Sleepless at Midnight

Author: Jacquie D'Alessandro
Published: June 2007 (Avon)
Category: Regency Romance
Series: Mayhem in Mayfair #1
Rating: 10/10

Okay, I've griped about covers with shirtless men, so it just serves me right that I read this book with a half-naked woman on the cover... and really liked it.

I loved this book. It was funny, sweet, witty, and it had a lot of heat. I had previously read D'Alessandro's Whirlwind Wedding, which was above average, and was published seven years ago. I think that she's definitely gotten better over time, and her Sleepless at Midnight plot wasn't loosey-goosey like WW. There are no ridiculous plot twists that make me shake my head and wonder what the hell the author was thinking. One of the most amusing devices in SAM was the inner monologue. How can you resist smiling when you read something like this?

"I am aware of that. I've already told you I've no romantic interest in her." A tiny voice inside him coughed to life and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like liar.

Stupid bloody voice.

The story is set on the estate of Matthew Devenport, Marquess Langston, and he has a quest to complete. He made two promises at his father's deathbed. (1) Get married within one year and (2) Find the hidden treasure on the grounds that will settle all of the estate's debts. Unfortunately, Matthew has about a month left, and a house party going on at the same time. The guest list includes small group of marriageable young ladies, and Sarah Moorehouse, one of their friends, who is not marriage material because she's ancient (26 years old), not classically beautiful, and most importantly, she's not an heiress.

This unconventional woman has spent most of her life under the shadow of her beloved and more beautiful older sister, who married a title. Sarah doesn't resent her sister at all, as Carolyn stood up for Sarah against their overcritical mother. Because of her upbringing, Sarah is so compassionate to "broken" people. She cooks food for a recently widowed mother of three, and an elderly pair of sisters an hour away from her home. She loves animals, and isn't one of those girls who wants a tiny yappy dog, which draws a lot of Matthew's attention, as he has Danforth, a gigantic dog very similar to Sarah's gigantic dog Desdemona.

And of course, she's a bit of a rebel, so at the house party, she starts a ladies' literary society that discusses books that aren't proper for young ladies, starting with Frankenstein. One of their projects is to create the perfect man and each girl has to steal (borrow) a particular item of clothing from a specific man's closet. Sarah winds up with the assignment of collecting a shirt from their host. She's also got an overactive imagination, and when she sees Matthew returning from one of his nightly treasure hunts with a shovel, she begins wondering what dark deeds he might be doing. Could he be raiding a graveyard like Dr. Frankenstein? Or did he commit the murder that happened so close to the estate?

In the process of stealing the shirt, Matthew enters his room before she has a chance to escape, which leads to a highly amusing scene where Sarah hides behind a curtain and watches him take a bath. It starts a series of steamy encounters between the two, as Matthew feels it's only fair that he get to watch her take a bath! I absolutely loved Sarah and Matthew together. After Sarah cornered Matthew about his nighttime activities, they were honest with each other, sharing their darkest childhood memories, and their "I love you" scene was one of the most touching I've read in a long time.

D'Alessandro's next book in the series, Confessions at Midnight, is scheduled for December 2007 release.