Customer Reviews

Sinful Surrender (The Elusive Lords, Book 1)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Millicent Armstrong has gone about her seduction of James Rutherford all wrong. Three years ago, fresh on the marriage market, she literally threw herself on top of him, showing him quite well what she intended. James, a good friend of Missy's brother, Thomas Armstrong, definitely noticed Missy's newly formed figure, but as any good gentlemen, pushed her away (and made sure his coat hid the front of his pants) before things could go further.

Now, three years later, Missy is getting ready to enter her fourth season, and she has been learning the ways of subtle seduction, in hopes of garnering James' attention once again. James has been noticeably absent these past years, and Missy is ready to put her plans in motion. However, as they meet at her parent's estate, James is still putting Missy off even though a strong attraction for Missy exists. James has many reasons - Missy's brother would never find the rake, James, a suitable husband for her. Moreover, James does not know men who practice fidelity, and looking at his parent's marriage and the love lost between them, he has no visions of a happy marriage for himself in the future, no matter his bride. But his plan of staying far away from Missy goes crumbling down when Armstrong comes in with a new idea. He needs his sister married by the season end, and knows Missy has romanticized and idealized James in her head, due to him not being around. Armstrong's new plan is to have Missy observe James in society. Missy has never witnessed James as the rake, only the charming polite gentlemen. Let her get a good taste of his true personality, and she will accept another man's hand in marriage.

Society seems to want to pair James, with the icy, cold Lady Victoria Spencer and Missy with the very wealthy Lord Granville. Victoria has her own plans for James, which soon wreak havoc in James' life. He is also fighting the intense attraction from Missy, and can't help but feel lust as he tries to keep his feelings under control. Missy refuses to accept another man as her suitor, and her one track mind is making her desperate to land James as a husband.

Sinful Surrender is a strong debut novel by Beverly Kendall full of a very brooding hero and a young, over-eager heroine. For the promise Missy makes to herself at the beginning of the book to be a sly seductress, that doesn't last long. This pair has the most lust and romantic intensity I have read about in a while. Every glance, every touch, is so emotionally draining for them. They throw themselves at each other many times, only for James to push Missy away, knowing much is at stake should their relations get out of control.

At the beginning I didn't necessarily buy the argument that Armstrong didn't find James a suitable suitor for his sister. James and Armstrong are such good friends - why would he not? However, as the story progresses, you learn more of James' past and his ways with women - Armstrong is convinced James would never be satisfied with his virginal sister and his brother-sister protectiveness goes far. James is offended when Armstrong tells him he is not good enough for his sister, and being best friends, I would think James would be able to tell Armstrong his true feelings for Missy. However, with James skewed outlook on marriage, he believes he is not good enough for her as well.

Missy is a little immature in her feelings for James and I don't mean that as a criticism. She definitely has womanly advances, and knows what her body wants. But she is very jealous and almost pouts every time James pushes her away or shows up to an event with a beautiful woman on his arm. I think this behavior fits, for her being so young and so entranced by James. She also acts out, in public, and that reinforces her immaturity, and in a way brings her character around full circle.

James is very brooding and cranky throughout the book, which is a trait I always find appealing in a historical romance. He is really cranky though - to the extent at some points I question why Missy doesn't anger with him more? He never cracks a joke, nor has any lighthearted moments. Where is his charm? Where is his good natured side? He treats Missy so poorly at some points, I didn't always buy her lust or love would not falter. I do have to say though, his character stays true to form. From beginning to end, he is James - and you can take him or leave him (I for one, would take him...many times).

Sinful Surrender is very sexy and there are many twists and turns that keep this story quite entertaining to the very end. It is an exceptional debut and one I highly recommend.

I don't usually read historicals and I don't do reviews. I had to post one for Sinful Surrender.

I won't bore you with a recap of Sinful Surrender, I'll just tell you it's one of the best debuts I've read in years. I'm not going to spoil the book, but it's goes beyond the regular the heroine is in love with her brother's best friend storyline. There are many twists I definitely did not see coming.

I loved James but was very frustrated with him part of the book. I understood that he had reasons for staying away from Missy--namely her brother forbidding him to have anything to do with her romantically. There is a second reason they can't get together even when he would like to but telling you that would be a spoiler.

Missy is not that young (21 yrs) in Chapter One, and she's either been infatuated or in love with James since she was around 10 yrs. She acts like a typical 21 yr old does. I was so happy when she stopped chasing him. I wanted him to have to chase her and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, he could have chased her a bit longer and I wouldn't have minded at all.

