The Many Sins of Lord Cameron [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Six years ago, Lord Cameron Mackenzie found Ainsley Douglas rooting around his bedroom. Before she left, she was seduced and had secretly taken a necklace which she thought belonged to another woman. Later, Cameron was angry she took the necklace, but more angry that she stopped the seduction. Feeling she would betray her elderly husband, she wouldn't let Cameron have his wicked way with her. For these past six years, Cameron has burned for her. Bitter and angry over his wife's scandalous death many, many years ago, Cameron has had the pleasures of many ladies in his bed. Well known for training race horses, some say he likes them better than he likes women.

In present day, Ainsley's husband has died, and not leaving her much money, she takes a position to be an aide to the Queen. The Queen wrote some letters to an admirer that could get her into much scandal if they become public - and someone has those letters and is blackmailing the Queen. It is Ainsley's job to find the letters, and return them. She just so happens to see a woman put a letter into Lord Cameron's pocket - and that is how Ainsley finds herself rooting around Lord Cameron's bedroom again. And gets caught again.

This time Cameron is not going to let her escape. Not used to women telling him no, he likes the chase that Ainsley provides. He also becomes aware of the blackmail scheme and is determined to help Ainsley whether she wants his help or not.

I adore this series about the four Mackenzie brothers that Jennifer Ashley writes. The Many Sins of Lord Cameron is the third book, and can be read as a stand alone, although you are missing out if you haven't read the first two. The Mackenzie brothers are all wealthy, powerful, MEN. I use caps because they act so male. Always getting what they want, always leaving women drooling in their wake (well, maybe not Ian, but you have to read his book to understand him). Cam is the "dangerous" brother. Having a wife who slashed her own throat when their son was only 6 months old (he is about 18 now), many still accuse Cam of murdering her. But this also makes him very attractive to those women who seek a thrill in bed. Cam is pretty much set upon never marrying again - until he can't keep his mind off of Ainsley. He wants her. And the cute thing is, she wants him just as bad. But she tries her best to be a lady. As Cameron points out:

"You pick locks and sneak into my bedroom, you know the back ways through my ancestral home, you're blatantly searching my bedchamber, and last night you wrestled with me on my bed." He took a deliberate sip of whiskey. "I'd say that makes you not a lady."

I really enjoyed Ainsley. She can see through Cameron's bitter layers, to the hurt way down deep. Plus she is so attracted to his body - hello, he wears a kilt, and we learn, nothing under it. Jennifer Ashley writes very sensual, sexy books and Cameron is definitely a very wicked Mackenzie brother. They play this game where Cameron dares her to unbutton a certain number of buttons from the front of her dress. It becomes quite a naughty game - and it continues throughout the book. And then they are in a dark opera box, and she asks him, how many buttons (referring to his pants) he will undo. Oh so sexy.

On the surface Cameron is your typical broody, alpha male. But, as you read he really has a unique, and devastating past. He was abused by his wife. Horribly, physically abused. This big hulk of a man, desperate to protect his infant son, let horrible things happen to him. And this still affects how he trusts females in present day.

The conflict with the blackmail and the Queen is not my favorite here. I'm not sure why - maybe because Cameron is so powerful, the blackmailer really was no match for him. And Ainsley, after a brief hesitation to accept his help, realizes she needs him to complete this nonsense. I enjoyed Cameron and Ainsley working together to solve this blackmail problem though.

Otherwise, this book is very enjoyable. We see some nice scenes from Lord Ian (still my favorite Mackenzie brother). And Hart is set up for his book next - which I am dying for.

If you love the first two books in this series, you will enjoy this one as well. If you haven't tried these, I definitely recommend.

Ainsley Douglas has the most bothersome task of circumventing a blackmail attempt against the Queen of England. An unhappily married ton darling has got it into her pretty, conniving little head to exploit Queen Victoria's private infatuation with her servant, John Brown. Ainsley, being a graduate of the Pringle Select Academy for Young Ladies and a family favourite of the Queen, has been given the mission to retrieve the incriminating love letters from the bothersome blackmailer.

The only problem is that Ainsley's only opportunity to confront the lady is at a house party being thrown by politico, Hart Mackenzie, at his family estate. And Ainsley's one weakness is in attendance - Cameron Mackenzie. Six years ago Ainsley and Cameron had a seductive near-miss where Ainsley nearly found herself committing adultery to be with the smoulderingly handsome middle Mackenzie brother. Six years on and Ainsley is a widower - Cameron is a cavorting Lothario who enjoys losing himself in horses and whiskey.

When these two join forces to curb the blackmailer sparks are reignited. Cameron is himself a widower, survivor of a horrendous marriage that ended in his wife's suicide and him being accused of her murder. The last thing he could ever want is to marry again - but Ainsley Douglas piqued his interest six years ago, and now she's back and more appealing than ever . . .

`The Many Sins of Lord Cameron' is the third book in Jennifer Ashley's deliciously decadent historical romance series; `Highland Pleasures / Mackenzies'.

