and refused to change her ideas about reform because Morgan dictated that she do so.

One of the wonderful parts about this story is the dialogue between the characters. Morgan and Julia actually talk to each other. However, this also was a problem. For all of their outspokenness, these two had an extremely hard time communicating their wants and desires to each other. Either would say something that the other would interpret in the most negative light. The resultant misunderstandings quickly became old. That they could talk about everything else but their intimate lives became a stumbling block. And, because they couldn’t resolve these intimacy issues, the consummation of their love came somewhat late for me.

The descriptions of London in the beginning of this book are extremely well depicted, and the mystery takes an interesting twist. Unfortunately, these were not enough to balance out the miscommunications this couple had during their courtship. It still fared better than an average read, because I love both tortured heroes and the heroines who redeem them. This novel certainly fits that bill. I’d recommend this book if your taste runs to bluestocking heroines, tortured heroes, and the redeeming power of love.