Sweetest Little Sin [Mass Market Paperback]

The Marquis of Jardine has many secrets, of course being a secret agent lends to his covert nature. He doesn't necessarily work for the British Government, he likes to be on his own, but he has worked closely with many official agents over the years. One of his secrets is that he is in love with Lady Louisa Brooke. They have quite a history together, and she definitely shares his affection, but to keep her safe, something Jardine will do at all costs, he finds he has to push her away. Louisa is desperately in love with Jardine, and although she wears a brave face, she is crumbling on the inside.

Louisa is considered a spinster by society, and although she went through a time where her family had no money, her family now bears a wealthy title and they are invited into the homes of the elite ton. Louisa could care less about the frivolity associated with these people, but to bear the unimaginable pain that Jardine causes her when he kicks her out of his life, she accepts as many invitations as possible to keep her mind occupied.
Louisa and Jardine have something in common, although they don't know it. Faulkner, a secret agent whom Louisa helped briefly recently, wants Louisa to do one small task - get invited to Radleigh's house party. Faulkner is convinced Radleigh has a list of secret agents he is trying to sell and that could be disastrous to the country. If Louisa can get an invite, she will be able to bring a female companion, although this companion will be very much a spy herself. Louisa is up for the house party, and for the part where she pretends to be in love with Radleigh - anything to get her mind off Jardine. She not only gets invited to the house party, but Radleigh is so taken with her, an engagement develops. When word of this returns to Jardine - he becomes livid. The thought of Louisa in danger, and the thought of Radleigh's hands on the woman he loves, almost sets him over the edge.

Jardine also knows Radleigh has the list and has his own agenda for wanting to get his hands on it. When Jardine and Louisa arrive at the house party, they are both after the same mission, they are both in love with each other, but there are so many secrets flying around, there is much investigating before all can come to the forefront

I'm not sure if I agree with the "sweetest" part of Sweetest Little Sin. While I very much enjoyed this book, I wouldn't call our hero Jardine nor our heroine, Louisa sweet. Maybe intense, aggressive, or sordid. The concept that these two people love each other so much, yet can not be together for fear of losing their lives had my anxiety in full swing by page fifteen. Jardine is forced to push Louisa out of his life, knowing the bad guys would love to get their hands on anything Jardine holds dear. Louisa is crushed, but not necessarily sulky. She is very strong and smart and would rather get angry than mope about in tears. When these two do come together it is explosive. This is not a mushy romance, folks. This is - if you touch my woman I will slowly rip you to shreds kind of romance. Jardine is alpha, intense, hard core, and Louisa wants it all. Heck, I want him too! He is so over the top possessive of her, yet always has to look at her from afar.

I think the mystery plays out well and I was surprised a couple of times at the end by some turn of events. The one thing that bothered me a bit as I read is at points it felt like the reader is missing out on a big part of Jardine and Louisa's back story. I do not know if these characters make an appearance in her previous book, Wicked Little Game. I don't know if the lack of their history together is part of the mystery of the book, but I think I would have benefitted from knowing more about the circumstances that bring these two together to begin with.

Sweetest Little Sin captured my attention from the beginning and I really enjoyed both Jardine and Louisa. I will definitely be checking out Christine Wells again.

My Review:

Lady Louisa Brooke has waited eight long excruciating years for the Marquis of Jardine to renounce his life-endangering job at England's Home Office and finally provide her with the marriage and family he once vowed. Now, after time has successfully completed its erosion of her once formidable strength to grasp tightly to Jardine's promises, Louisa only wishes to be rid of him and what ultimately proved to be a pack of lies, all of which she'd foolishly built her life around. Having forsaken years that she'll never get back, Louisa refuses to wait a moment longer to start living and when the Home Office comes knocking on her door, she answers it with relish.

Jardine has loved and feared for Louisa from the first moment he was felled by her warrior-woman eyes. Knowing that his enemies wouldn't think twice before abducting Louisa if their passion for one another became public, Jardine instead makes promises of forever then promptly leaves resulting in eight years of cat and mouse. While he hates that he's had to hurt her, Jardine's beastly possessive nature refuses to let her find happiness with another. Louisa is his and always will be. But when a deadly enemy proves to be closer now more than ever, Jardine knows that he must drive Louisa away once and for all or risk loosing her in the worst way. He must put an end to their liaison as well as her dreams for he'd rather Louisa be vibrantly alive than dead. However, he never dreamed that she'd promptly set her cap on one Mr. Radleigh; a man that Jardine suspects of much more than mere treason but more importantly, Radleigh could lead him to an even more fearsome enemy whose motive is a dark and personal revenge.