The secondary storyline really melds seamlessly into the main story line, and it makes sense. There are no villains in this book even though there is a character you might initially be tempted to despise. I actually even sympathized with this character in the end.

The sexual tension is extremely high throughout and there is no saggy middle. It's actually a very hot book.

The only bad thing about this book is that I have to wait a year for the brother's story.

This book was great! James and Missy's brother are best friends, and she has been in love with him since she was 10. Missy's brother knows that James is the worst kind of rake and would not make a good husband for Missy so he forbids James to encourage her romantically. James tries to discourage Missy by acting like the worst jerk. Can Missy's love withstand James's antics?

This debut by Beverly Kendall was excellent and I will be adding her to my must buy author list. I love an Alpha male that treats the heroine badly and has to redeem himself to win her love. If you're a fan of this theme like I am then this book is for you.

Overall Rating: 3.00 // Action: 0 / Emotion: 4.25 / Romance: 4.5 / Sensuous: 3.5 / Intrigue: 1 / Regency Flavor: 3 // Humor: 8 / Tears: 4.5

Have to admire Beverley Kendall's efforts for her debut book, "Sinful Surrender" (book one in The Elusive Lords Series). "Sinful Surrender" tells the story about Thomas Armstrong's sister, Millicent, chasing his best friend, the future Earl of Windmere, James Rutherford. Missy has had a crush on James since he befriended her upon the death of her father when she was ten years old. Naturally, by the time Missy is seventeen, she is in love with James. The most memorable line of the book depicts Missy's determination to have James.

" . . . he fell into the vast category of all men other than James -- the group who had a better chance of ridding London of its fog than gaining her affections."

James has two reasons to run from Missy's pursuit. First, Thomas has warned his friend and fellow rake to stay away from his sister because he has plans for Missy to marry the Earl of Granville. Second, James is determined to never end up like his father -- a man who loves (and has to beg for favors) from his cold, bitter wife.

The book was an enjoyable read, but there were two factors that detracted from making the book a must read. One, the rich regency flavor was missing from the book. Too often the characters actions and conversations exhibited a more relaxed modern feel, rather than the Victorian-era, proprietary-driven deeds and dialogue usually associated with a "regency romance." Two, (even though Kendall did draw the occasional laugh and tight throat from the reader), the hero and heroine spent more time telling the readers how they felt instead of drawing those 'feelings' from the reader during the interactions between the characters.

A more detailed, spoiler-ridden synopsis/review of "Sinful Surrender" appears at [...]

*SPOILER ALERT*

I really enjoyed this book and the writing. It was sexy and compelling. The only thing that makes me not give this book 5 stars is near the end.

Missy is infatuated with James and James is close friends with her brother so he abstains from any relationship with her even though he is also attracted to Missy. I actually really loved the fact that the shoe was on the other foot. Usually it is the man that pursues and seduces the woman, but it starts off with Missy having the confidence and perhaps naiveté to pursue James ruthlessly. Missy throws herself onto James to the point where they end up having sex...although blaming Missy for the whole sexual interlude is a bit unfair since it takes two to tangle and Missy's intent was not to seduce James at that point. Filled with remorse from deflowering Missy, James unfortunately also is told that he impregnated another woman, Victoria, while in a drunken, loss-of-memory stupor. Having gotten himself into this bind, he seeks out Missy and she informs him not to worry about her - she won't force him into a marriage and she is not pregnant by him. He then proceeds to do the honorable thing with Victoria and court her to marry her...much to his dismay. Distraught and angry, Missy finds she must find a way to forget James since he got another woman pregnant and they are on their way to being married. Both characters are tortured at this point because they want to be with each other. James then finds out that Victoria lied, drugged him, and actually did nothing with him so he is set free. Free to pursue Missy now that he has realizes how much she means to him. He seeks Missy out and proposes marriage to her, explaining that he did not get Victoria with child. Missy refuses the proposal because she is convinced that he wants her for all the wrong reasons (honor, lust, etc.), is still upset over the previous events, and also she wants love or nothing at all. The tables are turned and James pursues Missy, much to her dismay and at the same time, I think, pleasure. Missy keeps resisting him and turning him down. At this point, I understand and agree with the way the characters behaved. I understood James and I understood Missy's positions. The next parts, though, I did not like. I thought they dragged the story on more unnecessarily with more resistance of Missy and James coming together. At this point, they should have started softening towards each other more and readers could read more about their ACTUAL courting period and them falling in love without more angst and bitterness. Instead....

