Potent Pleasures: A Novel

When the young Lady Charlotte Caverstill attends a local masked ball while on holiday in the countryside, she has no intention of dishonoring herself. But a handsome man ignites an unknown passion in her, and she finds herself willingly following him into the shadows of the garden. Before the night is over, Charlotte has surrendered her heart, as well as her virginity, to this man whom she doesn't know.

Though Alex McDonough Foakes spends the entire summer trying to track down the mysterious maiden from the masquerade ball, he cannot find her. Sent to Italy, he seeks solace in an ill-fated marriage, and returns years later a father, a widower, and a pessimist in love. When Alex meets Charlotte, he falls madly in love with her--despite his inability to recognize her--and proposes. She refuses. How can she marry a man who does not remember her after such an intimacy? And if she does, how can she explain her lack of virginity?

In this, her debut novel, author Eloise James takes special care to test and develop her characters in different situations. Unlike books with the familiar cart-before-the-horse plot, James does not restrict her characters to the bedroom; as Charlotte and Alex interact with friends and family in different arenas, they become more realistic and interesting. And though their motives are not always believable, the lovers appear to be a part of a greater world--one that will quickly capture the reader's imagination. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien