Antonia is being pushed by her family to marry a man of good standing.  Knowing that when she weds her husband will assume complete control over her money leaves her cold.  Wanting to see the men interested in marrying her up close and personal, Antonia dresses as Anthony and slowly infiltrates the clubs as a man.  In the time she has been dressing as a male, only one man has ever looked at her for the woman she is, Lord Gideon Harcourt.

Since becoming a widower, Gideon has avoided marriage minded mommas with a passion.  Not wanting to become entangled emotionally with a female, Gideon sates his sexual needs with willing men.  When he sees a striking young man looking very uneasy in his favorite bordello, Gideon can’t help but talk to him.  What he senses and finds out about the young man makes heart pound.  Intrigued beyond anything else, Gideon wants to get to the bottom of Anthony’s fears. 

Antonia’s Bargain is a stand alone continuation of Gideon’s story who was first introduced in the novel, Eden’s Pleasure.  While Gideon’s emotional entanglements with women and his perception of them was often times unclear, I saw through him.  Scared to death of being hurt again, he took the easy way out which was to avoid the subject of love forever and just enjoy the here and now.  Although quite naughty, he was still lovable enough to make my heart adore him.  Antonia had my attention from the first time she was introduced in the book.  I have to applaud her gumption for trying her best to investigate the men she was supposed to be considering for a husband.  Her methods weren’t the safest but they were the most gutsy I have seen.

As much as I loved Eden’s Pleasure, I love Antonia’s Bargain more.  Kate Pearce has taken regency romance to a higher level with Antonia’s Bargain and I have to applaud her ability to explore taboo subjects while writing a novel of worth and Antonia’s Bargain is a novel of worth.  I loved it. 

Please note that while the genre listed for Antonia’s Bargain is erotic historical, there are instances of homoerotic love between men and women.