Misinterpretations in the language of love abound in Sullivan's winning debut, the first in her League of Scoundrels series. While vacationing in Italy in 1897, 24-year-old Brit Lottie Carlisle hatches a plan to escape the machinations of her uncle, Sir Alfred Lewis, who wishes to marry her off by season's end. She hopes to ruin her reputation with the eligible bachelors of London by giving her chaperone the slip and living alone in the Italian countryside for a year, but her plan is upended when Alec Gresham, her uncle's ward and her own former flame, now an agent of the crown, is sent to track her down. Though Lottie is dismayed to be discovered, seeing Alec once more after his abrupt departure from her life five years earlier stirs long-buried feelings. Alec informs Lottie that Sir Alfred is dying and persuades her to return home with him--and as they travel the Italian countryside, the picturesque backdrop and gently teased mysteries about Alec's life as a spy keep the pages turning. Alec and Lottie's former closeness is nicely contrasted with their present-day tension as their feelings reignite. This satisfying love story will especially appeal to historical romance fans looking for a break from the typical English setting. Agent: Amanda Jain, Bookends Literary. (Mar.)

What exactly does a woman have to do to ruin her reputation? Charlotte "Lottie" Carlisle thought that running away from her chaperone in Florence would be enough to discourage her uncle Alfred's matchmaking efforts. However, soon afterwards Lottie's childhood friend, and her uncle's current protégé, Alec Gresham, turns up in the small Italian village where Lottie is hiding with news that her uncle is gravely ill. Before Lottie will return to London with Alec, she insists on two conditions. First, she wants to see Venice, and second, Alec must conduct himself as a gentleman at all times. While Alec readily agrees to both conditions, Lottie soon realizes she should have thrown in a third caveat for good measure: that Alec stop confusing her with his kisses! The literary charms of Sullivan's superbly written debut are many, including a full cast of deftly nuanced characters, an exquisitely evoked Italian setting that would impress E.M. Forster, love scenes that deliver both emotional intensity and lush sensuality, and vivacious writing enhanced by ample measures of wit.