The Affair
By Lily Maxton
4/5
()
About this ebook
London, 1817. When a beautiful stranger ducks into his bookshop during a rainstorm, Cale Cameron, well-known rake, is instantly attracted to her. Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill, is restless and hungers for something she cannot name. Society would never accept a countess and a mere bookseller, so they agree to a one-week affair to indulge their desire. As their passion ignites and their connection grows, Elizabeth threatens the one thing Cale has protected above all else—his heart. Letting her go is the only solution, and the one thing he is not prepared to do.
The Sisters of Scandal series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 The Affair
Book #2 The Wager
Book #3 The Love Match
Book #4 The Mistake
Book #5 The Improper Bride
Read more from Lily Maxton
The Love Match Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Improper Bride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wager Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mistake Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to The Affair
Related ebooks
To Tempt A Scotsman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Naked Duke Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It's Always Been You Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Duke Of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Rake's Guide To Pleasure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Week As Lovers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seduction of Viscount Vice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Surrender to Sin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Dukes and a Lady Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Waltz of Seduction ~ A Steamy Regency Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Forbidden Knight Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5His Harlot Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Duke and the Virgin (House of Lords #1) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lessons in Pleasure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5His Forbidden Lady Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wickedly Ever After Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forbidden Duke Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bit of Rough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Duke of Daring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mistletoe Mistress Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Educating Elizabeth: Diable Delamere, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Lord, Lady, and Gentleman (Surrey SFS, #3) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil's Bargain (The Regency Rags to Riches Series, Book 2) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bound To Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marquess and the Maiden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Baring It All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mastering the Marquess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Improper Wedding: Scandalous Encounters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rogue's Conquest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At His Lady's Command (Surrey SFS, #4) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Historical Romance For You
A Kingdom of Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Prejudice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Whitney, My Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dweller on Two Planets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOnce Upon A Time: A Collection of Folktales, Fairytales and Legends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Versions of Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bred By The King In Public: Dominant King Erotic History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Visitors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Pleasure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragonwyck: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kent Family Chronicles Volumes One Through Three: The Bastard, The Rebels, and The Seekers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seven Years to Sin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something Wonderful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cold-Hearted Rake: The Ravenels, Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dancing at Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Home Child Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: A powerful, important historical novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slave Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Tudor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bound To Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Garden in England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5True Alien Seduction: Outing the Flames of Passion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame Serpent: A Catherine de' Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Affair
33 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5THE AFFAIR by Lily Maxton is another delightfully entertaining Regency Historical Romance. A quick read, a novella of only about 68 pages, but a great read! Follow, Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill and Cale Cameron on their journey to their HEA, hopefully. For only one week, Elizabeth would be Cale's, oh, but things don't always happen as expected or as is supposed to happen. As these two learn. Passion ignites between the two and the rest as they say....is history!Well written with very entertaining and sensual characters. Very well done, Ms. Maxton. I would recommend this quick novella to any and all Historical Romance readers! You will not be disappointed! Received for an honest review.RATING: 4HEAT RATING: HOTREVIEWED BY: AprilR, courtesy of My Book Addiction and More
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elizabeth, a widowed Countess surprises Cale Cameron, a bookseller and known rake, when she pops into his shop to avoid a rainstorm. He is immediately drawn to her and what follows is a delightful story about two people getting to know each other while trying not to become too attached. I am becoming a fan of the novella form, especially for romance novels where more pages sometimes equals more angsty nonsense, but I really think this book would be even better in the expanded form. These are two well written characters and their banter is witty and provocative. I enjoyed this novella, devoured it rather quickly and only wished it was a little longer. I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When a beautiful stranger races into his bookshop to escape a sudden rainstorm, Cale Cameron - well-known rake - is instantly attracted to her. And wholly unprepared by the force of his desire. Especially for a lady whose name he doesn't even know. Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill, is restless and hungers for something more from life. Society would most certainly frown upon a respectable countess - even if she were widowed - fraternizing with a mere bookseller. Especially when that bookseller is the notorious rake, Cale Cameron.As their passion ignites and their connection grows, his brief liaison with Elizabeth begins to threaten the one thing Cale has always protected - his heart. Letting her go is the only practical solution to this predicament...and the only option Cale can not possibly tolerate.I must say that I enjoyed reading this book. I was intrigued by the story, and found the characters to be sympathetically drawn and extremely likable. I give this book an A! and am looking forward to reading further books in this series in the future.
