Review featured in January 2006 issue of ROMANTIC TIMES:
WHEN YOU LOVE SOMEONE
Rating:
Susan Johnson
Brava
Setting:1788 England

Hedonistic Julius D’Abernon, Marquis of Darley, seeks pleasure from women and nothing more. He’s able to woo and win a woman with a glance—except the very respectable Elsbeth, Lady Grafton.

Married to a much older and heartless man, Elsbeth hides her pain and fears behind a cool façade. She appears to have no interest in men, and it’s rumored that she sent her husband into an apoplectic fit on their wedding night. She is just the kind of challenge Julius desires.

Secretly hungry for love and compassion, Elsbeth fears her husband’s anger and remains docile by his side until Julius bursts into her life. With one kiss, he begins to wear away her defenses.
Julius overcomes Elsbeth’s initial trepidation and opens the doors to sensual experiences beyond her wildest dreams. But this kind of happiness cannot last forever, unless true love can overcome the tyranny of abuse and scandal.

Following her formula for burning up the pages, Johnson crafts another stirring romance in this story of the growing relationship between an alpha hero and an independent woman. Her likable, believable characters and the depth of historical insight she offers always add great dimension to a super-steamy read.

VERY SENSUAL(January, 350 pp., $14.00)---reviewed by Kathe Robin