To Sin With a Stranger: Seven Deadly Sins Series, Book 1
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The Sinclairs are one of the oldest, wealthiest, and wildest noble families in all of Scotland. The seven brothers and sisters of the clan enjoy a good time, know no boundaries, and have scandal follow in their wake. Known amongst the ton as the seven deadly sins, they live life on their own terms. But now, their pater, who they believe must be going quite mad, has declared they must become respectable, married, members of proper society. These are their stories.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The clue's in the genre, 'historical' romance, but this book was disappointing as it fell far short of the standard required of 'historical'. Not only did the book have the usual Americanisms, despite being set in England in the 19th century, but the whole structure of the plot and the behaviour of the characters involved felt inauthentic. Ever chapter something happened that rang falsely for the society in which the book was set - this kind of writing might appeal to some but I find it intensely irritating.
So what is the book actually about? It's the start of a series about seven Scottish brothers and sisters whose wayward behaviour has caused their father, a duke, to send them to London with minimal funds to try to redeem themselves. First of the children, Sterling Sinclair, Marquess of Blackburn, is the focus of this book. It starts as a boxing match in which he is participating is stopped by a young woman who is collecting money for widows and orphans of the war at La Corunna. He decides, slightly randomly, to enter an anonymous wager at White's that the Marquess of Blackburn will marry this woman, Isobel Carington, within a short time. The rest of the story involves meetings between Sinclair and Isobel in which they apparently fall in love, Sinclair tries to deal with his money problems and the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles make an appearance.
This story lacked a firm, directive plot and it felt like it rather meandered around, particularly the central love story. The main characters felt very one-dimensional and it was hard to get a hold on their motives. The lapses in historical accuracy were very offputting (for example, Isobel's father is a minister in the Houses of Parliament and is addressed throughout the book as Minister Cornelius Carington which is entirely incorrect; he should be Mr Carington or "The Minister"). I wasn't entirely sure about the point of the Elgin Marbles in this story except to inject a bit of historicity. In summary this felt like a very lightweight book with too many flaws to make it a truly enjoyable read.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009
So what is the book actually about? It's the start of a series about seven Scottish brothers and sisters whose wayward behaviour has caused their father, a duke, to send them to London with minimal funds to try to redeem themselves. First of the children, Sterling Sinclair, Marquess of Blackburn, is the focus of this book. It starts as a boxing match in which he is participating is stopped by a young woman who is collecting money for widows and orphans of the war at La Corunna. He decides, slightly randomly, to enter an anonymous wager at White's that the Marquess of Blackburn will marry this woman, Isobel Carington, within a short time. The rest of the story involves meetings between Sinclair and Isobel in which they apparently fall in love, Sinclair tries to deal with his money problems and the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles make an appearance.
This story lacked a firm, directive plot and it felt like it rather meandered around, particularly the central love story. The main characters felt very one-dimensional and it was hard to get a hold on their motives. The lapses in historical accuracy were very offputting (for example, Isobel's father is a minister in the Houses of Parliament and is addressed throughout the book as Minister Cornelius Carington which is entirely incorrect; he should be Mr Carington or "The Minister"). I wasn't entirely sure about the point of the Elgin Marbles in this story except to inject a bit of historicity. In summary this felt like a very lightweight book with too many flaws to make it a truly enjoyable read.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
20 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Lackluster begining to new series
11 Feb 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Forced to take action to control his unruly brood, The Duke of Sinclair finally snaps and banishes his seven adult children from their ancestral Scottish home. The nicknamed *Seven Deadly Sins* Sinclair siblings set off to London with little money and a challenge. Their goal is to redeem themselves in the eyes of the patriarch, and thus, becoming worthy of the Sinclair name. As the eldest, Sterling Sinclair, the Marquess of Blackburn, takes matters into his own hands -literally. In order to earn more money for the family he participates in bare-knuckle boxing matches where the Scottish giant easily wins. At one of the bouts he encounters Miss Isobel Carington who has her own agenda. She solicits money for her cause, a fund for the widows and orphans of the war. Isobel is unnerved by the Scottish brute and takes an instant disliking to him. Sterling on the other hand is entirely smitten and concocts a plan to reap more coin for his family and win the hand of the bold beauty.
The idea for a series with siblings who are each nicknamed after a deadly sin (greed, gluttony, envy etc) is brilliant. Unfortunately this book is terrible. The only thing that was somewhat entertaining was the unique plot and that can only hold my attention for so long. Usually a first book in the series takes time to introduce and get to know at least some of the characters (a perfect opportunity to make the reader anticipate the next books). But I felt like I met the siblings but really know nothing about them -completely flat characterizations. Again and again we are told that the Sinclairs are scandalous. But nothing is given to back that up! So what did they exactly do in Edinburgh to earn this *Deadly Sins* reputation? No examples were given. Too much tell and not nearly enough show. Show me why Lady Ivy is known for *envy* or why Lachlan is known for *lust*. And it gets worse. Besides the unsupported nicknames the siblings have, they weren't actually likable. They came off as a bunch of spoiled brats IMHO. The sisters seem only to be concerned about what kind of baubles they can buy and the brothers if there is enough brandy about. And these people had barely enough money to buy decent food! You'd think that as adults (in their 20's) they'd come together and formulate a plan and win back their fathers good graces. But no! And as far as the romance goes its subpar at best. No buildup and certainly no seduction. Isobel hates Sterling one minute and is in love with him in the next.
