REVIEW: Sinfully Yours by Cara Elliott

Sinfully Yours by Cara Elliott: They both are hiding their true selves… Anna Sloane hides her career as a highly successful author of “horrid” novels by being as publicly bland and as perfect as possible. Devlin Greville, the Marquess of Davenport, but known as “Devil” Davenport, has the outward appearance of a rake and a ne’er-do-well, but is hiding a sharp mind and expert mechanical skills.

They meet at a dance, at a secluded spot on a terrace. Anna is out of sorts, her creative muse having escaped her, and Devlin, not being himself lately either, corners Anna and kisses her, thinking it to be a game, and both end up feeling more mixed up about the kiss than they expected. Relief is quickly at hand, however, since both are given the opportunity to go to a house party. Unbeknownst to each other, they have been invited to the same house party, in the wilds of Scotland. Devlin is hired to spy for the crown, since a germanic prince will be at the house party, and any attempt on his life could be cause for war; Anna embraces the idea,hoping that it will give her inspiration for her current novel, which she is struggling to finish by deadline:

“A remote Scottish castle. A month of precious few distractions, save for the prince and his party of noblemen—and they would be easy enough to deal with.”

Once in Scotland, there are various trials and tribulations to put up with, one of which seems to be rather quickly changing weather. Besides the aforementioned prince and his retinue, there is English-hating Scotsman named Alec McClellan, a family from France, a Russian colonel, Anna’s own fresh-from-the-schoolroom sister Caro and their matchmaking mama Lady Trumbull. Anna and Devlin are surprised to see each other, but not necessarily unhappily so:

“Anna turned away to hide the smile tugging at her lips. She shouldn’t find his humor appealing. He was too dissolute. Too dangerous.”

What follows next in the book is a series of misunderstandings and mistakes, with Devlin thinking Anna is a spy and assassin, and Anna thinking Devlin is a thief. They eventually decided to work together, and the search for the real conspirators is on.

I started out feeling pretty ambivalent about this book, but in the end I liked it. I found the first couple of chapters abrupt and very fast moving, but I think that it’s because Sinfully Yours is the second book of a series, the first being Scandalously Yours and the story of Anna’s older sister Olivia. While it is not a severe handicap to have not read the first book, the characters were introduced in a manner in which a previous knowledge of them would have probably made the initial few chapters go smoother in my mind.

Another thing I felt was that there was a disjoint between the primary plot of the book, and the physical personal moments that occur between Anna and Devlin. There were moments were I was bemused by their behaviour, and left thinking to myself that people wouldn’t behave that way in real life.

However, there are many things that I like in Sinfully Yours. I like that Anna is really smart. Unlike some heroines, she doesn’t just blithely continue to be obtuse when accusations are made against her; Anna can make logical conclusions and see where a conversation is headed, which is very refreshing! I like that the secondary characters are as well realized as the main characters, especially Caro and the belligerent McClellan. It will be interesting to see if the attraction between the two of them will be carried on or dropped in the next book in the series which will feature Caro. I liked that there was mystery and surprise in the subplot, and I think other readers will too.

I did find Sinfully Yours a pleasant and enjoyable read, with a few flaws that were distracting. On the other hand, I enjoyed it enough that I am planning to read the first book of series, and I look forward to the third when it is published.

Book Info:

Expected publication: February 4th 2014 by Forever

THE HELLIONS OF HIGH STREET SERIES CONTINUES WITH SINFULLY YOURS…

Proper young ladies of the ton-especially ones who have very small dowries-are not encouraged to have an interest in intellectual pursuits. Indeed, the only things they are encouraged to pursue are eligible bachelors. So, the headstrong Sloane sisters must keep their passions a secret. Ah, but secret passions are wont to lead a lady into trouble . . . SINFULLY YOURS After an eventful Season, Anna Sloane longs for some peace and quiet to pursue her writing. Though her plots might be full of harrowing adventure and heated passion, she’d much prefer to leave such exploits on the page rather than experience them in real life. Or so she thinks until she encounters the darkly dissolute-and gorgeously charming-Marquess of Davenport. Davenport has a reputation as a notorious rake whose only forte is wanton seduction. However the real reason he’s a guest at the same remote Scottish castle has nothing to do with Anna . . . until a series of mysterious threats leave him no choice but to turn to her for help in stopping a dangerous conspiracy. As desire erupts between them, Davenport soon learns he’s not the only one using a carefully crafted image to hide his true talents. And he’s more than ready to show Anna that sometimes reality can be even better than her wildest imaginings . . .