We finally get Lord Delacourt's story. I was very excited to read this story since “A Woman Scorned” ended with Delacourt needing a parson. The story to this problem is a both amusing a horrifying. David Branthwaite, Viscount Delacourt, has just almost compromise a young lady and he is determined to make an honest woman of her. The whole prologue is amusing and sad. Sad because David’s salvation must wait until later in the book and funny because David is drunk, Cole is trying to calm things down and Jonet is right in the center of the whole mess. The prologue should snare any fan of historical romance and give new readers a fair idea of Ms. Carlyle’s writing style. David is that tortured hero we all know and love. He has a dark secret that he is afraid will get out and ruin his family, especially his mother. For all David’s reputation he is at his core an honorable, compassionate man that just needs to find someone that will love him for himself. Unfortunately, that person is Cecilia Lorimer and she won’t have anything to do with him.

Cecilia Lorimer is a little bit of a bitch in the first part of this book. Yes, she is young and inexperienced but she has little compassion or wisdom. I liked her much better after her and David are thrown together again at the mission. I was delighted to see Cole Amherst maneuver these two into the mission on a daily basis. Cole proves again that he has a clever mind and is acutely aware of those around him. Cecilia does give David a run for his money this second time around but she soon comes to realize that David isn't the man that she thought he was. As David takes charge at the mission and starts to investigate the murder of several of the woman living there Cecilia finds that he is a man that she could love. One of the problems with Cecilia is the she is just a tad impatient and she is impulsive. This is shown to full advantage when she confronts Bentham Rutledge.

When these two finally come together they burn up the pages. Ms. Carlyle doesn't put a lot of love scenes in her stories but the ones that come up well leave you looking for a fan. It was gratifying to see that Cecilia was just a wanton as David once they got together.

There are several returning characters from previous books in this story and one new character that will get his story in the very near future. I have already mentioned Bentham Rutledge, I can only hope that he will find someone to save him before it is too late. Both Jonet's sons are mentioned although Lord Robert is the one that is mentioned the most and he is the one in the most trouble. There is also mention of one of the Weyden boys, probably the oldest.

This is another finely crafted story but a very talented storyteller. Her characters are flawed, funny and courageous. This goes for the secondary characters as well as the main. The plot line is tight and move along without a lot of fluff and filler. Ms. Carlyle is a much buy author for me even after all these years. ( )

Interesting external conflict and mystery reuniting hero and heroine. Hero's internal conflict resolves much too easily. ( )

You won't find more well-developed characters anywhere. Liz's lush style captivated me from the beginning, and I adore her characters, especially the intelligent and strong-willed women. ( )

Liz Carlyle's talent builds; each novel is better than the last. A WOMAN OF VIRTUE is one of the best romance novels that I've read in the last year, and Carlyle's other novels rank among those best. Unlike many romance writers, Carlyle has a mature writing style as well as well as well-developed characters and plots. All the necessary romance elements - chemical attraction between two well-drawn protagonists, a simple, but fast-moving plot, and a story line connected to previous novels - are here. Her major characters are likeable; her sex scenes are sensual. Hey, I'd give her six stars if I could ( )

A Woman of Virtue did not seem to have quite the emotional depth of Liz Carlyle's other books that I have read to date, but it was still a fun and enjoyable read. As with her other books, Ms. Carlyle has combined romance with a mystery. The romance part was generally light and breezy, beginning with the hero and heroine bickering like cats and dogs. Sometimes I can find this type of relationship irritating, but here it was handled well, in my opinion, and it didn't take long before these two realized that they had always loved each other. The mystery was pretty well-done too. I wasn't pulled into it quite as much as I have been with other mysteries I have read, which I think was a result of the author not dropping quite enough clues along the way. The thing I really liked about it though was a surprise villain, as I didn't even guess who it was until shortly before it was revealed in the story. There are a couple of things that I missed in this book that were present in some of Ms. Carlyle's other works, one of which was her masterful use of children and pets to set the tone and create a family atmosphere. Unfortunately, the only children who made an appearance were Cole and Jonet's, but it was very brief and they didn't add much to the story. The only pet was Max's dog, Lucifer, and since Max was a secondary character, Lucifer didn't get a great deal of attention or add much to the story either. The other thing was that although, A Woman of Virtue had plenty of beautiful sensuality, I thought it was a bit lacking in the gorgeous romantic interactions and the building of a deep friendship between the hero and heroine that Ms. Carlyle has previously been so talented at creating.

