1055. Addicted (Charlotte Featherstone)

Synopsis:
Friends since childhood, Anais Darnby and Lindsay Markham have long harbored a secret passion for one another. When they finally confess their love, their future together seems assured, sealed with their searing embrace.

But when a debauched Lindsay is seduced by a scheming socialite, a devastated Anais seeks refuge in another man's bed while Lindsay retreats to the exotic East. There, he is seduced again - this time by the alluring red smoke and sinister beauty of opium.

Back home, Lindsay's addiction is fed by the vogue for all things Oriental - especially its sensual pleasures - in fashionable London society. In his lucid moments, Lindsay still lusts after Anais, who can neither allow him near nor forget his smoldering touch. Tortured by two obsessions - opium and Anais - Lindsay must ultimately decide which is the one he truly cannot live without.

My rating: 4 stars

964. Mistress of the Night (Charlotte Featherstone)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The Earl of Hardcastle is used to living his life shrouded in darkness, preferring to spend his days and nights in his gloomy townhouse than amongst the glittering ton in order to shield himself from a shameful secret he keeps carefully hidden. But his way of life is suddenly threatened when he finds himself longing for, and fantasizing about, Madeline Brydges, Society's resident do-gooder. Love will find a way where wolves fear to prey. Madeline Brydges needs to get married, and she has her sights set on the handsome and mysterious Earl of Hardcastle. But the elusive earl is proving most difficult where marriage is concerned. After years of saving those in need, Madeline is able to spot the signs, and she sees that inside Hardcastle lurks a painful secret. Madeline must risk all if she is to save the man she loves from his demons.

My rating: 2 stars