So I can't recommend this book. Caskie can come up with some very clever plot lines that are definitely unique in historical romance genre. But the one dimensional characters and lackluster romance in To Sin With A Stranger make this one a skip it.
Books which I have enjoyed by Caskie-
How to Seduce a Duke
'Stranger' romance which I have enjoyed-
Slightly Wicked (Get Connected Romances)
A Lady's Secret
The idea for a series with siblings who are each nicknamed after a deadly sin (greed, gluttony, envy etc) is brilliant. Unfortunately this book is terrible. The only thing that was somewhat entertaining was the unique plot and that can only hold my attention for so long. Usually a first book in the series takes time to introduce and get to know at least some of the characters (a perfect opportunity to make the reader anticipate the next books). But I felt like I met the siblings but really know nothing about them -completely flat characterizations. Again and again we are told that the Sinclairs are scandalous. But nothing is given to back that up! So what did they exactly do in Edinburgh to earn this *Deadly Sins* reputation? No examples were given. Too much tell and not nearly enough show. Show me why Lady Ivy is known for *envy* or why Lachlan is known for *lust*. And it gets worse. Besides the unsupported nicknames the siblings have, they weren't actually likable. They came off as a bunch of spoiled brats IMHO. The sisters seem only to be concerned about what kind of baubles they can buy and the brothers if there is enough brandy about. And these people had barely enough money to buy decent food! You'd think that as adults (in their 20's) they'd come together and formulate a plan and win back their fathers good graces. But no! And as far as the romance goes its subpar at best. No buildup and certainly no seduction. Isobel hates Sterling one minute and is in love with him in the next.
So I can't recommend this book. Caskie can come up with some very clever plot lines that are definitely unique in historical romance genre. But the one dimensional characters and lackluster romance in To Sin With A Stranger make this one a skip it.
Books which I have enjoyed by Caskie-
How to Seduce a Duke
'Stranger' romance which I have enjoyed-
Slightly Wicked (Get Connected Romances)
A Lady's Secret
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Out of all of these people, there should be someone to like!
23 April 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I agree with mizsusmama's review and will take it one step further. I didn't like the heroine either. She embodies one of my pet peeves - someone who does incredibly stupid things then blames someone else for the consequences.
First putting herself, literally, in the middle of boxing match to ask the crowd for money. She only considers herself a "goose" for impulsively doing such a thing but "despises" Sinclair for his humorous reaction to it. Next, she slaps him hard - twice - in front of a huge crowd at Almacks. Brilliant - and for what? The first, because he brushed her cheek with his fingers, the second because he asked her to dance. Obviously he should have kept his hands to himself but really? Overreact much? A tolerable heroine would have walked away. The heroine I want to read about would have come back with some funny yet incredibly cutting response. She knows her father will be furious at her actions which caused such embarrassment and in her opinion "Lord Blackburn...was wholly to blame."
Finally, there is no reason to believe Sinclair would decide, after these two scenes, that he wants to marry her and place the bet at Whites. Why?
In fact, Why any of it?
First putting herself, literally, in the middle of boxing match to ask the crowd for money. She only considers herself a "goose" for impulsively doing such a thing but "despises" Sinclair for his humorous reaction to it. Next, she slaps him hard - twice - in front of a huge crowd at Almacks. Brilliant - and for what? The first, because he brushed her cheek with his fingers, the second because he asked her to dance. Obviously he should have kept his hands to himself but really? Overreact much? A tolerable heroine would have walked away. The heroine I want to read about would have come back with some funny yet incredibly cutting response. She knows her father will be furious at her actions which caused such embarrassment and in her opinion "Lord Blackburn...was wholly to blame."
Finally, there is no reason to believe Sinclair would decide, after these two scenes, that he wants to marry her and place the bet at Whites. Why?
In fact, Why any of it?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Too silly for me
3 Jun 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The premise of a Marquess that participates in boxing matches to earn money to support his siblings after his father cast them out to learn to live respectable seemed very interesting, but as I kept reading the book, I found that there were too many improbable circumstances to get past. The sinclair of Scotland are known throughout society as the Seven Deadly Sins. Each of them has a name for their specific deadly sin and the eldest, Sterling Sinclair, the Marquess of Blackburn's is Greed, so of course all he cares about is money. I felt like I was reading a book for teenagers! The heroine didn't help with the silly factor either. She was way too eccentric. She actually seemed a little crazy! She jumps into the middle of a boxing match with the hero and almost get's her head knocked off to try and ask the spectators for charity money! - and then she slaps the hero in the middle of Almacks because he touched her cheeks! After she does that, the foolish hero decides that he wants to marry her! I felt like I had to suspend my intelligence just to read this book, but I gave it two stars because it was refreshing to read about an historical hero that was a boxer.
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