I found the main characters to be very likable. David may have been a rake, but underneath it all he was a kind and gentle man, who had really only ever loved one woman. He had a rather dark secret that he had kept hidden for years that caused him some emotional angst. I found his vulnerability over this and his fear of being rejected to be very human and endearing qualities. I also appreciated his understanding that the only way to have a real and lasting relationship with Cecilia was to be completely honest. I loved his protective nature toward all women. When he rescued a prostitute who was being assaulted, I just knew he was a great guy. Cecilia was free-spirited and head-strong, rarely listening to David, but she was also an intelligent and capable woman who was able to do bookkeeping at the mission and to be very helpful and fearless during the murder investigation. I also admired her for her willingness to do hands-on work at the mission, something that women of her station rarely did. She also had a mischievous and manipulative streak in her, but she only used it for the greater good, never on David. I love how she schemed to get a huge donation for the mission out of one of the more distasteful characters. She also had a wonderful intuition about many thing, but especially about David, regularly sensing his needs and emotions. I also loved how these two characters exhibited a great deal of trust and honesty with each other, and were never pushy or needy.

Some of the best and most intriguing characters came in the form of the supporting cast. In A Woman of Virtue, Ms. Carlyle has continued her intricate web of characters from previous and future books. I just can't seem to help but love Bentley Rutledge who was first seen in Beauty Like the Night. He projects the aura of an inveterate blackguard, but is really a character who is full of intriguing complexities which this book continued to build on. I don't think I've read such a wonderfully rendered secondary character as Bentley. He simply steals nearly every scene he is in, leaving the reader longing for more. Bentley appears again in No True Gentleman and finally gets his own story in The Devil You Know, which I am greatly looking forward to reading. Also visiting as David's temporary employee, was George Kemble, the enigmatic, multi-talented valet who was first seen in My False Heart. In A Woman of Virtue, readers discover a few more of Kem's talents, leaving one wondering if perhaps he might be more that what he seems. Kem currently appears in four other novels: No True Gentleman, The Devil You Know, A Deal with the Devil, and The Devil to Pay.

Other characters who put in an appearance were Cole and Jonet Amherst, the hero and heroine of A Woman Scorned, giving readers a look at where they are a few years later. While I have not yet read A Woman Scorned, I am fairly certain that David made his first appearance in that book as well. A Woman of Virtue also introduces readers to Maximilian de Rohan, the police inspector who becomes the hero of No True Gentleman, and to Giles Lorimer, Cecelia's stepson, who becomes the hero of A Deal with the Devil. There are also brief introductions to the more minor characters of Harry Markham-Sands and Isabel, Lady Kirton, who also have roles in No True Gentleman, as do Cecilia and David. Even though A Woman of Virtue was not quite as good as some of Ms. Carlyle's other books for me, the entire cast of characters and a fun, passionate story made it a very enjoyable read. I have read enough of Ms. Carlyle's books now that I can certainly say she has earned a place on my favorite authors list, and I would read any of her works in the future.

Note: While none of Ms. Carlyle's earlier books seem to be officially considered a series and each seems to stand well on it's own story-wise, I would caution that reading her later books first may give away spoilers to her earlier books. Such is the case I believe with A Woman of Virtue which left me wishing that I had read A Woman Scorned first. My suggestion for readers like myself who don't like any spoilers would be to begin with Ms. Carlyle's first book, My False Heart, and continue reading them in the chronological order in which she wrote them. It is also my opinion that the reading experience would be greatly enhanced by doing this, because Ms. Carlyle's character web is so complex. The entire backlist, in order, can be found on her website. ( )