Cold-Hearted Rake

Devon Ravenel never expects to inherit an earldom. When the title lands on him, it arrives with a bankrupt estate and a household of people who depend on him for their keep, and he has no plan for either.

Among those living there are his late cousin's three young sisters and Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a widow who is sharp and guarded. She has no intention of trusting a man with Devon's reputation as a rake, and she makes that plain.

The attraction between the two is immediate, and neither can shake it. Devon sets about rescuing the family from ruin, and along the way he becomes just as set on earning Kathleen's trust, and in time her heart. She keeps her defenses up, and he has to work around them.

This is a Victorian-era historical romance with a steamy heat level, built on a slow thaw between two wary people. The focus stays on the household and the pressure of its debts, with the romance growing out of the daily work of keeping the estate afloat. It is the first book in the Ravenels series, so it also introduces the family that the later books follow.