A marriage of convenience ignites into a passionate love affair in the hotly anticipated second novel in New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries’s addictive Sinful Suitors series!
When Edwin Barlow, the Earl of Blakeborough, agrees to help his best friend’s impetuous ward, Lady Clarissa Lindsey, in her time of need, he knows he’s in for trouble. He’s been hunting for someone to wed, and she’ll just get in the way. Although captivated by the whip-smart, free-spirited beauty, he fears she’d be all wrong as a wife … if she would even take such a gruff cynic for her husband. Too bad he wants nothing more than to have her for his own.
Clarissa has no intention of marrying anyone—not Edwin, whom she’s sure would be an overbearing husband, and certainly not the powerful French diplomat stalking her. But when matters escalate with the diplomat, she chooses Edwin’s gallant offer of a marriage between friends in hopes that it will deter her stalker. She expects nothing more than an amiable union, but their increasingly tempestuous kisses prove more than she bargained for. When her stalker’s vow to expose the lovers’ deepest secrets threatens to destroy their blossoming attraction, will their tenuous bond withstand public ruin, or will Edwin lose all that’s important to him to protect his bride?
I loved Edwin in The Art of Sinning, and I was so glad to see him get his own happy ending in this book. But, like any good story, it’s not easy sailing. A lot of the sources of conflict in romances are super flimsy, especially in historical romances, but Clarrissa’s stalker and Edwin’s secret really did pose a challenge to the lover’s union.
Clarissa was awesome. Independent, stubborn, and not afraid to speak her mind, she easily made her way into my good graces. There are certain stories that the “opposites attract” trope has me rolling my eyes because they only get together because the plot says so. Thankfully, The Study of Seduction is not one of them. I truly believe that Edwin and Clarissa are perfect for each other and their relationship is not only realistic, but also heartwarming (and steamy).
So, solid story+solid characters=solid 4 stars.