by Sabrina Jeffries
Series: Sinful Suitors #1
Pub. Date: July 21, 2015
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
My Rating:
Sultry Scale:
American artist Jeremy Keane refuses to return home and take over his father’s business. He’d much rather sample bevvies of beauties abroad, in search of a model for the provocative masterpiece he’s driven to paint. When he meets Lady Yvette Barlow at a London wedding, he realizes she’s perfect for his work—and determines to capture the young heiress’s defiant spirit and breathtaking sensuality on canvas.
No stranger to scandal, Yvette agrees to be Keane’s subject—in exchange for his help gaining entry to the city’s brothels he knows intimately, so she can track a missing woman and solve a family mystery. But when their practical partnership leads to lessons in the art of sinning, can they find a bold and lasting love?
I really like Sabrina Jeffries, so I was super excited to get on the ARC list for a new series. Unfortunately, this is somewhat of a spin off of another series (The Duke's Men), which I have not read. Gah! You don't *HAVE* to read the other series, but I wish I would have read it first. There may be some spoilers for those who haven't read The Duke's Men... but mainly I just like to have that background info on the characters and past events.
Notwithstanding my lack of knowledge, I enjoyed this first installment of the Sinful Suitors series. Our hero, Jeremy Keane, is an artist. But he is not portrayed as typical artists of the time... he was not effeminate in the least. He was all man... he may have been a gentleman disguised as a rakehell, but he certainly knew how to sin. Yummm-meee. He is a bit of a tortured hero, but his secrets are not overly dark. He has fled from America and somewhat estranged himself from his family under the guise of traveling to art exhibits the world over. Jeremy's art is of a darker nature, which is how he got his rakish reputation... he tends to look for models in the dregs of society. Until he finds the perfect Juno-esque model for his latest work, and she is a member of the nobility.
Our heroine, Lady Yvette, is not the dainty delicate flower that men of the 19th century seemed to prefer. Yvette was statuesque, rubenesque, fierce and opinionated! She even had what her brother, Edwin, referred to as her fishwife's pose! All of these traits that are leading Yvette to the life of a spinster draw Jeremy to her like a moth to a flame.
I enjoyed the romance that unfolded between these two characters. I felt Yvette was a bit blind to Jeremy's true character, but that was understandable as she was jaded from an encounter w/ a past rake. While Jeremy was determined not to marry again, the chemistry between he and Yvette was off the charts. The pace of the book flowed well and the relationship unfolded right until the very end.
There were also some great secondary characters that I believe will be carrying the series further as future love interests. I particularly loved Dambers and his street cant. I predict the next book will feature Yvette's brother, Edwin, and her best friend, Cassidy. I can't wait.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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