While Radleigh reeks of a perverse evil making Louisa shiver internally with fear, she gathers strength from finally having found a much needed purpose with the Home Office. No matter that their requirement of Louisa is trivial and she longs for more responsibility, she'll not shirk her duty and instead surpasses their demands by agreeing to marry Radleigh in order to secure an invitation to his country estate. The engagement wouldn't have been her choice but to decline would have proven her disinterest and therefore negated her chance for the Home Office's required invitation. What proves to be the most difficult with regards to Louisa's mission, however, is that she absolutely must not disclose a single shred of information to anyone. When Jardine makes a predictably arrogant attempt to curtail Louisa's engagement, she at first thrills in her heart that he may be jealous, but he soon smashes that hopeful notion. He didn't lie when he told he no longer loved her. Instead Jardine thinks her inept which only makes Louisa's smearing of his face within her pending nuptials all the more satisfying - sham wedding or not.

Frightened by the strange coincidence of Louisa becoming engaged to Radleigh, Jardine smells something foul afoot and gains his own invitation to the Radleigh country estate. Once there Jardine plans to no only protect Louisa but to find a very important list - one that documents the identities of each and every agent working or having worked for the Home Office. Radleigh plans on selling the list to the highest bidder but Jardine has every intention of seizing it for himself to use as bait for another dastardly enemy carrying a personal vendetta. Its the perfect opportunity for Jardine to wipe clean the danger that has stalked him relentlessly resulting in the infernal need to hide his love for Louisa. In the meantime, Jardine stalks Louisa as he tries to unveil the secret for her being with Radleigh. She's too smart to not notice Radleigh's radiating evil. Rather she's at the estate for another purpose and Jardine will go to any length to discover what that purpose is.

No sooner does Louisa arrive at Radleigh's estate when she realizes she's in way over her head. With her trust in Jardine having been obliterated, it's impossible for Louisa to disclose her reasons for being engaged to the nefarious Radleigh. With no one else privy to the mission, it leaves Louisa no choice but to obtain the list of agents Radleigh's hiding on her own - her brother's and Jardine's life may depend on it. Dogged by Jardine at every turn, Louisa does her best to search the estate for the list but to no avail. When friends soon begin to turn foe, Louisa is struck with the realization that everything comes down to her winning Jardine's heart once and for all. Together they just might make it out of this rancid entanglement alive but apart, they'll forever forfeit their right to love.

My Thoughts:

SWEETEST LITTLE SIN is sweet non-stop action. Nary a pause for breath between heartbreak, betrayal, and death, SLS certainly doesn't bore but its also not my favorite by Christine Wells. While I predicted Jardine to be deeply embedded within the spy element of the Home Office, I was a bit disappointed at the extent with which Wells' took it. The spy-thriller element saturates the novel beyond what I would have liked but it was nonetheless entertaining. My real hope, however, was for a central character driven plot rather then espionage but Jardine still stole the show.

A devilishly dark and dangerously magnetic hero, Jardine encapsulates all that and more. Having no real morals, no regret and no recompense for what his life has become as an agent, he is what he is and doesn't ever apologize for it. Why would we want him to? There's only one person that can crack Jardine's rigid control and that's Louisa. A force to be reckoned with in her own right, Louisa is my kind of heroine. She's skilled in horsemanship and weaponry as apposed to the pianoforte and water colors. She's smart with a biting wit and like Jardine, she's unapologetic for who she is. Apart the two are incredibly lonely and a bitter half of themselves and its only with each other that they become complete. It truly is a wonderful hero and heroine pairing.

Unfortuantely, I thought that the thick espionage plot overshadowed the combustible heat between Jardine and Louisa that ignited so passionately upon the pages of A DANGEROUS DUKE. I was disappointed that it took nearly two hundred pages to get to the heat and the build up prior to it was more then frustrating for its lack there of. Again, I think the spy elements were just too strong and therefore commandeered a hefty portion of the stage.

However, I'm still in love with Christine Wells. Despite my gripes, the plotting is still amazing. Abundant in detail with an incredible flow regardless of its rich and complicated material, SWEETEST LITTLE SIN embodies an epic feel. For a limited page count, this woman can pack it in!

For historical romance readers craving thick thriller plots, devilish heroes, and frightening villains, look no farther than SWEETEST LITTLE SIN.

The SWEETEST LITTLE SIN is an intriguing novel that sucked me in from the first page. As well as being a strong character driven novel, the SWEETEST LITTLE SIN had some interesting plot turns that I had never guessed. I loved the premise of a secret love. I admired Jardine's reasons for needing to protect Louisa and I loved the fact that Louisa wasn't a wimp who spent pages and pages complaining that her life was now over since Jardine abandoned her. She took action. While I didn't always agree with the choices Louisa made, I understood why she made them.

The only thing that distracted me from the reading experience is the fact that I felt like I walked into the theater thirty minutes after the movie started. Important relationship details weren't explored and I don't know if it was because I had not read the author's previous release, but it I couldn't help feeling as if I was missing a big gap on Jardine and Louisa's relationship. I also wished that more focus was placed on their relationship rather than the mystery.

Despite my qualms, the SWEETEST LITTLE SIN was a great read and I wouldn't hesitate to pick something else up by this author.