1 person found this helpful
Book preview
The Affair - Lily Maxton
She hungers for something wicked in her well-ordered life...
When a beautiful stranger ducks into his bookshop during a rainstorm, Cale Cameron, well-known rake, is instantly attracted to her. Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill, is restless and hungers for something she cannot name. Society would never accept a countess and a mere bookseller, so they agree to a one-week affair to indulge their desire. As their passion ignites and their connection grows, Elizabeth threatens the one thing Cale has protected above all else—his heart. Letting her go is the only solution, and the one thing he is not prepared to do.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Lily Maxton. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Scandalous is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Nina Bruhns
Cover design by Liz Pelletier and LJ Anderson
ISBN 978-1-62266-548-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition April 2014
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Discover the Sisters of Scandal Series
The Wager
The Love Match
The Mistake
The Improper Bride
Get Scandalous with more Historical Romance...
No Ordinary Mistress
The Duke’s Quandary
An Unexpected Sin
The Duke’s Shotgun Wedding
For Josh
Chapter One
London, 1817
Charles Edward Lucien Grey, Earl of Thornhill, had died when he was thrown from his horse in what everyone called a tragic riding accident. Elizabeth, the Countess of Thornhill, could have predicted her husband would meet his end in such a manner. He’d always bought the fastest thoroughbreds and raced across the country at breakneck speeds…so it wasn’t surprising to her that he actually had broken his neck one misty afternoon when his horse threw him.
She’d moved back into her parents’ house with her unmarried sisters, unwilling to stay at Wycombe Manor, the Thornhill seat, by herself. It was a vast, empty house that had never held many happy memories, even when her husband was alive. But even if she had been willing to stay on, he had mismanaged the estate so badly that by the time the creditors had gone through it, there wasn’t much money left for her to live on.
She forced herself through the required mourning, first wearing all black and then whites and grays and washed-out lavenders. She didn’t go out to society functions; she didn’t dance. It was a sort of half-life, like clouds marring a summer day—unfulfilled, unrealized. But now that half-life was over. The clouds were past.
What colors do you prefer, my lady?
the dressmaker asked as she took measurements.
Elizabeth stared at the rows of fabric—bright, shimmering, splendid. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed color until this moment. A little huff of laughter came to her lips. She didn’t feel dignified. Certainly not like a countess. She felt as giddy as a girl with her first beau, simply because mourning was over and it was time to reintroduce color to her wardrobe.
All of them,
was the very sincere and very unhelpful answer she gave. Particularly because she was trying to be economical and had decided to purchase only two or three new gowns.
The dressmaker paused with a half smile. You would look very well in light blue, I think.
Yes, she’d always worn pale blues as a debutante. She was milky-skinned and fair-haired with blue eyes—they’d suited her perfectly. The men had admired her. Charles had coveted her…for a time. She’d been the toast of the ton.
She started to nod, to accept, but something made her stop. What had that admiration done for her? Yes, she’d married an earl—a man who’d looked at her like a prized possession until she’d proved she wasn’t perfect, and then he’d barely deigned to look at her at all. The admiration of others couldn’t fill a silent home, nor give ease to a troubled mind. It was time to do something for herself.
Not blue. Perhaps—
She hesitated. I have a fondness for red.
Dark red?
She shook her head. She was sick of darkness. No, bright, like…
She cast around in her memory for something. Poppies.
Poppy red,
the woman muttered, turning to browse through the fabrics. Very well.
Elizabeth left the dressmaker’s shop happier and more carefree than she’d felt in a very long while. She walked right past her waiting carriage on a whim. She would walk home.
When one of her footmen noticed, he rushed after her, trying to unfold an umbrella.
There’s no need for that,
she said.
He glanced at the sky, looking at