James' father dies and James finds out he has 2 bastard half-sisters. His mother is bitter about them and misleads Missy into believing that the two girls are James' daughters. Missy seems to be starting to soften towards James at the funeral but after finding out about the sister/daughters, she gets upset all over again and starts to believe more that James would not make a good husband for her, as he doesn't love her and could possibly be unfaithful.

Of course the story ends happily, but after all the anxiety between Missy and James throughout the book, I really wanted to just read a nice chapter or three about them really being on the same page (no pun intended) and going through their courtship and their heated romance/flirtation/etc. Somewhat like a relaxation and kicking back portion after all the tension between the two lovebirds. I didn't want to read more about misunderstandings, lack of communication, etc. The ending where they were together was all too brief for me. In romances, I always like to learn a little bit more after the climax (another pun not intended) of the characters and their interaction.

For a debut, this book is a lot better than a lot of the recent historical romances that have been coming out of veteran historical romance authors! Beverly Kendall definitely has a lot of promise and I am definitely looking forward to the next book!

Overall Beverly Kendall's debut novel is well written, by far the best element of this novel is the wonderful tension between the leads. From the first pages, the reader understands the yearning between the protagonists.

Missy is quite in love with James Rutherford. He is her brother's best friend and she has known him since she was twelve years old. Missy is impetuous and at eighteen declares her love boldly to James but he knows that he is not the man for Missy, and not just because his best friend would disapprove of the match but also James is not ready to marry. When he does wed, James expects to have a typical aristocratic marriage with no strong emotions and little fidelity.

Missy is not easily dissuaded from her goal even though she has barely encountered James because he has been out of the country for years. When she sees him again she plots anew on how to win his love. These early chapters are wonderful. Missy's persistence and impetuous nature are full force here and James just cannot help his reaction to her. They are combustible.

James tries to keep his distance going so far as to seemingly court other women and this infuriates Missy to the point of actual rudeness. This was refreshing as Missy is honest with her words and feelings.

Ah, but the road to happiness for both Missy and James has several roadblocks. They come in the form of scheming aristocrats and James and Missy's own head strong natures. James just cannot envision how wonderful his life would be with Missy and she has a tendency to set her course without all the facts, especially in the latter part of the novel. The tension in this novel stays steady and strong. Missy and James have a singular fascination for each other and this is apparent even when they are simply conversing or spy each other across a room.

Lastly, Beverly Kendall's book is romantic. Sometimes romance novels can have too much plot, too many characters or just too much inner dialogue which can overpower the romance of the leads. This does not occur. Yes, there are obstacles to their happily ever after (Missy's stubbornness toward the end of the story might have been the hardest to fathom) but they never detracted from the longing these two had for each other.

I've been looking for a new author for months and months now, to add to my favorite ones: Julie Garwood, Linda Howard, Julia Quinn, and Karen Robards. Beverly Kendall is definitely a new fave of mine. This book is a hard-to-put-down book. I love the characters and twists of the story. Great read!!!!

Beverley Kendall is one my new favorite authors! I just can't wait until she comes out with something else!
I stay up ALL hours of the night reading her stuff as it is just THAT good! The conversations are riveting and seething with sexual tension. The scenes are painted with such realism I can just SEE and FEEL everything as if I'm right there in the story.

BOTH "Sinful Surrender" AND "A Taste of Desire" are MUST READS!

Millicent "Missy" Armstrong yearns for the love of her brother's good friend, James Rutherford. Missy will do whatever she can to claim him as her own. James has always treated Missy like a younger sister, but as she finally makes her debut into Society, he can no longer deny that she has grown into a very beautiful woman. Lately, he's been having a very strange reaction to her, one that involves the hardening of a certain area of his anatomy. He can't give into his lust for Missy because he's not marriage material. The fact that he's a well known rake doesn't sit well with Missy's brother Thomas. Why would Thomas him married to his innocent sister, especially when he has a great deal of sexual experience? James will keep his distance from Missy even if he has to go as far as being cold and rude to her so she will get over her infatuation.

