Reviewed by Kate Garrabrant
Signet Eclipse
3.5 stars

Lady Caroline Wynn is a widow who has a horrendous marriage. Now that her husband is dead she wants to enjoy life and live by her own rules. There is a rumor among the Ton that London’s two most notorious rakes the Earl of Manderville and the Duke of Rothway have placed a very scandalous public wager on which one of them is the better lover. Now they need to find a woman willing to test their expertise. Lady Caroline is willing to take the biggest risk of her life and be that woman and find the ultimate pleasure in either of these men’s arms.

Nicholas and Derek are the best of friends and have made the bet all in good fun. They don’t expect a woman to actually come forward. Derek is suffering because the one woman he loves beyond all reason is engaged to another man and Nicholas has become so disillusioned ever since a woman he loved in his past betrayed him. They are both in for a surprise when the well known icy widow Wynn comes to them to welcome their seductions.

Caroline will be at the disposal of Nicholas first for one week at his country estate in Essex. There he will teach Caroline the pleasures of the flesh and show her that sex can be a wonderful thing between a man and a woman. After that week, Caroline will be with Derek and afterward she will pick the better lover. Nicholas finds Caroline to be one of the most intriguing women he has ever met. He doesn’t find her cold at all as they enjoy each other for the week. They both learn about each other’s wants and desires. Nicholas can hardly believe Caroline when she talks about her marriage and how unloved she felt, especially by a husband who found her so lacking in bed. Nicholas doesn’t find Caroline lacking in anyway and as the week comes to a close he wants her with him always.

Caroline doesn’t want to be tied down to a man in either remarriage or as a mistress. Already she has broken her own rules by falling for Nicholas and now must go to Derek to finish the bet. But Nicholas wants Caroline all to himself and it kills him that Caroline will jump into another man’s bed after their incredible and passionate love affair. Nicholas must try and show Caroline that he is the only man for her that will cherish her and love her and not settle for an indecent proposition.

In the mood for a luscious love story with two amazing men who are superior in bed and in life? Then Emma Wildes’ An Indecent Proposition is the book for you. Emma Wildes has written a lovely historical romance where sex and love is the ultimate game where winner takes all. You really feel for Caroline who was treated so callously by her deceased husband. Most of the men in her life are horrible. Caroline’s father has practically disowned Caroline after she became a wife and now as a widow her husband’s vile cousin Franklin is yapping at her heels for her fortune and body. She is not sure how to handle Nicholas because all the men she has known have been the worst kind and she can’t help but group Nicholas with them. It is up to Nicholas to show Caroline that even though he may be a rake, he has a heart and wants Caroline to see it. He helps her heal by listening to her and with his kisses and touches.

The secondary storyline with Derek and his undying love for Annabel, his uncle’s ward will tug at your heart. Derek yearns for his Annie, but because of something that happened between them years ago, she has turned her back on him thinking he is the worst kind of man. It is up to Derek to show he has changed.

I have always been a fan of Emma Wildes’ books when she began writing for various on-line publishers. I am so glad that she had branched out into the mainstream print world. An Indecent Proposition is one book historical romance fans will not want to pass up.