At 14 years of age, Matthew, Lord Sheene, was locked away as a lunatic by his uncle. After suffering 11 years of isolation, torture and humiliation, Matthew is losing the will to go on. However, in order to retain control of the vast family fortune, his uncle, must ensure Matthew remains alive.

He orders his men to obtain a whore for Matthew in an attempt to reinstate his will to live. Grace Paget, shabbily dressed and wandering alone near the docks at night, is an easy target for the uncle’s men. She is drugged and abducted, waking to find herself strapped to a table in the presence of a self confessed madman.

Believing her to be in league with his uncle, Matthew does not believe Grace’s protestations that she is a respectable lady, recently widowed. Besides, it matters not. There is no escape from this prison. Matthew should know, he has tried often enough.

Having been locked away in his youth, Matthew has no experience with women, although he is immediately and powerfully attracted to Grace. Despite this, Matthew has no intention of giving his uncle the satisfaction of bedding any whore provided by him. His dignity and pride are all he has left.

For her part, Grace has never seen a man as handsome as Matthew. But she is a respectable lady of good family, widowed these 5 weeks past. Even though her marriage to a much older man was an unmitigated disaster, Grace cannot give in to these feelings she has never before experienced.

Trapped together in this nightmare, Matthew and Grace learn the truth about each other, and lust turns to love. But Matthew’s uncle remains a danger to them both, and Matthew will do all he can to see her safe and free, even though that will mean the end – for them and for him.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed Untouched. Anna Campbell is one of my favourite authors, and I really enjoy her regency noir style, however this one took a little longer to grab me than the wonderful Claiming the Courtesan and Tempt the Devil.

I didn’t feel connected to the characters initially, and their reluctance to admit and consummate their desire didn’t make sense to me given the circumstances. Because much was made of their reticence and it didn’t make enough sense, it felt a little contrived to create the sexual tension (which I might add, was very well done). There was also something about the writing initially that didn’t quite touch me the way Claiming the Courtesan and Tempt the Devil did.

Then, about halfway through, KAPOW! Brilliance. This is the Anna Campbell I know and love, who has me on the edge of my seat and fully immersed into the story. I loved every page from this point, even when I wanted to grab Grace and shake her. She did something toward the end that I felt cheapened the love between her and Matthew, though I could understand her reasons. But it did set up the last chapter, so how could I possibly stay mad?

I enjoyed reading about a virgin hero for a change, and really appreciated that the author made his first time realistic. I also appreciated that he was a fast learner! Matthew was pretty wonderful in every way.

Untouched was another winner for me. Even though it took a little while to hit its stride, it was more than worth the wait.

Just one thing, though. What happened to Wolfram?????????