Cybelline is a widowed mother whose husband commits suicide; she is burdened by guilt and loneliness. She decides to have one heated encounter in masquerade. The man she seduces is Christopher, the Earl of Ferrin. They have a spicy, sexy encounter and then she vanishes and he in turn seeks her out.
I know this is an overdone plot in most regencies, but when written right, it is just magic and Jo Goodman definitely writes this story excellently. I love the couple driven characterization of this novel as well as the intelligent and poignant emotions the author explores in both Cybelline and Christopher. If you are looking for a good romantic and steamy regency, this is the novel for you.

One Forbidden Evening by Jo Goodman is a 444 pages historical romance novel. Cybelline's husband takes his own life after they have their daughter. Cybelline is left with quilt, blackmail and a mystery. She turns to Ferrin who has become her fantasy but turns into her greatest support. The love the Ferrin shows to Cybelline and her daughter is overwhelming.

This story begins with a couple's erotic nighttime encounter, from which our troubled heroine Cybelline Caldwell awakens and realizes is only a dream. Her husband, after all, has been dead for over a year - by his own hand. Guilt, loneliness, despair and insecurity have since been her constant companions, and finally one night she decides to do something about the ache. She goes in disguise to a masquerade party, where she singles out her host, the handsome rakehell Lord Ferrin, and persuades him to seduce her in a deserted stairwell. She bolts immediately afterwards, despising her shameless behavior with Ferrin. Within days, she leaves London with her young daughter for a remote country manor house. She is desperate to escape the grief and the memories and the bleakness of her life...as well as the disturbing anonymous letters that have plagued her for months.

Meanwhile, Ferrin has been unable to forget his enchanting mystery woman. He is sure he never met her before, and yet she seemed to know all about him. Despite their highly unorthodox first meeting, he is quite taken with her and determined to discover who she is. She inadvertently left behind a prop spear that, as it turns out, is a genuine relic from the collection of a late Mr. Caldwell. Needless to say, Cybelline's life is about to change.

From their very first exchanges, I was drawn to this wonderful couple with their sharp intellect and hidden depths. Their union was of course inevitable, but I loved how Goodman got us there and how she maintained the interest once we arrived. Her writing and dialogue are always excellent. I liked the use of darkness and then light to symbolize Cybelline's cathartic awakening. The love scenes could use a little softening, but the couple's relationship itself was right on target - affectionate, mature, and often funny. I guessed the "big secret" early on and found it the least satisfying part of the story, and the mystery's climax was overdone. Overall, though, this was a very good read with a first-rate love story...perhaps not as strong as the prior book, but quite pleasing.

If you're a fan of Jo Goodman - which I am - you are going to buy any book she writes simply because she is better than approximately 90% of the other romance novelists out there. On a good day, she's the best (I rate My Reckless Heart as my favourite ever romance).

But, surely I'm not the only one who's noticed the decline in the quality of her output? It's not just the writing - which has become inexplicably over the top, turgid and verbose (has she read her Austen? NO ONE talks like that!) - it's her characters and storylines too. Her heroes are pretty much The Perfect Man and they spend their time trying to uncover the mystery surrounding the heroine, and win her trust/ love. There are distressing signs of repetition here. Goodman: you are better than this!

The heroine is always hiding a Dark Past, often abuse and betrayal, and the hero is so bland he could be the same guy through all the books. As for The Scoudrels - well, that is a perfectly awful name, and the whole thing gives me a toothache.

I'm rating Goodman harshly, but only against what she is capable of. Having said that, OFE is not at all bad. In particular, the first half of the book is witty, sexy and entertaining (notably, though, when the heroine is absent). It's also well plotted, with a few crafty little twists catching you unawares. By the end, however, it just doesn't stand apart from her last five.

If I had to isolate the problem, it would be the regency aspect. All of my Goodman 'keepers' have been set in a later period and different locations - it's like her writing and stories become mundane within the confines of the regency genre and she has to rely on 'psycho stalker' type plots to keep things going.

I won't repeat a summary of the story, but this book is extraordinary. If you've read lots of romance for a long time like me, it isn't often that you find a book as wonderful as this one. The plot is not your usual boy meets girl - even if the back of the book wants you to think it is. The story is deep and insightful, sometimes touching on issues that may make some readers uncomfortable. The hero and heroine are not what you would expect either. Just when you think they're going to do or say something, they go in another direction.
I loved this book and highly recommend it. I can't wait for Jo Goodman's next one - Restell's story???