Smitten by Books

To Surrender To A Rogue is also one of the books included in the Red, White and Blue Fireworks Giveaway!

To Surrender To A Rogue
Author: Cara Elliott
Publisher: Grand Central
Pub. Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0446541312
Retail: $6.99
384 pages

An expert in antiquities, Lady Alessandra della Giamatti arrives in Bath to excavate newly discovered Roman ruins-only to find herself caught in a web of evil intrigue by a blackmailer threatening to expose her scandalous past. The one man who can help her is Lord James “Black Jack” Pierson, a fellow member of the expedition and a sinfully handsome rogue whose tempting presence ignites a different sort of danger.
Jack has clashed with Alessandra in the past, so when she suddenly surrenders her body he can’t help being suspicious. Is she a scheming temptress? Or is she truly a lady in trouble? As desire and deceptions swirl around them, Alessandra and Jack must find a way to win each other’s trust. For if they don’t work together to uncover a shocking truth, their enemy-and their own simmering passions-may destroy them and everything they cherish.

~*~*~

Cara Elliot creates a unique story with sizzling chemistry between a lady intellectual and an army hero rogue with a sensitive side. All I can say is…the scene in the old Roman baths steams!

You may know Cara Elliot as Andrea Pickens. But with a new direction in writing (and a hotter heat level) comes a new pen name and a new series.

This is the second in the Circle of Sin trilogy, whose heroines are all unconventional female intellectuals in the Regency period.

Lady Alessandra della Giamatti, an Italian marchesa and a widow, flees Italy in the wake of a scandal so secret she cannot even reveal it to her dear friends, the other members of the Circle of Scientific Sibyls (Circle of Sin for short). And she definitely cannot confide in Lord James “Black Jack” Pierson, the darkly handsome rogue from a long line of war heroes with whom she is constantly butting heads. Alessandra has been burned by her passions in the past…and refuses to permit them to rule her judgment again. Despite this, the man she thought was an arrogant, non-intellectual, and insensitive rogue surprises her at every turn. Even as they spar, they find each other surprisingly negating the preconceived notions each had of the other.

When Jack coincidentally finds himself on the archeological dig where Alessa is an expert in Roman antiquities, he becomes aware of a conspiracy between Alessa and one of the Italian delegates to the expedition…what exactly is her involvement?

Jack discovers he can hold his own as part of the expedition as well as express his talent for sketching, a talent he previously thought unmanly.

A bribe and threats from an old lover threaten to bring Alessandra’s secret to the forefront and jeopardize the life of her eight-year-old daughter Isabella.

She entrusts Jack with her body, but can she trust him with her darkest secret?

Elliot uses a very unique plot concept and integrates it beautifully with intriguing research about the archaeological ruins of the Roman baths in Bath—a unique location to say the least—and takes it to a very exiting and unique climax.

I enjoyed very much learning about the Roman baths and imagining an archaeological expedition in Regency times. Elliot really makes the location come alive.

The chemistry between Alessandra and Jack is palpable. And I repeat—the Roman bath scene—oh, my!

I only wish that the romance heated up a bit faster…there is a while between their initial kisses and what comes later. And while the novel was exquisitely well researched, there are a few times when I felt that information slowed the pacing of the story.

I am eagerly anticipating the third book in the series—you should, too!

Rating: 8 ( Very Good)

Heat-Level: 5 (Scorching)

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