His at Night [Mass Market Paperback]

Sherry Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2010

Love is hottest in the darkness before dawn.
 
Elissande Edgerton is a desperate woman, a virtual prisoner in the home of her tyrannical uncle. Only through marriage can she claim the freedom she craves. But how to catch the perfect man?

Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he’s tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of Society’s most harmless—and idiotic—bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande.

Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover that they’re not the only one with a hidden agenda. With seduction their only weapon—and a dark secret from the past endangering both their lives—can they learn to trust each other even as they surrender to a passion that won’t be denied?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thomas employs grand misunderstanding (as she did in 2008's Private Arrangements) to motivate this Victorian romance, which is replete with perfect period touches. The marquess of Vere fakes stupidity so no one will suspect he's investigating Edmund Douglas for fraud—and murder. Douglas's niece, Elissande, is thoroughly fooled and plots to snare the marquess and escape her vicious uncle. Through a comedy of accidents involving rats, spicy Victorian parlor games, and sneaking around hallways at night, Elissande tricks Vere into marriage. As attraction grows, she wants to admit her motivations, but Vere shuts his conniving bride out as Douglas swears revenge. Though both story line and misunderstandings feel contrived at times, Thomas writes with genuine wit and sympathy, and when hero and heroine actually connect, the humorous, graceful writing transcends a creaky plot. (June)
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Review

~ WINNER of the 2011 RITA Award for Best Historical Romance

“The most powerfully original historical romance author writing today.”
—Lisa Kleypas

"Thomas doesn't just enhance the genre, she enriches it with her intelligent characters, brilliant dialogue, innovative plot twists and amazing love stories. Reading her novels is a rare treat--an insight into the hearts and mind of all who dream."—Romantic Times, Top Pick!
 
“With lush sensuality, intense emotion, lyrical writing and exquisitely realized characters, Thomas has delivered another unforgettable winner.”—Library Journal, starred review

"Certainly worth the anticipation and buzz it's receiving. The hero and heroine are both interesting, the conflict is compelling and intriguing, and the writing itself is fabulous. It's an all around win."--All About Romance

"This is a Very Good and Compelling Book and I had the hardest time putting it down, even in the midst of a week long party." — Ramblings on Romance

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553592440
• ISBN-13: 978-0553592443
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #413,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sherry Thomas burst onto the scene with PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008. Her sophomore book, DELICIOUS, is a Library Journal Best Romance of 2008. Her next two books, NOT QUITE A HUSBAND and HIS AT NIGHT, were back-to-back winners of Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award for Best Historical Romance in 2010 and 2011. Lisa Kleypas calls her "the most powerfully original historical romance author working today."


Her story is all the more interesting given that English is Sherry's second language--she has come a long way from the days when she made her laborious way through Rosemary Roger's Sweet Savage Love with an English-Chinese dictionary. She enjoys creating stories. And when she is not writing, she thinks about the zen and zaniness of her profession, plays computer games with her sons, and reads as many fabulous books as she can find.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprising, and nearly great, May 26, 2010

By 

B. Proczko "clandestine penguin" (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: His at Night (Kindle Edition)

I have enjoyed Sherry Thomas since I stumbled across her first novel, Private Arrangements. I love her sentences, I like nearly all the characters she creates. The best part of this book was probably the dialogue, and the ideas of deception and self-deception are intriguing, and it was nice to see some of the characters from her previous books mentioned. I laughed out loud more than once, in surprise and delight both. However. It was still a nearly good book, an almost great romance, a practically nice story. Her strengths lie in the tensions between characters, the things people do to themselves and to each other, mostly with words. So when she created a dramatic moment of action, it was oddly flat and not terribly tense, which consequently deflated some of the other revelations a bit. I still liked it far better than many of the romance novels I've come across, but it was a tich disappointing from this author.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is rare I read a romance this good, May 28, 2010

By 

Joy (Gaithersburg, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: His at Night (Mass Market Paperback)

The Marquess of Vere is a secret agent of sorts. In public, he plays a bumbling idiot. In private he is a investigator for the Crown. He's been doing this for years and years and not even his family and closest friends know that he is living a lie. When he meets Miss Elissande Douglas--the niece of a suspect in a case--he immediately recognizes that she is acting a role but underestimates her desire to escape her uncle's household and protect her invalid aunt; thus, he is vulnerable to her attempt to trap him into an undesired marriage. And it doesn't take her long to see the truth under her husband's mask. Thomas's strength lies in portraying these complex--and not always completely likeable-- characters in complex relationships and emotionally intense situations without making you lose faith in their eventual happiness.

23 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What can i say . . ., May 27, 2010

By 

Dee Smith "Realmeaz" - See all my reviews

This review is from: His at Night (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished this book and am bit torn about what to say about it. Lord Vere plays the idiot in society in order to cover
up his secret life as a british agent. While investigating Edward Douglas he encounters his niece, through nefarious means gaining access to her house and finding evidence for his case. That said I found this book rather tiresome to get through. I didn't get the connection between Lord Vere and Elissande. Yes they both put on facades, hers smiling and being pleasant to her uncle who is a bit of a psychopath in order to survive, his playing the idiot. Other then that they didn't seem connected. Why didn't he just drop his facade when she caught him out of character? Instead he continues the distance between them. Motivation for actions is important for me in any novel and in this I kept saying, "I don't get why he is doing this". In the end I didn't feel the connection between the main characters and I found myself bored and just wanting it to end. I have loved every one of Sherry Thomas's prior novels. If i had read this one first I would never have read another one. I loved the depth of emotion explored in those other novels. I felt what the characters felt due to her superior writing style. In this one I felt distant and not connected. More focus on motivation, and emotion rather than facades would have helped.