One Perfect Rose (Fallen Angels)

Stephen Kenyon, the new Duke of Ashburton, has always known exactly what society expected of him. But a doctor's grim diagnosis leaves him longing to experience life as never before. Traveling incognito, he becomes entangled with a wandering theater family and their spirited adopted daughter, Rosalind Jordan. With no time to waste in courtship, Stephen convinces Rosalind to marry him--an arrangement that has advantages for both. The warm companionship and profound passion they share is more than Stephen expected, and far more than his family and his own guarded nature ever allowed. But each passing, perfect day together is a bittersweet reminder that love is the one thing he is not at liberty to offer, and the one thing she can never admit...

"In her superb, inimitable style, Putney takes a pair of magnetic, beautifully matched protagonists, places them in a dark, impossible situation, and makes it work." --Library Journal

"One Perfect Rose is Mary Jo Putney in top form." --Romantic Times

Amazon.com Review
Mary Jo Putney explores a sensitive, challenging subject with grace and poignancy in this story of a young duke who is told he has a fatal illness and struggles to come to terms with his imminent death ... only to be surprised by love. Stephen Kenyon, Duke of Ashburton, vowing to live fully every moment of his remaining days, sets off alone across the countryside of Regency England, feeling wonderfully liberated from his ducal duties, when he becomes caught up with the traveling Fitzgerald Theater Troupe. Soon he's treading the boards and falling in love with the acting family's cheerful, down-to-earth adopted daughter Rosalind. How Stephen and Rosalind embrace their love under such sad circumstances heightens the passion and power of their romance, while Putney skillfully avoids becoming maudlin ... and dutifully provides the requisite happy ending. Rosalind's matter-of-fact approach to life contrasts delightfully with her dramatic family's emotional excesses, while her parents' loving marriage provides a fun secondary romance.

Product Description
Few romance novels have touched readers as deeply or as lastingly as this classic by New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney. Poignant, passionate, and tender, One Perfect Rose is the story of two mismatched lovers drawn into a fragile, unforgettable union...

Stephen Kenyon, the new Duke of Ashburton, has always known exactly what society expected of him. But a doctor's grim diagnosis leaves him longing to experience life as never before. Traveling incognito, he becomes entangled with a wandering theater family and their spirited adopted daughter, Rosalind Jordan. With no time to waste in courtship, Stephen convinces Rosalind to marry him--an arrangement that has advantages for both. The warm companionship and profound passion they share is more than Stephen expected, and far more than his family and his own guarded nature ever allowed. But each passing, perfect day together is a bittersweet reminder that love is the one thing he is not at liberty to offer, and the one thing she can never admit...

"In her superb, inimitable style, Putney takes a pair of magnetic, beautifully matched protagonists, places them in a dark, impossible situation, and makes it work." --Library Journal

"One Perfect Rose is Mary Jo Putney in top form." --Romantic Times