Customer Reviews

To Sin With a Stranger

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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

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?

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.

I really love the theme for this series of Seven Deadly Sins and how each of the seven characters, The Sinclair Brothers and Sisters, who were sent off to London by their father due to their ill behavior. They are getting by, by little money because their father is withholding their inheritance until they improve themselves and the Sinclair's name.. They each have a personality related to this theme of the Seven Deadly Sins which are, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. This first book is on the Marquess of Blackburn, Sterling who is considered to be cursed with 'Greed'. The heroine Isobel has her issues to deal with as well with her father since she is involved with charities to raise money for widows and children but has been involved in some scandals that upsets her father. An adventurous book with a wager made at Whites that they will marry, brings the two together in a seduction that made for a fun and romantic read! Its going to be great reading about each of the Brothers and Sisters stories to learn more about each of their curses and their romance! Only problem is we have to wait for each of the books! THE MOST WICKED OF SINS will be out September 29,2009. In the meantime, go check out this first book, greatly recommended!

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

Regency historicals aren't my thing, although I'm always wanting to like the next one I read. There's got to be a good one out there. Somewhere.

This one was of the "super lite" variety, to the point where I think the story got dropped on its head as a baby. Or was born a few chromosomes short.

It's got a twee set-up of 7 Scottish siblings that personify each of the Seven Deadly Sins and just enough detail that says, "Regency!" (namely "on dit" and "ton" repeated lots with the standby premise of a wager that sets ALLLLL of London abuzz). There's also a little history lesson about the Parthenon sculptures, and our H/h leave their DNA samples on one of them after knowing each other a matter of a few days.

As the fine Scottish sibs would say in a Scots-identifying way, Och, it was bluidy boring and dull. The saving grace was that the "crafted for your blind 8-year old" font was therapeutic for my poor eyes, which needed rehab after a book with microscopic type.

I've read much better Harlequin Regency historicals, but I'm still hoping to find a non-Harley Regency that doesn't suck. Needless to say, I won't be reading the rest of this series.

Copy won on Goodreads.

"To Sin with a Stranger" begins what sounds to be a promising series, about 7 brothers and sisters cast out of Scotland to make a name for themselves. Called the "Seven Deadly Sins," each sibling represents a particular vice.

Sterling, the eldest, is supposed to be "Greed," but I really don't see it. He is concerned with money, but has the clear excuse that his family is completely broke. After meeting Isobel, he begins to change his ways (donating to her charity). But that change is only implied, there is not much to show that he was spendthrift in the past.

All of the characters are likable, but I felt there was a lack of development on all sides. The story is set up so that there is supposed to be tension between the two main characters, but it just isn't there. They fall in love quickly and that's all there was to it. I guess I just expected a little more...oomph.

All in all though the book is enjoyable. The characters are likable and the storyline is interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing where Caskie takes the rest of the characters.

Can't recommend it ... in fact, can't even seem to finish it. It seems to me that every element in it has been used a jillion times before. Ordinarily, in a romance, that's not an issue because all the plot points have been used before and we all know how it's going to end (if it's a romance, they live and if it's women's fiction, one of them dies). The joy is supposed to be in the journey, not the destination. Which means it has to be an interesting journey, and this just wasn't, at least not to me. It didn't hold my interest whatsoever and it all seemed faintly oversimplified. I am the more disappointed because I have liked some of this author's other books very well. Better luck next time, I guess.

i was very excited about the idea of the 7 siblings and the 7 sins, but the first book was a bit disappointing. As other reviewers have said, the siblings are at the moment very indistinguishable, maybe it should have been just 4 siblings, equaling a sign (i.e. water, wind, fire, earth) instead.
The first encounter during a boxing match filled me with anticipation, but unfortunately, the longer i read, the less i cared about the characters. I felt most of the obstacle facing the main characters were somewhat contrived, the fact that he was her secret benefactor did not go anywhere and there was no slow build up to their romance. The story with Elgin's marbles was somewhat boring too.
On the other hand, the few pages of the next Sinclair at the end of the book made me curious to read Ivy's story. Hopefully the series will pick up. There are obviously some sins that are easier to portray like jealousy, pride or wrath.

After reading the second, I decided I should probably read the first. After reading the second, which immediately captured my attention, I found it so difficult to get into this novel. It starts out with Siusan sewing up Sterling's knuckles, which I had to actually skip over because I could not stomach reading about it.

After that the story progresses with Sterling actually fighting some Irish man to win money to help support his siblings. After Isobel interrupts the fight and is embarrassed by Sterling, he goes on to win the fight and donate some of his winnings to Isobel's cause. Sterling then makes the bet at White's and proceeds to woe Isobel.

Honestly, I grew bored with this novel. I actually found myself skipping over passages and conversations without meaning to. It was actually depressing after reading the The Most Wicked of Sins, which had me hooked. I loved reading about Ivy and Nick's developing relationship and them falling in love. Sterling and Isobel's story, however, was just flat. I don't why, but I just found that I could not care less about them falling in love, or Sterling seducing Isobel.

I was greatly disappointed.