Smitten by Books

Release Date: Jan 30, 2017
Series: Sins For All Seasons
Book: 1
Heat Level: Sensual/Hot
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon Books
Price: $6.99

I love it when I put down a good book with a little sigh and a big smile on my face. Ms. Heath has always been able to create strong, loveable characters and a story that keeps you turning pages, this first installment of her new Sins For All Season series adds yet another great book to that list.

I am very partial to characters with a complicated history who are not as squeaky clean and proper as some Victorian Era characters get portrayed. I like depth and messiness and challenges that are not easily overcome. Our hero, Mick Trewlove is just the right type of complicated to keep my interest from the first page. He was born the son of a duke, abandoned at birth and forgotten in the slums of St Giles. Raised by a woman who took in other bastards of the ton, Mick was determined to make something of himself and provide for his adopted mother and siblings as best he could. And did he ever rise out of the gutter… wealthy beyond his dreams, Mick is a self-made man who works tirelessly to rebuild the poorest areas of London and provide opportunities for other unfortunates in the slums. Regardless of how dirty he must get his hands to make that work. But he can’t shake his desire for revenge on his father, the Duke of Hedley, for abandoning him and he plans to take that entire family down with him. Complicated doesn’t even begin to describe his inner turmoil once he meets Ashlyn Hastings, his younger brother’s bride-to-be and the next duchess.

Ashlyn lost both her parents at a very young age and has been the Duke’s ward since she was a child. Her life has been sheltered and predetermined without really a thought for her dreams and ambitions. She will be the Countess of Kipwick and eventually a Duchess but something about that arrangement starts to rub once she meets the mysterious and alluring Mick Trewlove. He shows her things, makes her feel things that no proper lady should and fills her head with desires to make the world a better place, despite everything she has been raised to believe.  I love how strong-willed Ashlyn is and how she is willing to rock her world to help make not only her dreams come true but Mick’s as well. The attraction sparks between them almost immediately and I found myself turning page after page wanting to know what would happen to them next. Would the Duke be forced to acknowledge Mick? Could Mick build a life for himself without Ashlyn once all the dust settles from the scandal?

This book was not as predictable as one might expect and think I liked it all the more for it. I had a few guesses as to the final outcome but I am pleased to say that the author manages to keep you in suspense until the last pages. I very thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it as well as her other very popular Scoundrels of St James series – all of which I have on my keeper’s shelf. Eagerly awaiting the next installment of this new series in September of 2018… darn I hate waiting!

~ Danielle