He must be mad. That is the only explanation Lady Clara Autenberry can come up with to explain why Laird Hunt MacLarin, given what he knows about Clara's ruinous past, would ever consider proposing to her. However, once Clara learns about the curse that has haunted the past five generations of MacLarin men, she realizes there just may be a method to Hunt's madness. But what is going to happen to the newlyweds once Hunt discovers that rumors about Clara's past may have been greatly exaggerated? The fourth fast-paced and fun installment in best-selling Jordan's Rogue Files series is another expertly calibrated mix of vibrantly etched characters and steamy sensuality that will delight both longtime fans and new readers alike.--John Charles Copyright 2010 Booklist

In Jordan's satisfying fourth Rogue Files Regency (after The Duke Buys a Bride), a Scottish laird burdened by a family curse tries to avoid death by avoiding love. Lady Clara Autenberry, a duke's daughter who's about to marry the dangerous Earl of Rolland, gets out of her betrothal by convincing Rolland she's pregnant by another man. Her reputation in London now ruined, she moves to her brother's home in Scotland to live out her life. Her brother's friend Laird Hunt MacLarin, who becomes infatuated with her after he encounters her in a roadside inn, hears of her situation and thinks it might be the loophole he needs: if she bears another man's child, he won't be subject to the curse that kills each Laird MacLarins between when he sires an heir and when the heir is born. He proposes to her, and they marry-but then she confesses that she's not pregnant after all, and Hunt and Clara must try to find a way to break the curse. The balance of heat and suspense will delight Regency romance readers. Agent: Maura Kye-Casella, Don Congdon Assoc. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Superstition meets scandal in the fourth book of Jordan's Rogue Files series (The Me I Meant To Be, 2019, etc.).By the time Lady Clara Autenberry makes it to her brother's house in Scotland, everyone in London society will know her secret: Clara is pregnant, and the baby is not her fiance's. Though Clara is ruined for life, Laird Hunt MacLarin proposes to marry her for a kooky reason: He's cursed. No man in his family has ever lived to see the birth of his firstborn child. Hunt has bided his time, sleeping with a barren woman who doesn't need a commitment, but when he meets Clara, he knows he wants more. With a curse-free child on the way, Clara can give Hunt the family he's always wantedat least until he quarantines himself to avoid baby No. 2. But the truth is, there is no baby. Clara lied to her entire family, insisting she'd rather be a spinster than spend the rest of her life with her cruel fiance. When she finds out about the curse, she decides to marry Hunt anyway, get pregnant, and prove to him that the curse isn't real. But the curse makes a believer of Clara when she gets pregnant for real and mysterious accidents start to befall her husband. Hunt didn't exactly agree to die for her, but his fear of his impending doom imbues their romance with a spirit of carpe diem. As with previous books in the series, the Scottish accents and coastal locationcomplete with dolphinsadd texture to the historical setting. A surprising development with Clara's beautiful young lady's companion, Marian, hints at what's to come in the next series installment.The man in peril is a fun spin on the usual damsel in distress, leading to many heart-pounding moments. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.