To Sin With a Stranger [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathryn Caskie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2008

Meet the "Seven Deadly Sins"

The seven Sinclair brothers and sisters live for scandal and delight in disgrace . . . until their father decrees that they must reform. Propriety has never come easily, but now they have no choice. Marry in haste . . . or regret in poverty!

The Sinclairs of Scotland are known throughout society as the Seven Deadly Sins. Cast out by their father and denied their inheritance unless they mend their wild ways, they travel to London to seek respectability. No member of the clan is more scandalous than Sterling Sinclair, the Marquess of Blackburn. The ladies of the ton are powerless to withstand his rakish charms . . . until Miss Isobel Carington comes along.

Ten thousand pounds if she marries Sinclair!

Isobel is horrified to learn that's the amount wagered at White's Club—and now all of London is eagerly betting on her future! She's already publicly spurned the marquess, a man she hardly knows, but she's sure he is up to something, as he launches a bold campaign of seduction anyway. But soon she is surprised to learn there is much more to this man than reckless adventure and bad behavior . . . and, against her will, she begins to relish the thrill of sinning with this stranger . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Both plot and historical ambience fall by the wayside in Caskie's Regency romance series launch. The seven Sinclair siblings, known collectively as the Seven Deadly Sins, are forced from their ancestral home in Scotland by their father, who insists they mend their ways in London or be disinherited. Sterling Sinclair's attempt to provide for his family by prizefighting is nearly derailed by his interest in—and disastrous encounters with—the beautiful Isobel Carrington. Unfortunately, the Sinclairs are nearly indistinguishable, despite each one's association with a different sin, and Isobel's interest in social causes is as unconvincing as her sudden emotional shifts and eccentric behavior. Caskie (How to Propose to a Prince) tosses in so many violations of period norms and etiquette that the Sinclairs' shock value drops to nil, leaving nothing to anchor the story. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

TOP PICK~ 4 1/2 Stars! Never was sinning more delectable than with Caskie's Sinclairs, aka the Seven Deadly Sins, who set tongues wagging with their scandalous behavior. Caskie skillfully pulls readers into a delicious romance filled with wit, sensuality and heartwarming emotions, whetting your appetite for more sinfully fun stories. --Romantic Times BOOKreview Magazine

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Avon (November 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061491004
• ISBN-13: 978-0061491009
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Regency

More About the Author

Kathryn Caskie is the USA TODAY best-selling author of the hilariously clever Regency-set romances. She lives outside of Washington, DC with her family, two cats, two Borders Collies and a Chihuahua with a Napoleon complex.

Learn more about the author, enter her contests and read an excerpt from her latest book by visiting:

http://www.kathryncaskie.com and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kathryn-Caskie/369040093477

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lackluster begining to new series, February 11, 2009

By 

Misuzmama (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Sin With a Stranger (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

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Out of all of these people, there should be someone to like!, April 23, 2009

By 

N.W. Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Sin With a Stranger (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?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too silly for me, June 2, 2009

By 

LuvGirl (New York ,NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Sin With a Stranger (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.