Things are not going as well as they should for Missy. She has engaged in some wonderful kissing with James and expects him to have his wicked way with her. But rather than going too far, he lashes out, saying there is no way he would marry her. Another woman would walk away and find a more suitable man elsewhere, but not Missy. She has wanted James forever, and not even the man himself will ruin her dreams of happiness. Missy expects James to be her husband because she has already rejected twenty marriage proposals. She does have another suitor waiting on the side, a very rich and handsome Lord Granville, but he doesn't consume her every thought like James does.

James tries his best to stay away from the minx, but she is there at every turn, trying to seduce him. Missy is so confused because James continually sends off mixed signals from acting jealous around Granville, to sharing secret kisses and caresses between them. Even if he went as far as to marry Missy, their marriage would probably end up like the sham of a marriage his parents had. Also, his intense sexual appetite would scare Missy to the point where she wouldn't enjoy their marriage bed.

As Missy and James's passion and need for each other grows to the breaking point, James is soon accused of fathering a child with the well known ice queen, Lady Victoria Spencer. Now he has no choice but to marry, but not to the woman he wants with every fiber of his being. Missy is crushed but she still can't stay away from James. Missy confronts James and the end result of that interaction may ruin her reputation forever.

The fountain of feelings James and Missy have for one another is so unbelievably strong, lush and tense, where you can taste it as you turn each page. Sinful Surrender is one romance where the two main characters are in such pain, physically and emotionally, because they want each other so badly. But because James continues to deny his love for Missy, they're both strung so tight that they can't control themselves.

The word, "ache" is a perfect one when describing Sinful Surrender. James aches for Missy but feels he can't give into his feelings because of what he witnessed between his parents as a boy. I found his reasons to be very weak. We read in passing why James is so dead set against claiming Missy as his wife, but it just didn't work for me. I understand his concerns with his so-called scandalous reputation and a possible marriage with Missy that could turn out to be horrendous, but all these issues could have been fixed through communication. Too bad there wasn't a therapist during this time who James could talk to, because his constant internal turmoil took away from the overall enjoyment in reading. I just wasn't convinced that his family life as a child was so horrible that it would damage his psyche that deeply. I also couldn't help but laugh and roll my eyes at the same time because he couldn't live with the guilt if Missy had to put up with his insatiable twenty-four hour appetite for her pure young flesh. Not that Missy would have minded because she her main goal is for James to ravish her.

Missy does a few things that makes this situation change from bad to worse because of her somewhat selfish actions. There were a few times I couldn't understand why Missy didn't just walk away from James for good. But then again, Missy has this deep, yearning and undying love for him and knows no matter the odds that he'll be hers. I couldn't decide if this was incredibly romantic or more of an unhealthy crush that has blown into a near obsession.

I have to hand it to Beverly Kendall for writing an angst filled romance between two lovers who are so overcome with such incredible need for one another. Her love scenes simmer and crackle and her writing is pretty solid. My one main problem with Sinful Surrender is James's reasons on why a match between him and Missy shouldn't be. My frustration continue to grow in regards to the main conflict between these two and James's thoughts on the institution of marriage.

Even through I found James and Missy's internal conflicts somewhat lacking, I found Sinful Surrender to be a likable debut. I look forward to seeing what else Beverly Kendall has to offer the historical romance world.

Katiebabs

When Millicent "Missy" Armstrong' was ten years old she decided she would one day marry James Rutherford, best friend of her brother Thomas. She remained patient until her first London season in 1852 when she jumped him claiming a kiss. Although aroused by the no longer little sister, James pushes her aside and rejects her.

The kiss still haunts James as Missy begins her fourth campaign to make him surrender to her love. However, though he knows he wants her, James has several reasons to say no starting with Thomas who would never accept a rake like him as part of the family and the example set by his parents whose love turned to cheating. Thomas wants Missy married so he decides to let her see her romanticized hero as the wandering rake he is. Her sibling prefers she marry Lord Granville while Lady Victoria Spencer has set her sights on James. However, neither the Ton nor the selected respective suitors, the brother, nor the chosen one know how determined Missy is, but they will before her fourth season is done.

Sinful Surrender is a super Victorian romance starring a resolute obsessed heroine and the man of her dreams. Ironically James thinks he is in love with Missy, but because of his parents' example and his belief she can do better fostered by his friend, he rejects her and his heart. Although, his consistent refusal should have sent Missy in retreat, fans will root for the single-minded heroine as she knows who she wants and will accept nothing less than his Sinful Surrender to their love. Beverly Kendall provides an enjoyable historical.

Harriet Klausner