Read Obsession Wears Opals Online
Authors: Renee Bernard
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Historical, #General
Obsession Wears Opals
Raves for the Jaded Gentleman Novels
Passion Wears Pearls
“A warm Victorian . . . A well-written, tender historical starring two superb protagonists, who may learn too late that love may be blind to the knowledge of what the other cherishes.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
Ecstasy Wears Emeralds
“Sensuality fills the pages.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The always original Bernard delivers another Jaded Gentleman to his fate: a wonderfully engaging, independent, and sassy heroine. Bernard creates a delightfully passionate romance, but the verbal sparring between her characters is the key to the story’s enchantment and the powerful feminist overtones will capture readers’ attention.”
—Romantic Times
“The story line flowed very well. It had enough of everything to keep you entertained and involved . . . This series is very good and I can’t wait for more.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“The third Jaded Gentleman Victorian romance is a superb historical . . . Fans will enjoy this deep, still timely today, nineteenth- century romance as the mentor and the mentee find respect and love.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
Seduction Wears Sapphires
“An amazing read. I enjoyed it immensely . . . Ashe and Caroline are wonderful characters that made me fall in love with them from the beginning of the story.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“A fine book; well crafted, well researched, and an entertaining romantic novel . . . Historical romance fans will be delighted, I have no doubt.”
—The Book Binge
“What a refreshing new take on two people who from first sight are determined to detest each other . . . I was immediately engrossed with the fiery, witty dialogue and the curiosity of how this couple, who loathed each other upon their meeting, would come full circle to a beautifully shared love in the end.”
—
Fiction
Vixen
Revenge Wears Rubies
“Sensuality fairly steams from Bernard’s writing. This luscious tale will enthrall you. Enjoy!”
—Sabrina Jeffries,
New York Times
bestselling author
“If you’re a fan of spicy hot romances mixed with a bit of intrigue and set in Victorian London, don’t miss this one!”
—The Romance Dish
“Galen’s journey from emotional cripple to ability to love is a captivating, erotic romance.”
—Fresh Fiction
More praise for the “grand mistress of sensual, scorching romance.”*
“Sinfully sexy . . . Wickedly witty, sublimely sensual . . . Renee Bernard dazzles readers . . . Clever, sensual, and superb.”
—Booklist
“Scorcher! Bernard debuts with an erotic romance that delivers not only a high degree of sensuality but a strong plotline and a cast of memorable characters. She’s sure to find a place alongside Robin Schone, Pam Rosenthal, and Thea Devine.”
—*RT Book Reviews
“Very hot romance. Readers who enjoy an excellent, sizzling Victorian story are going to thoroughly enjoy this one.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Shiverlicious! A captivating plot, charismatic characters, and sexy, tingle-worthy romance . . . Fantastic!”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“Crowd-pleasing.”
—Publishers Weekly
Berkley Sensation Titles by Renee Bernard
REVENGE WEARS RUBIES
SEDUCTION WEARS SAPPHIRES
ECSTASY WEARS EMERALDS
PASSION WEARS PEARLS
OBSESSION WEARS OPALS
Obsession Wears Opals
RENEE BERNARD
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
OBSESSION WEARS OPALS
A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market paperback edition / December 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Renee Bernard
Cover art by Alan Ayers. Cover design by George Long.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-61329-0
BERKLEY SENSATION
®
Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY SENSATION
®
is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Memo to me: Happier acknowledgments please. No one wants to read about the dreary slog of my life or how anyone living in the twenty-first century cannot for the life of her manage not to fall further behind every time she tries to “upgrade” her technology. Seriously, I must be doing it wrong. If there’s an “easy” button outside of that commercial, I’ve lost mine.
I want to thank Eric Ruben for being more than my agent. He’s become my true friend and a pseudo-sibling. I have to thank Kate Seaver for being such a patient and wonderful editor and for fighting for me. My thanks to Sheila English at Readers Entertainment for making me part of the team and to Megan Bamford and the Aussie Crew for introducing me to red frogs, new varieties of Tim Tams, and the opals (Oh, goodness! The opals!). My thanks to everyone at RT for their amazing love and support. I have to mention Anne Elizabeth, who is so dear to me as a friend and advocate that there just aren’t words. I’ll never be able to repay her for all her advice and support—if having a loving heart was a sport, Anne would be a world champion.
I want to acknowledge Carolyn Follett for all her hard work and her attempts to keep me from leaving a trail of personal belongings in my wake at RT Chicago. Also a huge thanks to Michelle Drew, Lindsey Ross, and Josie Cusumano; I couldn’t ask for a better cheering section or nicer friends. And I didn’t forget you, Ms. Pierre. You’re in the next book, so brace yourself. You went waaaay past a mention and accidentally landed yourself in the finale of the Jaded Gentlemen series, so make sure you’re sitting down!
A special thanks to Danny Kemp of
The Desolate Garden
for reassuring me that British men are, in fact, the most fabulous things walking and worthy of all their fictional following—but also that their heroic worth has nothing to do with their social standing and everything to do with their hearts. Married to the love of his life, Danny is the measure of a truly good man and I want to thank him personally for his friendship and support.
And to Judi McCoy. If you’d lived to be a hundred, it still would have been too soon to lose such a bright and funny star in the skies. You were always yourself and that was the best lesson any mentor could teach. I love you and I’ll think of you every time I see a dog, hear someone talking about
American Idol
, or God help me, step into a hotel bathtub. (And, yes, you snored. We’ll argue about it later.)
It isn’t a book until I tell my mother how much I appreciate her and adore her. We talk almost every day, which I secretly fear qualifies as stalking, but she’s still my best friend and who else would put up with me? The pact we made together when I was a child has held through the years and will outlive us both. We swore to back each other up and dream big, ignore the worst of it, and keep our eyes on what mattered most. She probably didn’t know it at the time but it’s the lifeline that has kept me afloat. I love you, Mom. (Don’t tell Dad, but if I win the lottery I’m whisking you off to Australia next year . . . rumor has it, they’ve got
opals
there!)