Teresa July has led a hard life, but now she has a chance to put her train robbing past behind her. Armed with a new job as a cook to one of Philadelphia's elite families, Teresa is determined to start her life anew, and nothing––not even her boss's stuck–up (and far too handsome) son––is going to stand in her way. Madison Nance is sick of his mother taking in women from the wrong side of the tracks, just to see them turn on her generosity. That's why it's up to him to keep a close eye on Teresa's every move. At least, that's the only logical explanation for why he can't get the young woman out of his mind. But when a woman from Madison's past threatens Teresa's future, the two reluctant lovers must join forces is they're ever going to have a chance at happiness. Teresa July once ran free as a train robber but was eventually caught and sent to prison. Given a second chance for good behavior, she's paroled at the home of Molly Nance, much to the chagrin of her son, Madison. Madison appreciates his mother's desire to help others, but she's been hurt once by a parolee, and he won't let Teresa do the same. But Teresa surprises him in more ways than one, and Madison begins to hope she'll stick around. Pairing up two secondary characters from prior works ( Something like Love, 2005; A Chance at Love , 2002), Jenkins delivers a tale much like her heroine: sassy, brassy, and bold. Watching starchy Madison and free-thinking Teresa spar is pure delight, and their passion lights up the pages like, well, July fireworks. Jenkins even offers well-conveyed history, delving into the culture of Black Seminoles and African American life in late-nineteenth-century Philadelphia. Nina Davis Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Teresa July has led a hard life, but now she has a chance to put her train robbing past behind her. Armed with a new job as a cook to one of Philadelphia's elite families, Teresa is determined to start her life anew, and nothing––not even her boss's stuck–up (and far too handsome) son––is going to stand in her way. Madison Nance is sick of his mother taking in women from the wrong side of the tracks, just to see them turn on her generosity. That's why it's up to him to keep a close eye on Teresa's every move. At least, that's the only logical explanation for why he can't get the young woman out of his mind. But when a woman from Madison's past threatens Teresa's future, the two reluctant lovers must join forces is they're ever going to have a chance at happiness. Beverly Jenkins  is the recipient of the 2018 Michigan Author Award by the Michigan Library Association, the 2017 Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance. She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature and was featured in both the documentary  Love Between the Covers  and on  CBS Sunday Morning . Since the publication of  Night Song  in 1994, she has been leading the charge for inclusive romance and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of  The Wall Street Journal ,  People magazine, and NPR. Wild Sweet Love By Beverly Jenkins HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Beverly Jenkins All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061161308 Chapter One Summer 1895 Outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Scrubbing sheets on an iron washboard, Teresa thought about her capture. Although it had taken place three years ago, the memory felt like both yesterday and a lifetime. She wondered how Cloud was faring up in Kansas with her brother Neil and her sister-in-law Olivia. Did the stallion miss her as much as she missed him? Because musing on the past brought on a sadness she refused to acknowledge, she turned her attention back to the sheets she was supposed to be washing and stuck her red raw hands down into the hot lye-laced water. The sheets piled on the ground beside her were waiting their turn on the washboard, and it would be dark before they were all done. But being a Black Seminole, she didn't mind the work; the necessity of living a hard life was in her blood. What she did mind was that she was in prison in Pennsylvania. Because she'd chosen to stay on the wrong side of the law instead of turning herself in, as her brother had, Hanging Judge Parker wanted to teach her a lesson. He'd sentenced her not to a prison in her beloved West, but here, up North, where she'd had to suffer through cold, mean winters, was too far away for family to visit her, and where she knew no one. Teresa wiped the sweat from her brow and looked out at the other women in the yard. There were about fifty of them, and they too were hanging laundry and standing over wooden barrels. They'd been sent here for everything from stabbing their husbands to picking pockets. All were dressed in the same faded and worn blue sacks that passed for gowns,