Surrender to Sin [Paperback]

Tamara Lejeune (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2007

To escape gossip in London due to a broken engagement and a stolen diamond, heiress Abigail Ritchie changes her name to Miss Smith, and leases a house in the country. Along with her chaperone - a hypochondriac accompanied by a full-time nurse - the trio escape to Hertfordshire. But once there they encounter mayhem, mishap, rustic fortune hunters, and a dangerously seductive but deeply indebted lord of the manor, Cary Wayborn. Scandal continues to welcome Abigail with open arms...and so does Cary. When the two find themselves inadvertently surrendering to one night of white-hot passion and desire, Cary, a true gentleman, insists on marriage. Yet Miss Smith refuses his offer. Now, sorting through a gaggle of gossips, mischief, and conspiracy, he remains fearless and determined to claim a love as irresistible as the lady herself...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With its marvelously original characters, rich use of language, and deliciously outrageous and whimsical plot, Lejeune's debut is rare and resplendent."

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821779745
• ISBN-13: 978-0821779743
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,320,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One VERY crazy romance.........41/2 stars, February 7, 2007

By 

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

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This review is from: Surrender to Sin (Paperback)

Heiress, Abigail Ritchie flees London after jilting her despicable fiance. Wanting to leave all the scandal behind, in the country she assumes a the new identity of Miss Smith. Her wealthy father rents a home for her and her entourage. They include Abigail's senile old nurse maid, a nasty old hypochondriac chaperone and her depressing widow nurse. And lets not forget the chaperone's vicious macaw bird who would like nothing better than to pluck Abigail's eyes out. Things seem to go from bad to worse when she finds out that the 'distant' cousin of hers, Cary Wayborne (who saved her from an embarrassing situation with her betrothed in London) is in fact in residence. He it not in fact married as he led her to believe. And has no idea who she really is and assumes that she is some other cousin in his large family tree. Then he attempts to put the moves on her (rather aggressively), so she rebuffs him. So the cad goes after the next best thing, the pretty weepy widow. This of course infuriates Abigail because she can't seem to keep her mind off him. But things have a strange way of working out and on one cold night things go much further than either of them anticipated. But then dawn arrives and realization hits and its not good. This is the last thing Abigail wanted. She rejects Cary's less than stellar proposal. How things have gotten this far, she really doesn't know. How can she possibly marry a man she may be in love with when its obvious that he doesn't love her and how can she possibly face her father again knowing that she is ruined?

Lord I thought that the prequel 'Simply Scandalous' was ridiculous, but this one takes the cake! DO NOT attempt to read this book while sleepy. There is so much going on here, a mass of misunderstandings is not an exaggeration and to keep up with who thinks what about whom really puts those concentration parts of your brain to use. Its funny and crazy at the same time. Everyone seems to be talking circles around one another. Just when one thing is resolved Lejeune (author) throws in another. It could make your head spin if it were not written so well.

Once it gets going, the romance is very good. Lots of good love scenes, some of which were quite funny. His 'Mr. Prime Minister' couldn't wait until her 'Queen' opened Parliament (LOL!).-OK, so I'm easily amused. But it really doesn't stop there. Cary believes Abby to be a bit of a drinker considering she knows so much about spirits (well her dad is a liquor merchant but he doesn't know that). He also has a wild dog, a corgi that's not particularly fond of the macaw and gets into a lot of mischief. Once his sister, Juliet shows up in the country, things really get out of hand. At one point he believes that Abigail is a thief and sends Bow Street Runners after. And there is so much more when they return to London, but I don't want to spoil it for you. But you'll be shaking your head thinking that some of this could not possibly be happening.

*semi-spoiler below*
And for those of your that read the prequel, you'll be happy to see that Juliet and her fiance Ginger(LOL!) have a pretty big part in this one. She jilts him! Yes, I couldn't believe it either! But its just another example of how Lejeune keeps you on your toes.
*end semi-spoiler*

So, its not a deep emotional tear-jerker with the Alpha male. He wears purple waist coat for goodness sakes! Its more of a romantic comedy type that's just plain crazy, chock-full of assumptions, misunderstandings and miscommunication. You'll like it or hate it for its stupidity. Not for the serious seeking reader.

