The Lady Is Tempted [Mass Market Paperback]

Cathy Maxwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2002

USA Today bestselling author Cathy Maxwell delivers another passionate romance wherein marriage is based on convenience not love, and only desire can get in the way.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this heartwarming, if uneven, Regency-era romance from Maxwell (The Wedding Wager), readers must traverse a hasty open where duels and marriage proposals take place in a few sentences. Before long, however, exotic and demure Deborah Percival fills the page. At 27, she's widow to a man more than 30 years her senior, to whom she was married by her penniless family for practical reasons. Deb suspects there's something to marriage which she has missed out on, but she doesn't think she'll find what she's looking for in Parson Ames, the man the town matchmaker believes she should marry. Enter Anthony Aldercy, the wealthy fifth earl of Burnell, who has been shunned by society for his father's scandalous suicide. Deb meets Anthony in an inn on her way to visit her half-sister, Lizbet, and their instant attraction quickly leads them to bed, despite the fact that Anthony is engaged to London's debutante of the season. Although Anthony is taken with Deb, his honor won't allow him to break his engagement. Instead he offers her a position as his mistress. Insulted, Deb takes off, but the two meet and become intimate again in London only to face the same dilemma as before his honor or their love? Maxwell's prose is simple, unlike her characters, whose many motivations and conflicting emotions make for a lively and surprising read.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Cathy Maxwell spends hours in front of her computer pondering the question, "Why do people fall in love?" It remains for her the great mystery of life and the secret to happiness.

She lives in beautiful Virginia with her children, horses, dogs, and cats.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon; special edition (July 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380818337
• ISBN-13: 978-0380818334
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #907,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bestselling novelist Cathy Maxwell, a storyteller since childhood, embraces her writing romance as a way to express her belief that "loving well is the greatest adventure of all," and to explore her fascination with the Regency period.

The author of twenty-five historical romance novels and four novellas Cathy's latest THE SEDUCTION OF SCANDAL, the fifth of her Scandal and Seduction novels, has just been published. The others, also set in the Regency period, are quintessential Cathy Maxwell--traditional historicals with a contemporary sensibility and a touch of humor. They are A Seduction at Christmas, The Marriage Ring, The Earl Claims His Wife, and His Christmas Pleasure. Each has appeared for multiple weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.


Cathy received recognition from the start with her first novel, All Things Beautiful. Published in 1994, it was nominated for Best First Book by the Romance Writers of America and for Best First Historical by Romantic Times magazine. It also received first place recognition as Best Read of 1994 from the Reader's Voice

Born in Olathe, Kansas, Cathy's family roots go back to the Mayflower and the Revolutionary War. She has long called Virginia home, noting she is "a Virginian by choice, but a Kansan by nature." She worked in television news and spent six years in the Navy. She attended Air Force intelligence school, worked in the Pentagon and did a tour with Naval Intelligence.

Cathy began her writing career in 1991. Now, twenty years later, she is the author of sixteen national bestsellers and her novels appear regularly on The New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her books include In the Highlander's Bed, Bedding the Heiress, In the Bed of a Duke, The Price of Indiscretion, Temptation of a Proper Governess, and The Seduction of an English Lady. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, Virginia Romance Writers, and Novelists Inc., and she is a frequent speaker at writers' conferences, libraries and special events.

She lives in rural Powhatan County with her rescued dogs Rico and Maya and with her son during college breaks, and is just a few miles from her horses, Duncan and Dinero.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Lady is Satisfied, July 14, 2002

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lady Is Tempted (Mass Market Paperback)

Yes, this lady is VERY satisfied with this newest offering from Cathy Maxwell.

There had to be something better in life than being forced into marrying another man whom she didn't love. Deborah Percival had done that once already, for the sake of her step-mother and half-sisters. In order to save them all she had been married to a man 37 years her senior and now her life was being planned again to marry her off to Parson Ames and step-mother his six horrendous children. Not again! She would be off to London to help out her other sister.

Along the way, providence stepped in in the form of washed out bridge forcing her to take a room for the night. The other boarder in the house was the newly betrothed, Earl of Burnell, Anthony Aldercy. He was everything she dreamed of and before the night was over the most electrifying attraction between the two of them would result in the most tempting offer Deborah would ever receive. Would she accept...well of course, how else could we have this wonderful regency romance!

One thing, you can always expect from Cathy Maxwell is a deeply satisfying romance and that is exactly what you get from the Lady is Tempted. While I usually expect more humor from Ms. Maxwell - the lack of it was more than made up for in the deeply satisfying love scenes. Great writing one always expects from Ms. Maxwell.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very endearing love story, March 11, 2003

By 

Jojo "jojookla" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lady Is Tempted (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my first Cathy Maxwell book & I wasn't disppointed. I do have mixed feelings about it though. It was a very sweet, if somewhat heart-wrenching romance - which I almost always love (as long as it's not totally depressing). However, most of the secondary characters were real jerks; Tony & Deborah were the only ones I could really enjoy & admire. I had to raise my eyebrows a bit about how quickly the very moral, very responsible Deborah allowed herself to fall into bed with Tony - BUT given what her life had been for 27 yrs AND what the rest of it may turn out to be, I didn't fault her! lol (A girl HAS to have a little fun in life! lol)
The storyline did keep moving & didn't allow me to grow bored with them "looking into each others eyes & thinking this & that", which I never enjoy. However, I was more than a bit disappointed that while Tony fully expected Deborah to understand that he had to act with honor, he didn't think that she had to. That really bothered me. But, in the end, he did accept her decision gracefully & support her in it. All in all, it was a very enjoyable, satifying love story. CM did an excellent job of making me actually feel the love between the two. I will be trying another CM book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the true romance reader this one is a keeper, March 20, 2004

By 

bookjunkie22 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lady Is Tempted (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is great, I picked it up and rarely but it down for two and half days. I was cheering on deborah and tony from the moment they came in to contact with each other in the story. I was amazed at how real the charatcers felt, and how well the story fell into place; I was disappointed when I finished the book I wanted more. I have been reading historical romances for 15 years now, and Cathy Maxwell has reminded why I love them so much.