Berkley Sensation (Paperback), ISBN 0425198790

I missed the first two books in Rebecca Hagan Lee's Free Fellows League series. After reading Hardly a Husband, I realize I did myself a disservice.

Lee writes in a witty, engaging style. Her characters, both men and women, are intelligent, passionate and entirely believable. No brooding alpha males or helpless young maidens here, only men and women who sometimes make mistakes but always try to do the right thing.

Interwoven with the romance runs a subplot of espionage and code breaking carried out by the English lords of the Free Fellows League against Napoleonic France. The friendship and loyalty needed for such work stands in perfect balance to the growing love of the hero and heroine. In Lee's book we see good people standing up for those they love. The dialogue is brilliant, the plotting never misses, and the setting unfolds through carefully chosen details.

The series focuses on the adventures of a group of young aristocratic bachelors in Regency England. At an early age, they pledged themselves to avoid, for as long as possible, the marriage each would need to make for the sake of his titles and heirs. Yet inevitably one by one they fall for the charms of an eligible young lady.

In this case, Jarrod, the Marquess of Shephardston, vowed long ago never to marry. After all, even close family friends declared his parents' marriage a resounding disaster, and he will go to great lengths to avoid repeating such mistakes -- until a childhood friend, Sarah Eckersley, appears bedraggled on his doorstep. Newly orphaned, she must find a husband immediately to escape being married to the loathsome Lord Dunridge.

Acknowledging that he hardly qualifies as husband material, Jarrod agrees to use his influence to find her a suitable match. Little does he realize that Sarah already decided on a husband, and she won't let Jarrod escape that easily.

In this book we meet the heroes and heroines of Lee's previous two Free Fellows League novels, as well as those of the next book. You need not have read the previous novels, however, to enjoy this one, and I look forward to meeting Jarrod and Sarah again in books to come.

Kathryn Yelinek

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