A Notorious Proposition (Avon Romantic Treasure) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Adele Ashworth (Author)
Key Phrases: mysterious marquess, twine coat, master bedchamber, Winter Garden, Lady Ivy, Marquess of Rye (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From bed partners . . .

Two years ago, while on assignment for the Crown, darkly handsome Garrett Burke left Lady Ivy Wentworth sleeping naked in his bed as he went in search of the missing Martello diamonds. After apprehending the dastardly thief, he intended to spend the rest of his life in the arms of the auburn-haired beauty. But when the case came to a shocking and dangerous end, Garrett was certain he'd been betrayed . . .

To partners in crime

Ivy once loved Garrett with a virtuous heart, but these days she can barely stand him. Arriving at a deserted estate on a mysterious errand, she never expected to see him again, nor feel the same ecstasy she once did at his touch. Now, joined with him in the search for the legendary jewels, she is willing to risk everything. Everything, that is, except her heart . . .

About the Author

Meet Adele!

Adele Ashworth has always felt she's led a rather dull life on her road to becoming a romance author. Unfortunately, she's also often been wrong.

From the first time she stepped onstage to sing Petula Clark's "Downtown" for a crowd (at the age of three in a Juarez, Mexico, hotel restaurant, dancing on the table at the urging of the Spanish-speaking waitresses), she knew she was destined to be a singer. Her first miscalculation.

At the age of six, as she watched one of the Apollo rockets take off on live Saturday-morning television, interrupting the most important TV shows of the decade—The Monkeys and Scooby-Doo—she decided she would become a diplomat. Much to her mother's chagrin, Adele was caught in a heated discussion with a telephone operator who insisted it simply wasn't possible to put a six-year-old child through to President Nixon at the White House just to make a complaint about important programming interruption. Diplomacy clearly wasn't for her.

In elementary school, Adele, being a voracious reader, decided she would be a defense attorney just like Nancy Drew's father. (One knew at any age that one couldn't make a living simply by being a mystery solver like Nancy, but solving crimes as an attorney seemed practical.) After three years of knowing she was destined for Harvard Law School, Adele finished every published Nancy Drew novel (53 of them at the time) and moved on to reading romance. Thus ended her dreams of solving crimes. The idea of law school seemed far less enjoyable after immersing herself in Victoria Holt at the age of twelve.

The Song Bird Years

Adele continued to pursue her singing into her teen years, deciding she was either going to be an editorial reader for a publishing company (because all she loved to do was read) or a Singing Superstar. She figured becoming a Superstar was probably an easier goal to achieve, and so, between reading romances (and in the late 70s there were very few to read), she practiced her art, training her developing coloratura soprano voice with private lessons from one of the best operatic instructors in the city of Albuquerque. Through numerous All-State Choir rehearsals, Jr. and High School choir practice, and various musical productions, she knew she was destined for stardom.

And then at the age of fifteen, her private vocal instructor told her the cold, hard facts: To really make it as a Broadway Singing Superstar, one not only has to read music well, but be able to act and dance and live on pennies. Adele does not dance (unless you count nightclubs in college and that time in Mexico when she was three…) and the "living on pennies" bit seemed highly questionable. Since her acting and music reading talents were also suspect, she decided Broadway might not be for her. Reality sure can be a shocker.

On the Career Path

In college as a journalism major (only because she had to major in something that might get her a paying job), she continued to pursue private vocal instruction with the University of Utah's finest, while performing in various musicals and college recitals. Having directed her through the lead in Cinderella, her drama teacher urged her to try out for local beauty—ahem—scholarship pageants. That was it. Adele was destined to be a singing, reading, reporting, Miss America.

Unfortunately, reality struck again. Not only was Adele a bit lacking in genius (to put it bluntly), being five feet and two inches tall, and possessing quite possibly the shortest legs in the history of womanhood left Adele doing well in talent portions of the contests, but lacking other…necessary attributes. Aside from being crowned Miss Sandy City and Miss Salt Lake County, the pageant thing never went anywhere. Alas, the Singing Beauty Queen future was out.

But Adele worked very hard at her favorite pastime and, by her senior year in college, she'd read just about every Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Victoria Holt, Shirley Busbee, Laurie McBain, Johanna Lindsey, and Rosemary Rogers book ever printed. The new romance authors were just starting out—Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux—and they immediately grabbed her attention as well.

After graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in Journalism/Broadcast Newswriting, Adele did what so many graduates do—pursued a job in an entirely different field. Thus, in 1986, she became a flight attendant for America West Airlines.

For Adele, the most exciting thing about being a flight attendant was the travel, spending overnights in various cities across the country. Unfortunately, what the airline frequently did was schedule 9-hour layovers in places like San Diego (no time to do a darn thing but sleep), and 23-hour layovers in Des Moines (Iowa is a lovely place, just…you know…not San Diego). So Adele took the opportunity to brush up on—you guessed it—romance novel reading. During the nearly seven years she worked for the airline, she read hundreds of books (most of them romances), including one in particular about getting a romance published. In 1990, Adele decided to write her first romance novel, though it took her three years to actually sit down and do it.

The Glamorous Romance Years

In the spring of 1993, Adele resigned from America West Airlines to pursue writing full-time. Her first book, Even as You Are, took only three months to write and was never published because, quite frankly, it was pretty darn bad. After brushing up on her skills and studying the market in further detail, she decided to write a second, My Darling Caroline, which she finished in April 1995. Two years later, her hard-working agent sold it to Berkley/Jove. My Darling Caroline, released in October of 1998, went on to win the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best First Book of that year.

