Lady Anne is shocked when Captain Lord Hartley Corry - her former fiancé who left for India after her father forbade their marriage - returns to England and acts as if everything is all water under the bridge. He never fought for her hand or eloped with her as he promised and he thinks she'd still be willing to marry him? Not a chance.

Hartley is equally shocked to literally run into his past love upon arriving at his brother's house. Though he yearns to take advantage of this second chance to woo his beloved, he can hardly admit that he is secretly a spy - at least not until he can be sure he trusts her. But convincing Lady Anne to let him prove his sincerity by courting her respectably all over again might be his undoing. Because all he wants is to show her how much of a rogue he can be when the right woman is in his arms...

Title: The Risk of Rogues
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Series: Sinful Suitors
Pages: 100-199
Genre(s): Historical, Regency, England
Hot Buttons: /

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I count it, this is the eighth Sinful Suitors story - but since novellas are counted as ‘half books’ - this is actually book number 5.5.

As with all the Sinful Suitor books, you don’t have to have read any of the others to read and enjoy this one - although since many of the characters pop up in each others books (and not just as cameos), you probably will get the gist of things a bit easier - or more quickly - if you’ve read the previous books.

This is the tale of Captain Lord Hartley Corry and Lady Anne/Miss Anne Barkley. The pair were young sweethearts before a refusal for Anne’s hand, and youthful foolishness, drove Hart halfway across the world in the army. 11 years later, the pair bump into each other (literally) and the sparks are immediately evident again. Yet now that’s tempered with a healthy amount of distrust.

I remembered Anne from a previous novel of Ms Jeffries where she fleetingly appeared. Who could forget those hats and that hair? She describes herself as something of an oddity and certainly not the season’s greatest beauty. The fact that Hart sees her quirks and loves her for them - and also sees her as the prettiest thing he’s ever seen - well, it’s a triumph for all us weirdos out there!

Hart - well, he was a bit funnier in earlier novels although some of his humour did come through on occasion in this book. The peacock’s bum comment, for example, made me laugh out loud. I thought it was a bit rich of him to expect Anne to blindly trust him while he didn’t plan to do the same but some men don’t react well to falling in love so I’ll forgive him that one!

As usual, Sabrina Jeffries doesn’t actually write a book but rather invites you to join her in the story. You’re absorbed in the detail and the story of the couple so the pages just fly by.

This was a novella and took little under an hour to read all in. I would have liked to see a little more development from the characters in the first half of the story. It felt at times like we were being told that the only thing the couple had in common in the past had been lust. As much as I adore a second chance romance - I want the fairytale of their true loves having been lost and found. Not that they were randy teens and love only grows now they’re adults. The second half showed the pair had truly been in love but I wanted more from the first half. And some more sexy shenanigans wouldn’t have gone a miss either!

This is still an excellent book and one that kept me happy on a rainy afternoon. I wished it could have been longer - but I wish that of all Sabrina Jeffries’ books. She excels at storytelling, and at love, and I’m always happy to recommend any book of hers. 4 stars.

------------------------

Buy this book now:

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

The Sinful Suitors series:

       

  

Click to see other books by Sabrina Jeffries

The moment spymaster Baron Fulkham meets the stunning Princess Aurore of Chanay, he's positive her royal persona is a ruse and that she's actually Monique Servais, the mysterious actress he met three years before in Dieppe. But as he pursues his suspicions, he uncovers a plot of attempted assassination and betrayal that could very well destroy his career, expose his own secrets...and ruin the woman he's rapidly coming to love.

Title: The Secret of Flirting
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Series: Sinful Suitors
Pages: 416
Genre(s): Historical, Regency, England
Hot Buttons: /

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have to hold my hands up and say I am a massive fan of Sabrina Jeffries. This is a double edged sword as while I’m pre-disposed to like her novels, I also have very high expectations of what I want from her books. So I’m always a bit nervous when I start one of her novels - will I love it or will it be the first to disappoint me?

Luckily, this book didn’t cause me any problems whatsoever as it was a classic Sabrina Jeffries tale - full of sparkling banter, wit and sexual tension between two well-rounded and likeable characters you can’t help but fall in love with.

This is the 5th book in the Sinful Suitors series. You don’t have to have read any of the others to like and understand this one although the characters from the previous books do make a few appearances. I’ve read all the previous books and even I was quite confused by everyone popping back up - but it was nice to see that all our previous couples were still happy and in love.

