6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Implausible mistaken identity story, Jan 23 2010
By Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Most Wicked Of Sins (Mass Market Paperback)
If you're going to enjoy 'the Most Wicked Of Sins' - and it can be an enjoyable book - you need to first disengage the plausibility receptors in your brain and just pretend to yourself that this could all happen. Yes, really. A family of seven called Sinclair, all of whom exhibit one of the Seven Deadly Sins, have been cast off by their Scottish Duke father and are trying to exist in a penniless state in London. And then one of the daughters, Ivy, decides to arouse jealousy in the beau who seems to have moved on to someone else - by paying someone to appear interested in her. Of course she can't just choose anyone, he has to be a bigger fish than her beau (a viscount) so she picks on the new Marquess of Counterton. He's newly acquired the title and so no-one knows him in town - all Ivy needs to do is hire an actor, rent Counterton's London home and install the actor there, passing him off as a suitor.
Right, that's unbelievable. But wait - there's more!! She finds her actor outside the theatre and... would you believe it! Ivy doesn't realise this but he's ACTUALLY the Marquess of Counterton. He goes along with the deception and... well, you can guess what happens. Or if you can't, you could read this book and find out. It's full of improbabilities - Ivy behaves entirely unlike a young woman of good family and gets away with outrageous behaviour - but if you can ignore that (and I found it hard to) then there's a bit of a love story tucked away in this book, although not a particularly convincing one. Characterisation is fairly minimal but there's a reasonable amount of action and dialogue which lifts this story a little above others.
And the final implausibility - after Ivy marries her Marquess the book describes her as the 'Countess of Counterton' rather than the Marchioness. Historical accuracy isn't always strong in these books but that was a bit of a basic error. If you liked the previous book in this series then this is more of the same and would probably suit, but I just couldn't cope with the implausibilities myself.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2010
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cute Sequel (B Grade), Sep 29 2009
By Katie Babs "Katiebabs" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Most Wicked Of Sins (Mass Market Paperback)
Lady Ivy Sinclair comes from a large family, full of eccentric siblings. Since all of them have disappointed their father, he has sent them on their way to fend for themselves. Unless they can turn their lives around for the better, he will disown them. Ivy has one month to get her act together or she will be disinherited. In order to get into her father's good graces again, she must show him that she has matured and is ready for marriage. She sets her eye on Lord Tinsdale, but Tinsdale's affections seem to have moved onto another. Ivy has no choice but to play dirty and make him jealous. She will invent a gentleman who will compete with Tinsdale! The only place she can find this perfect man is at the Theater Royal.
Dominic Sheridan is coming out of the theater where his friend is employed as an actor. As he exits the stage door, he bashes in the head of a beautiful young woman. Ivy is thrilled to have met Dominic, even in this most unusual fashion. She assumes he is an actor and after kissing him, she asks him to join in on the farce by becoming the Marquess of Counterton. Dominic knows that the act Ivy has planned could get him in trouble. If only she knew who he really is. But Dominic finds Lady Ivy to be an appealing sort of woman, so he decides to give this façade a go.
Dominic and Ivy's mock relationship is so well done that everything Ivy has wanted is nearby. She has Tinsdale eating out of the palm of her hand, but Dominic continues to lay his devotion on a bit too thick, to the point that she is not sure if he is acting anymore. Soon Dominic wants the real thing with Ivy and when their lie begins to unravel, Ivy may have no choice but to admit defeat and look to Dominic to save her.
The Most Wicked of Sins is the second book in Kathryn Caskie's Seven Deadly Sins series about the Sinclair siblings who must turn over a new leaf. This is a witty and fun regency tale where two strangers slowly fall in love with one another. The fun is watching Dominic control Ivy, even though she is not aware that it is actually happening.
There is a bit of a mystery regarding Dominic's true identity that may come as a pleasant surprise to the reader. Ivy's sisters and brothers also bring some funny, lighthearted moments, which add to this tale. The Most Wicked of Sins is a hoot of a read and a lovely romance that will keep a smile on your face until the very last page.
Katiebabs
To Sin With a Stranger
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wicked of sins, Dec 7 2011
By Ambritts - Published on Amazon.com
Nice book. Nice storyline. So far this has been a good series. This book is good but the next book in series the dukes night if sin is better