In the end, what Adele did best was channel her overactive imagination into something arguably practical: writing books. Since the publication of her first novel, she's written several others: Stolen Charms and Winter Garden for Berkley, and Someone Irresistible and When It's Perfect for Avon/HarperCollins. Most recently, Adele completed her acclaimed, bestselling Duke's Trilogy and has begun a new series with a return to characters from Winter Garden.

Adele lives in Texas with her family, spending most of her hard-earned money at Starbucks, where she's frequently seen chugging down coffee while typing out another fantasy that she hopes romance readers will someday enjoy.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061128589
• ISBN-13: 978-0061128585
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #515,919 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Notoriously Sensual!, April 29, 2008

By	Beverly Romance Books "Beverly" (St. Pete Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

When it comes to reading an Adele Ashworth romance, readers can expect an excellent story, in-depth characters, and a sensuality that oozes from the pages, keeping a reader riveted to the book. It is no different with this new title "A Notorious Proposition."

Revisiting a place called Winter Garden from a previous book of that name back in 2000, we find two people who left an intense emotional and physical love behind two years ago due to undercover government intrigue, mystery of missing Martello diamonds and amnesia. The handsome Garrett Burke, who is the mysterious Winter Garden's Marquis of Rye, left the beautiful Lady Ivy Wentworth in his warm bed after an intense night of love to finish this mysterious business with the intentions of returning and asking for her hand in marriage. But then it seemed everything went wrong and to make matters worse, due to an injury he received that evening while trying to retrieve the famous Martello diamonds, he is left with no knowledge about what actually happened that night and the aspects of his relationship with Ivy. He is so confused that he actually suspects she may actually be involved in the nefarious plot; especially because her brother is missing since that fateful night.

Now it is two years later and the diamonds and other individuals besides Ivy's brother, involved in the original mystery are missing. Everyone seems suspect, but most of all, it is Ivy that is the one deeply hurt at Garrett's treatment of her, past and present, and his suspicion toward her. Her reputation is at stake, together with her fear for her brother's life and his possible involvement in the original theft and current mystery. Garrett and Ivy find themselves thrown together at Winter Garden, at the invitation of the Marquis of Rye, who Ivy does not know is actually Garrett, while walking a fine line of suspicion, love and hate. Will Garrett find the diamonds and who is responsible for their theft and his injury, while at the same time will his memory return so he can remember just how important Ivy is to him? Will Ivy help Garrett by using her famous talent as a seer, to find her brother and somehow rediscover the diamonds and the love she once had for Garrett, while fighting the continuous sensual desire she discovers she cannot put behind her since that fateful night two years ago when Garrett left her in his bed?

Adele Ashworth is a superb talent that seems to get better with each book that is a definite keeper. Crime, mystery, and sensuality combine with excellent storylines and interesting characters to keep readers patiently awaiting a next release.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Secret tunnels and missing diamonds, May 17, 2008

By	Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

'A Notorious Proposition' is a rather misleadingly-titled book as there was no notorious proposition in the book, at least not that I noticed. Instead, set in 1850, it features Lady Ivy Wentworth, a seer whose brother is missing, who has been tasked by the mysterious Marquess of Rye to investigate ghosts in his new property. Two years before Lady Ivy loved and lost Garrett Burke, a man who was looking for the missing Martello Diamonds. When Lady Ivy meets Garrett in the village of Winter Gardens she has real animosity towards him because of the way in which he discarded her after seducing him. However they soon find themselves having to work together to explore mystery tunnels in the Marquess of Rye's house in their search for the diamonds. Do the tunnels hold more than just cobwebs and dead cats? Is there more to the history of Garrett and Ivy than they both realise? Is there more to Garrett than Ivy realises?

This story was a reasonable read with the characters exploring dusty tunnels, trying to find diamonds, attending a ball, that sort of thing. However it also felt rather loosely plotted without a strong thread of characterisation to hold it together. The names of the characters also felt unconvincing for the time - Ivy and Garrett - and the author's dialogue was peppered with modern-day Americanisms that aren't appropriate for the time and location in which the book was set. The pace of the story ramps up a little at the end where the various threads all join together and the villain or villains are identified but the suspense was never that great and, having finished the book, I doubt I shall remember much about it within a week.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars too many loose ends......., August 10, 2008

By	T. hilton (texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

let me state that i really like adele ashworth. stolen charms and especially winter garden were great. but.....this book leaves too many loose ends for me... perhaps i dozed through the part of the book that left me wondering:

why does garrett wait two years to confront ivy. yes, he had some memory loss, but he still remembered parts of their past,
why wait until he buys the estate some 22 months after his attack to find answers regarding ivy, was it just because he was able to buy the estate that he decided after 22 months to clarify things,
what happened to garrett during these 2 years, how did he break-off with his fiance, then, a gentlemen did not usually break an engagement, the woman was allowed to break it to save her reputation. since his fiances reputation evidently was still in tact, what happened, no mention of his exploits during the 2 years only that ivy avoided him after the way he treated her and talked about her ability in print
nothing really explaining what ivy did during these 2 years also other than a brief reference to avoiding garrett and the way he treated her when she went to see him,
now they are together, traveling though dark, dirty tunnels and for a woman who feels that she was treated badly and has avoided that person for 2 years, her every thought is about him, and this is before she even has a brief explaination of what happened to him.
what i cannot fathom is that although he had headaches and some memory loss he still remembered bits and pieces about their relationship, why loose the most important part of that relationship and remember other parts, just does not make sense with no explanation of what he did for 2 years.

i would like to have foregone tunnel exploration and had the above points clarified. also, for her to be somewhat of a seer, she did not even have enough "seering" in this book to have it used in the plot.

if ever a book needed an author REWRITE, this book does. if i have dozed and missed these points, please email me so i can go back and find them.
i have given this book 3 stars because of adele, i do like her and will read other books by her. so adele, if you read this, keep your work on winter garden level.