A great break from the heavy emotional drama of romance. You'll laugh and shake your head at this one.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very funny romp, March 15, 2007

By 

Romancecrazies "bookaholic" (Haiti, Caribbean) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surrender to Sin (Paperback)

I'm not sure why I bought this book but I suspect it's because of the price. And the first thing I realized when I started reading it, is that the cover, the blurb and the title are completely misleading. In fact, the only words that are really accurate in the tagline are "wicked" and "fun".

I didn't even realize it was connected to a previous title, Simply Scandalous, until I read certain allusions in the relationship btw Ginger and the hero's sister. Now I plan to get that book, especially since it's only $3.99!!!

I won't recap but I loved it. I kept laughing out loud, in spite of myself. This is even more amazing when you consider that English is my 3rd language and I am not in the US, either! I think the humour is very well done and *that* is why the book had me laughing so much and so often.

There is a lot of action, but, judging from reviews of bk 1, SS, this is a trademark of the author. If you love movies like Some like it Hot or Bringing Up Baby (the one with the pet Panther, IIRC), you'll love this book.

As for sensuality, there is one full love scene at least and several degrees of making out. Our hero Cary is a bit of a bad boy but they are just in keeping with the general tone of the book, fun. And the "dirty" talk I thought was cute too!

Now, I do have a rant or two. First, I think the villains got off a little two easily, especially if you stop to consider what happened to the fall-guy, the maid. But my main rant is about the fact that this author does not exist online. No website, no blog, nothing. If Ms Lejeune or her editor is reading this, do something about it. Fans want a mailing list, back blurbs, excerpts, SOMETHING!!!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scandal and Sin in Hertfordshire?, February 4, 2007

By 

Beverly "Beverly" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surrender to Sin (Paperback)

Mix together scandal and ruin, desire and passion, mistaken identities, run down estates, thievery and even a bit of kidnapping and you are bound to have some fun. All I can say is that I laughed out loud so many times my family began to wonder what I was reading. This is a story guaranteed to tickle the funny bone of even the most stoic, as a passionate kiss in a wardrobe is mistaken for a bat fluttering in the face and a dog that likes to eat watches and parrots causes an all out search and arrest. Abigail Ritchie, the daughter of a rich merchant, is engaged to the horrible pompous Lord Dulwich. She breaks the engagement in scandal, as she is accused of replacing the diamonds in her engagement ring with paste. She remembers a brief run in with a handsome distant cousin who has a house to rent in Hertfordshire. Believing him to be married and safe, she flees London in disguise as Miss Smith in order to hide from the scandal. But she is not alone, as she is traveling with a hypochondriac and her chaperone, dog and parrot. Lord of the Manor, Cary Wayborn has no idea what is in store for him when Miss Smith and her party arrive. A storm has caused a tree to fall on the house they are to rent and they are forced to stay in his estate manor. Cary is drawn to the beautiful Miss Smith, who he recognizes from a bookshop in London, believing her to be some distant cousin. He desires her for her unique beauty and personality and when Abigail discovers him to not be married and is drawn to him as well, she eventually surrenders to one night of pleasure and sin. Cary offers her marriage and unexcpectedly, she rejects his offer and returns to London, but in her absence, there are several items of worth missing. Not wanting to believe she is a thief, he searches for the Miss Smith, not realizing she is really Abigail Ritchie. The real thieves are loose and want to get away by kidnapping her and blackmailing Abigail's rich father. In the meantime, Cary's sister and future brother-in-law get into the act with a broken engagement and mistaken identity with a group of actors that are all part of the theft. A real plot twister with a strange, unique cast of characters that is fun and sexy and does make you think why be good when being wicked can be so much more fun!