Aletheia

Aletheia, Theia, Bairnard - vivacious, strong-willed, and intelligent, sees no reason to curb her rebellious streak to suit a man, resolved not to be married off like a brood mare, to someone her older brother deems appropriate, without her consent.

Joshua Hawkins, Hawk to his friends, relishes his work as a member of Lucas Withers' covert organisation and his bachelorhood. In no hurry to be leg-shackled to some flighty miss, more interested in his title than in him, Hawk cultivates his, erroneous as it happens, reputation as a rake to repel amorous advances.

Two chance encounters... both fleeting and, outwardly at least, in no way romantic... ignite a spark of something indefinable, leaving an inexplicable melancholy when they part.

Fate intervenes, throwing Theia and Hawk together in the most unlikely circumstance. Misunderstandings abound, but the spark is rekindled and refuses to be doused. Will a rebel and a rake permit prejudice and sweeping assumptions to triumph or trust their hearts and embrace the emotions demanding attention?

Just when a happily ever after seems within reach, the couple becomes embroiled in a mystery which has the potential to divide loyalties and undermine their fledgling romance.

Aletheia is the first book in the Rakes and Rebels Trilogy - look out for Griff, by Lilly Rayman, the second installment.