Surrender to Sin

by Tamara Lejeune

Book Overview

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. But once there she encounters mayhem, mishap, rustic fortune hunters, and a dangerously seductive but deeply indebted lord of the manor, Cary Wayborn.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821779745
• ISBN13: 9780821779743
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Zebra Books
• Length: 411 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Great writing make a fantastic story out of a fantastical plot

The other reviews have captured the plot quite well (except for one review which got it wrong, she did marry him before going to London to tell her father about the marriage) but the writing and the way the author conveys the characters to us is really what makes this book works so well. I feel like I know all of them and love all of them despite their flaws. The pace of the book is fast and the humour is really good. Abigail is a likeable heroine though I have to say Cary takes the shine out of her, being a very unique hero figure for a historical romance. He's not brooding or bothered about his attraction to the heroine, or his housekeeper's magnificent backside, for that matter. He's fun and quick with his wit, arrogant, conceited, completely useless about money, and a really smooth talker. The non-dream dream scene had me laughing in stitches, and the thought of HIS Prime Minister meeting with the french maid is a really hilarious idea (I'm smiling just thinking about it). I recommend anyone who can see the ridiculous side of things to take a crack at this book, I'll definitely be looking for her other books.

The style of writting is fresh and fun - ENJOY!

This novel is a very funny English farce - the characters are all lying to each, no one knows each others names or how they are connected, people are stealing from each other and in the middle is a very mixed-up funny couple stumble into love. Take a chance - very funny - great price - Enjoy! I would also suggest; Rules For Being A Mistress (Zebra Historical Romance) and Simply Scandalous (Zebra Debut).

Very funny romp

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!!!!!

One VERY crazy romance.........41/2 stars

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*

Scandal and Sin in Hertfordshire?

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!