Celeste Bradley: Devil in my bed ja Scoundrel in my dreams

Celeste Bradley kirjoittaa historiallisia viihderomaaneja, joissa toistetaan samaa reseptiä kerta toisensa jälkeen, mistä käy malliesimerkiksi The runaway brides -romaanitrilogian ensimmäinen ja kolmas romaani. Kirjoissa on dekkariin viittaavia piirteitä, sillä juonen keskeisenä elementtinä on yrittää selvittää, kuka orvon pikkutytön isä mahtaa olla.

Devil in my bed (St. Martin's, 2009; ISBN 978-0-312-94308-0)

The three-year-old girl sitting on the steps of Brown's Club for Distinguished Gentlemen insists that one of its members is her papa. Aidan de Quincy feels obligated to help the wee thing, even though she certainly isn't his―or is she? To find answers, Aidan must first track down the lovely widow he swore to forget when their passionate affair came to a painful end. It doesn't help that Madeleine Chandler is as sensual and enticing as ever.

For three years, Madeleine had dreamed of seeing Aidan on her doorstep. The secret that once forced her to leave him now compels her to pretend that this sweet child is hers―a lie Aidan will surely never forgive. Yet the contented days and exquisite nights that follow are worth the heartbreak she knows must come. The truth will out―and when it does, there will be the devil to pay.

Scoundrel in my dreams (St. Martin's Press, 2010; ISBN 978-0-312-94310-3)

The child is his: Jack, or rather, Lord John Redgrave knows it the instant he glimpses the blue-eyed girl who was abandoned on the steps of his gentleman's club. Her mother came to his room one dark night more than three years ago―and spurned his proposal the very next day. But when Jack visits Amaryllis Clarke to demand an explanation, he receives the shock of his life. For it wasn't proud, worldly Amaryllis with whom he spent that soul-stirring night. It was her infatuated younger sister, Laurel.

Laurel was only seventeen when she gave her innocence to Jack―and paid a steep price. She might be overjoyed about her reunion with little Melody, but Laurel won't surrender to her desires again. Jack, meanwhile, has no wish to give up the daughter he never knew he had. Nor will he part with the sensual woman who makes him feel alive with longing. He intends to use any means possible to convince Laurel to stay. After all, all's fair in matters of seduction―especially to a scoundrel in love.