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The Most Wicked of Sins

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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

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

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

I got caught up in her books a few months back. Im big on reading books that have a series. This book wasnt bad, romance, some sex, and a deceit plot. But at times I felt the book dragged. I will continue to read her books and hope her plots will get a bit more intriguing.

While there was nothing about this book that made it special and I found the "Seven Deadly Sins" theme cliche, it was a pleasure to read. This is the kind of romance novel that makes you sigh with happiness when you finish the last page, the type of novel that is truly a delight to fans of romance. The couple doesn't argue the entire time. In fact, the only arguing was the female protagonist's, Ivy's, arguing with herself and her emotions. This is quite refreshing among the endless stream of novels where the couples are always butting heads and arguing to the point that I want to rip my hair out.

The only problem I had was Ivy's behavior. I have read so many historical novels where the women act as free as the women today. It's irritating. If those women really acted that way, then they would be complete outcasts of society no matter what their status or money. I am also sure that the menfolk would simply not allow such behavior.

The male protagonist, Dominic Sheridan, stole my heart away. He was sweet and endearing to Ivy, that it grabbed my heart strings. At first, it was amusing to watch the two's playful banter, and then watch how their behavior changed so subtly when the two began to fall in love. It was cute.

I actually liked the light-hearted feel of this novel so much, I rented the other two currently published

At first it was hard to like this book, but it held my intrigue and I continued through it. I really did like it and loved the end. Don't pass this book off. It gets better the more you read.

I loved the 3rd installment and since I obtained my Kindle I decided to get to the beginning going backwards 1 book at the time.
The dialog is fanny and corky, the heroes are lovable but without much of the background story. I hope the 4th installment would be better

I received a free copy of The Most Wicked of Sins from the Goodreads early review program. And my copy ended up having a signed "business card", I suppose, even though the giveaway didn't say it would, so it was a nice surprise.

The Most Wicked of Sins by Kathryn Caskie is a witty and charming read. The two main characters compliment each other nicely. Ivy Sinclair is a hoot. She's clever and her schemes were just hilarious. Nick Sheridan is the perfect gentleman, but he knows how to make Ivy forget the whole point of her slightly silly and definitely underhanded scheme she dragged him into. Good thing one can always atone for their sins.

I read this book on the 8 hr. plane ride to Hawaii over winter break and I had the hardest time trying not to giggle at Ivy's antics and reasoning for her scheming. There wasn't much wickedness to the novel if you know what I mean, but the characters and their charade made up for it. I hadn't read the first book and I haven't read the third one that was recently released, but I just might have to now.

While the story may seem to be very unlikely, isn't all romance. What is refreashing about this book is that the author describes the world fairly well. Historic details imbeded in the story creates a realsitic layer.