This book had two of the things that I really love in a hero/heroine combination. First, Gregory is an arrogant, closed-off man who always thinks he knows what’s right and what should happen and when. Enter Monique. From the first the pair rub each other the wrong way - and rub sparks off each other in a big way. When they meet each other again, years after their initial encounter, Monique throws Gregory for a loop and really knocks him off balance and this causes the pair to constantly spar. That’s the second thing I love - lots of banter that barely disguises the sexual tension.

The sex scenes are hot but perhaps not as plentiful as in other books, including previous Sabrina Jeffries novels. Still deliciously satisfying, though.

This book is a romance but there is still a little bit of mystery as to who wants to cause disruption to the conference to choose the first ruler of Belgium. Even as a small part of the romantic storyline, I still didn’t know who the bad guy was or what his/her motives were. It was a nice little aside and helped to bring about a happy conclusion to the story as a whole.

The love story was sweet, believable and gave me little butterflies in my tummy. As I mentioned before, Gregory was an arrogant sort and it’s always more satisfying to see them fall into love. It was especially wonderful as Monique was such a different character than you would normally expect from a Regency. As a French actress, she was more free, unrestricted by the strict rules of the ton (despite her having to play that role) and she was an all-round likeable character. I was rooting for her.

And as for the whole ‘deception’ plot - I was very pleased that it didn’t go the traditional route where Gregory was unaware of her real identity when she was playing the role of Princess. Not only would that have been daft, it would have felt like we would have been just waiting until Gregory figured it out. This way, there was a different set of problems which made for a good read.

I was going to take exception to the use of Guy Fawkes Day rather than the more usual Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night - but having looked it up, I have to admit that during the time this book was set (1830) it looks like ‘day’ was the preferred term since there was a lot of civil disobedience throughout the whole day rather than just the normal night time festivities. So that’s me telt! British people definitely don’t call each other pistols, though! (“He’s a real pistol!”)

All in all, this was an enjoyable, rich and witty tale - the best of historical romance. We’ve only got one book left in the Sinful Suitors - a novella out in July - The Risk of Rogues. I hope that will be as enjoyable as this which will make it a great end to what’s already been a very great series.

And you’ll be happy to know that we do find out what the secret of flirting is. Watch out men - I’m coming!

------------------------

Buy this book now:

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

The Sinful Suitors series:

       

  

Click to see other books by Sabrina Jeffries

Title: A Talent for Temptation
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Series: Sinful Suitors
Pages: 68
Genre(s): Historical, Regency
Hot Buttons: /

Widow Meriel Vyse is stunned speechless when someone tries to abduct her on her way to a ball. Fortunately, Quinn Raines, her secret beau, shows up to foil the attack. Unfortunately, as the two of them are struggling with her abductor, Meriel accidentally stabs Quinn with a knife.

Unbeknownst to Meriel, Quinn set up the fake abduction so he could play the hero and win her hand in marriage. But now that his plan has gone disastrously awry, can he convince her that he's still the man for her?

You don’t always feel completely satisfied with a short story due to its length - but this one does feel like a complete tale. This is because we join the love story after our couple - Quinn and Meriel - have met and fallen in love. Not that either of them are prepared to admit that just yet. Or have consummated those feelings. More fun for us as we get to read all the good bits packed into a short space!

I loved the premise for this story - it sounded hilarious - but I’ll admit to being a tiny bit concerned that Quinn might be a little bit of a wet blanket if he needed to woo someone with subterfuge and machinations. I shouldn’t have worried. Quinn was a nice, strong man who had just gone to bizarre lengths to win the woman he loved away from the other man that he feared she may love more.

Meriel was a no-nonsense, strong woman with worries about her worth and her past that gave her a true-to-life roundness to her character. I loved her. Together, she and Quinn were adorable and I was rooting for them to work things out. Especially after their time together in the parlour! Plus, extra marks for the name Quinn. It’s up there with Nick, Matt and Finn as my favourite hero names of all time!

The other thing this story did was really whet my appetite for the next (and last) in the Sinful Suitors series dealing with Baron Fulkham (who also appears in this story) - The Secret of Flirting. When he remarks that he has neither the time nor the inclination to fall in love I laughed. Ha! Little do you know what Ms Jeffries has in store for you, Gregory!

Anyway, A Talent for Temptation is a short read that will take you less than an hour. Despite that it’s sweet and satisfying and if you’re a fan of Sabrina Jeffries, the Sinful Suitors series or just enjoyable historical romance stories, I would highly recommend this book to you. 5 stars.

This is book 4.5 in Jeffries’ Sinful Suitors series but can be read as a standalone story.

------------------------


Buy this book now:

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

The Sinful Suitors series:

       

     

                      

  

Click to see other books by Sabrina Jeffries