Never having read Adele Ashworth's work before, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Now I know!  SOMEONE IRRESISTIBLE is nothing short of splendid.  This thoroughly engrossing romance has so many wonderful elements in it, it's hard to know where to begin.

Nathan Price is about to become famous, not only that, but also a respected and admired member of London's society.  This is not an easy feat for a man of mediocre birth.  Yet, Nathan's discovery of a Megalosaurus jawbone, the first of its kind, will be revealed at what is termed the Great Exhibition of 1851.  Everything is set for his rise to glory, and then he sees her- Mimi Marsh.  Her father is a renowned sculptor, known for sculpting dinosaurs.  She has grown up from the thirteen-year-old girl he remembered, and suddenly, there she was leading him outside and asking for a kiss.  Asking him to remember her.  What began as an extraordinary evening turned into disaster because the jawbone, upon the unveiling, has been stolen.  Nathan knows it was stolen, yet, everyone there assumes he was a fraud.  Nathan Price is now ruined in the scientific world.

Mimi Marsh has a secret.  She is now a sculptor in her own right, and also a widow.  That night so long ago when the man she had admired and wanted had been ruined, her life wasn't to be the same.  She had wanted Nathan Price for so long, had tried the night of the Exhibition to get his attention, but instead ended up marrying another man because Nathan Price had left England.  Now, he was back.

Nathan has come to the daughter of the man he has assumed stole his prize jawbone for help.  A plan, actually, to ensure that the thief is revealed and his reputation is restored.  He needed Mimi's artistic talents to work for him in recreating the jawbone.  Mimi knows her father didn't steal the jawbone, so she agrees to help Nathan just to prove him wrong.  However, what begins as a path of redemption suddenly becomes a route of simmering desire.

What is Mimi hiding?  How can Nathan let himself fall in love with a woman who is above his station?  Will Mimi's secret destroy their chance at happiness?  Most of all, will Nathan's reputation be restored at the cost of the woman he loves?

This is the most enthralling plot I've read in a long time.  Ashworth delicately intertwines the mysterious element throughout her story, mixes in some rather heated tension, and splashes a colorful backdrop of paleontology and artistry.  I have to say that I loved this heroine and hero.  What makes them so interesting is how very different they are from the commonplace Regency characters we are used to reading about.  Mimi is independently strong, knowing she wants Nathan despite his birth, and sets out to seduce him.  The scenes building up to his seduction will require a fan to read through.  Nathan is remarkable because he is interesting as a paleontologist on a quest to become something better.  He tries valiantly to deny his attraction to Mimi, which is usually the reverse of what we normally see in the hero and heroine's roles.  Ashworth's writing is strong, refreshing and doesn't disappoint in any facet.  SOMEONE IRRESISTIBLE is irresistible to the reader, impossible to put down and has markedly put this author on my auto-buy list.  For something different, exciting and stimulating, this book is not to be missed.