Reviewed by: Andrea Williamson
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 28, 2009
4.75 stars

There are some authors who are guaranteed to make me shed a tear while reading their emotionally written story and there are some authors who never fail to make me smile and even laugh while reading the witty banter in their delightfully, sexy romp.  Victoria Alexander always delivers on the latter.  With The Virgin’s Secret, Ms. Alexander does just that and begins a new series about an aristocratic family of treasure hunters.

Nathanial Harrington and his brothers, Sterling and Quinton, have longed for adventure from the time they found their great-grandmother’s journal in an old trunk when they were children and discovered that their distant relative had been a smuggler (The Perfect Wife).  Since then, Sterling had become the Earl of Wyldewood while Nate and Quint went on to complete their studies and travel abroad searching for antiques and antiquities in foreign lands.  The discovery of those artifacts and what they represent is Nate’s motivation, while the money they would bring in from museums or collectors is Quint’s drive.  Despite their differences, they make a great team.  Their sister’s coming out brings them both back to London and, unbeknownst to them, another adventure.

After her half brother’s humiliation and untimely death, Gabriella Montini makes it her mission to restore his reputation.  A year before, Enrico Montini claimed to have found an ancient Akkadian seal that made reference to the location of the Virgin’s Secret, the lost city of Ambropia.  When he presented what he thought was the seal to the Validation and Allocation Committee of the London Antiquities Society, he was discredited when it turned out to be fake and he lost his temper in the process.  He suspected that someone switched the seal and wrote letters to Gabriella stating that and naming four possible suspects—two of which were Quinton and Nathanial Harrington.  After breaking into the Harringtons’ London home to search for evidence, Gabriella is caught and uses her wits and intelligence to procure an invitation to stay after explaining to the family about her brother and the seal.

Both Nate and Quint are familiar with Gabriella’s story and Nate, who is instantly attracted to the beautiful young woman, offers to help her in any way he can.  As they work together to restore Montini’s name, more surprises emerge and Nate wonders which would be the greater adventure, the quest or the woman.  And which would be the greater find?

I absolutely adore Gabriella and the fact that she is a remarkably brilliant young woman.  She has earned a certificate at Queen’s College, earned one university degree and still studies ancient civilizations, history, archeology, myths, legends and anything else that would prove useful to her brother’s work.  She is fluent in nine languages and remembers everything she’s ever read.  Does this intimidate Nathanial?  Absolutely not.  In fact, it makes him appreciate and respect her all the more.  And this not only makes him an exceptional hero, but also leads to a great deal of witty repartee full of sexual tension between the two.  Their exchanges positively sparkle.  Some even had me laughing and made my reading experience that much more enjoyable.  Ms. Alexander hints at what might occur in future stories and this one certainly leaves readers begging for more.  I, for one, am positively bursting at the seams for the next in this exciting new series.  Be sure to pick this one up!