I fell in love with Ashley's series last year, when I read first book `The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.' I loved Ashley's blend of unconventional rakes, family saga and seductive romantic entanglements . . . I was somewhat deflated by second book `Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage.' But I am well and truly enamoured of the Mackenzie men, and settled into this series for the long haul. Still, I was rather delighted to read that Cameron's book brings the series back to romantic brilliance.

Cameron piqued my interest back in Ian's book, when it was revealed that his wife met an untimely death that left Cameron's reputation in tatters and the relationship with his son somewhat strained. Middle child he may be, but Cameron's mysterious past, shrouded in tragedy and London gossip, had me very much intrigued. Still, I was unprepared for the devastating lengths Jennifer Ashley would go to with Cameron's past. We learn about his `mad' wife, Elizabeth, who was older than Cameron when they married and remained hell-bent on using him for his money while carrying on her hedonistic lifestyle. Elizabeth was truly heinous - a self-destructive, bitter and egotistical lecher. She scarred Cameron and left him a shell of a man. His only saving grace was their son, Daniel, whom Cameron protected against his wife's callousness. Honestly, when you read what Cameron went through in his first marriage you will alternate between disgust and outright sympathy.

So when Cameron runs into Ainsley Douglas, six years after their first seductive almost-encounter, he is attracted and intrigued . . . but in no way likely to start a relationship. Which is fine by Ainsley - she is a working widow, dependent upon the Queen's paycheque and her brother's kindness. Ainsley doesn't expect a Mackenzie Lord to be serious about her - not to mention she has her own war wounds from ruined relationships.

It's only through undeniable attraction (and Daniel Mackenzie's match-making) that these two form an unlikely but undeniable bond. I loved reading them together, because it's a matter of opposites attracting. Despite her station in life, Ainsley is upbeat and cheerful - always looking on the bright side and willing to give a helping hand to those she loves. Cameron, by contrast, is pessimistic and solitary; a veritable curmudgeon except where his horses and his close-knit family are concerned. They bring out the best in each other, and work at tearing down each other's walls and defeating the other's demons.

I did love Cameron - it's impossible not to, when this big strong and handsome man has such a tender touch despite a dark past. Still, my favourite Mackenzie man remains Hart Mackenzie - the oldest brother and hardest nut to crack. Hart is a politician and widower, whose frail wife died in childbirth years ago. Hart was rumoured to host orgies in his youth, before politics became his world. But even before all that, Hart was the first Mackenzie to fall in love - and get his heart broken. He was engaged to Eleanor, but she broke off the engagement (for reasons unknown, but hinted at) and Hart has never been the same since.

I love Hart. What can I say? I like them tall, dark and unyielding. And I especially loved him in this book, because we get to meet his `one that got away'. Eleanor is a most interesting woman, with wise words to share with her friend about those pesky and delicious Mackenzie men.

I'm just perturbed that I'll have to wait for Hart's book, `The Duke's Perfect Wife', until April 2012. Bother and damnation! But my ire was somewhat lessened when I discovered that Ms Ashley has two more books planned after Hart's instalment. In 2013 we'll get `The Seduction of Elliott McBride' - not a Mackenzie, but Ainsley's brother who has an interesting story to tell. And in October 2013 we'll be treated to `The Life and Love of Daniel Mackenzie' - which I am *THRILLED* about because Daniel proved himself a lovable and ramshackle young man in `Many Sins', and I am eager to read his transformation into a mad Mackenzie man!

Jennifer Ashley has well and truly suckered me into the Mackenzie family. I love these men; with their brutish facades, tragic pasts and tender hearts. Lord Cameron is another brilliant protagonist, paired with an equally infectious heroine. Ashley's `Highland Pleasures' series keeps getting better and better - but I predict she will hit her stride with the beautiful and cold, Hart Mackenzie. Hurry up 2012!

In concept, this was a great book. In execution it missed for me. Cameron's dead wife isn't just abusive, she is psychotically abusive. Where a more realistic portrait of a man who has suffered abuse would work, Ashley decides to take it over the top and then keep going. His ex wife is a sadist, suicidal, murderous, so unhinged that it defies explanation. The reader is unable to engage with Cameron. Ainsley is more likable as a loyal and pragmatic women with a healthy attraction to this damaged man. There is simply too much of everything in The Many Sins of Lord Cameron. His best friend borders on Magical Romney, with the requisite who saved whose life backstory. In Ainsley the author tries to have it both ways. Ainsley must instantly answer the queen and obey her utterly, yet Ainsley can also run off without permission to marry and physically touch the queen after being dismissed from her court. Everything is black and white. The rival horse owner isn't misguided, he is callous and bigoted, including a refusal to make a profit if it means doing business with a Scotsman. The elements of character have all been turned up to eleven, making it impossible to ignore their clamor. This is not a bad book, but it is one I struggled to finish.