Anthony Dalton, Lord Norcourt, is desperate to have his twelve-year-old niece Tessa accepted at the highly regarded Mrs. Harris' School for Young Ladies in London. Anthony is in a guardianship battle for the orphaned Tessa with his detested aunt and uncle from the country - the same aunt and uncle who abused him as a child. Anthony is a known partier and womanizer, which hurts his chances for success. But he has a higher rank than his uncle as well as a London residence and the best social connections, which work in his favor. If he can add a top-notch school to the advantages he can offer his niece, then he has a good chance of winning the fight. Mrs. Harris is not keen to help the dissolute Anthony become a guardian. But she is persuaded by her head teacher, Miss Madeline Prescott, to give him two weeks to prove his good character. During this time, he must give '(beware of) rakehell lessons' to the school's pupils and behave in a proper and discreet manner. But oh-so-tempting Madeline thwarts Anthony's best intentions, particularly when she insists he take her to one of his infamous - and decadent - nitrous oxide parties. Corrupting a teacher will certainly not reflect well on Anthony's character, yet Madeline intrigues him with her forthright opinions, artless allure, and secretive behavior. So he decides to play along --- all with the goal of seducing her, of course!
I usually like Sabrina Jeffries, but sadly this book was a disappointment. The narrative disconcertingly jumped between comedy and drama, and the characters and storyline were unappealing. The parts involving Madeline's father and his problems were convoluted and uninteresting, the rakehell lessons rather silly in the context of the rest of the story, and the nitrous oxide angle a bit annoying. Madeline's haphazard shedding of her innocence just did not sit right with me, and Anthony's sexual hang-up was overdone and sucked the life from the romance. I grew tired of the constant reference to Anthony's 'bad boy' and 'wickedness'. There was a distinct lack of softness to the love scenes - they seemed harsh and methodical; almost crude. I expect to feel some sense of elation or eroticism in a couple's coming together...instead I was turned off.
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Let Sleeping Rogues Lie (School for Heiresses) Books In Print, Audio Books.