Night Of Sin

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Summary: Night of Sin
Review: A baggage mixup brings together a most unlikely couple. Jonathan, a regal scoundrel, and an engaged minister's very proper daughter, Anne. When a thief plants a very valuable fossil in the girl's basket, she becomes a target for murder, as Jonathan learns when a killer breaks into her home moments before he does, and he is forced to rescue Anne, escaping with her into the night. Though they are ill matched, the demure miss turns out to be full of surprises, luring Jonathan into her arms and obligating him to her by the conventions of the day.

** This blatantly illogical move of hers sets the stage for a romance that will ultimately heal Jonathan's darkened heart and soul. If you enjoyed Barbara Cartlandt, but wished it was a bit less "nice", then this book will fulfill your wish. **

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Summary: This Regency romantic suspense is a terrific character
Review: Jonathan Devoran St. George stayed away from his family and England while traveling the Far East. He planned to never return home preferring the estrangement to remain forever. However, he has no choice, but to return to England in search of a stolen valuable fossil. He follows the thief, but before he can confront the felon, someone murders the man; the killer escapes. The fossil is not on the deceased, but on innocent Anne Marsh, who was in the wrong place at wrong time.

Jonathan flees with Anne, engaged daughter of a rector, who is now the target of murderers. As he tries to keep her safe, they stop at an isolated cottage for the night where Anne, out of character for her, seduces her protector into making love with her. To his amazement Jonathan feels like he has entered heaven and hell as he loves his dependent, but believes they cannot have a future together.

This Regency romantic suspense is a terrific character study as the audience obtains a very close look at what drives Jonathan, a very introspective hero. Though the lead male's motivations are key elements, the driving force behind the story line remains the cat and mouse chase. Fans will appreciate gutsy Anne even if their NIGHT OF SIN while on the lam seems out of character for her and at the wrong time. Sub-genre fans will appreciate Julia Ross' in depth look at a troubled hero.

Harriet Klausner


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Summary: An Elegantly-written, Sophisticated Romance
Review: Julia Ross writes complex tales of passion and intrigue with fascinating (usually somewhat damaged) characters. This is my *favorite* type of historical romance and I confess that I stayed up all night finishing "Night of Sin". While I suspect that her books are probably not for everyone, readers who enjoy more sophisticated, slightly darker romances and prefer writers (such as Laura Kinsale and Judith Ivory) who are not afraid to break some of the "rules" of the genre likely will love this book.

The story is set in Victorian England (in contrast to Georgian settings of her more recent books "The Seduction" and "The Wicked Lover".) Lord Jonathan Devoran St. George, so called Wild Lord Jack, is the younger son of a Duke who has spent an unspecified number of years traveling in Asia. He is a fascinating, complex hero--tremendously charming, handsome, brilliant and sensual; however, his experiences in the East have left him feeling estranged from his homeland and his family. He returns home to England at the beginning of the novel tracking a rare fossil that already has led to more than one murder. When the sailor carrying the fossil slips it into the basket of innocent Miss Anne March just before he is murdered, Jack must concoct a plan to both protect Anne and recover the fossil.

Anne, a shy, somewhat mousey young woman and the daughter of a minister, has recently gotten engaged to a scholarly young man. When Jack insists that she travel alone with him to his family estate, Wyldshay, for her protection, she reluctantly agrees. On the trip, she finds herself bowled over by Jack's good looks and charm. She develops a serious case of hero-worship for Jack and he finds her honesty and wit engaging. When their enemies and a storm conspire to strand the couple for the night at an abandoned cottage miles from their destination, Anne's sexual curiosity and naivete combined with Jack's misplaced faith in his ability to control his own desire lead to the loss of Anne's virginity.

I agree with other reviewers who thought that Anne's behavior in the cottage was out of character for a quiet, timid minister's daughter who, prior to that episode, did not seem to have a wild side, but Jack was nothing if not *tremendously* attractive and seductive (so really, I don't blame her!) The action slows down quite a bit once the couple reaches Wyldshay and has to face the consequences of their rash behavior--but frankly, I really liked that part of the book.

In summary, this is a beautifully written historical romance full of passion and adventure. Julia Ross weaves a memorable tale of an unexpected love between two very different people who end up being each other's salvation.

An excellent book! Highly recommended!

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Summary: Sensual and Absolutely Mesmerizing!!! Recommended!
Review: While Wild Lord Jack waited for the passengers disembarking from the ship walked uphill from the docks, his thoughts of a henna tattooed woman were pushed back from his mind as he watched the typical English whale bone corseted young woman fighting her way downhill through the stormy gale. Jack grinned and thought nothing more of the plain looking non-descript young woman although he noted the tough looking sailor roughly bump into her in his haste uphill. It wouldn't be until later that Jack, too late to save the sailor from being killed in the crowd, discovered that the expected parcel he should have been carrying was not there and he then remembered the young woman with the basket that the sailor had roughly jostled.

Miss Anne Marsh, traveling in from the country arrived at her Aunt's home soaking wet, minus the umbrella that had been blown away by the wind. After pleasantries and sending her basket of foodstuffs from her family to her Aunt's kitchen to be unpacked, was astounded when the maid came back to show her the strange item she had found in the basket. It would be as a result of the strange artifact that much later that evening, Anne would be awakened from her sleep, by an intruder, who would then be attacked by a second intruder - Lord Jack.

Anne, the daughter of a Dissenter minister, was engaged to be married to fine man, yet this strange beautiful man, who clearly was a gentleman of the nobility with his fine manners, was a total enigma to Anne. She was in love with her fiancé, and looking forward to a quiet and companionable marriage. It then came as a surprise to her that she would allow this man, the younger son of a duke as it turned out, who'd burst into her bedroom in the middle of the night, willingly go along and let him lead her on an adventure the like of which she could never, ever have conjured up in her wildest dreams.

*** I have been a fan of Julia Ross' since I first picked up one of her earlier novel, MY DARK PRINCE. Since then, I have purchased each and every one she's written and she has consistently taken my breath away with her exquisite and mesmerizing passionate prose. In this latest novel, NIGHT OF SIN, there is at the center the mystery surrounding the fossil that several have died in trying to obtain, but more importantly are the two main characters of Lord Jonathan "Wild Lord Jack" Devoran St. George and the plain minister's daughter Anne Marsh. While Jack is complex with a very mysterious past, hinted at but never fully revealed until the end, Anne is what she appears but with an intelligent mind and an honest and forthright courage that quite disarms Jack. As they make their way to his home, Anne discovers a passion that he unleashes in her with a sensuality that totally disarms him. Ms. Ross has again delivered another of her most sensually exquisite romances featuring a divinely complex and fascinating hero and wonderful heroine that the readers are sure to find absolutely riveting!! --- Marilyn, for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---