Hero: Mr. Sullivan Waring
Heroine: Lady Isabel Chalsey
Grade: 4.5 out of 5
A Notorious Gentleman . . .
Sullivan Waring wants only two things: his rightful inheritance, and revenge against the man who stole it from him. By day, Sullivan is the most respected horse breeder in England; by night, he plunders the ton’s most opulent homes to reclaim his late mother’s beautiful paintings. His quest is going swimmingly . . . until the night he’s discovered by Lady Isabel Chalsey. Clad only in a revealing nightdress, she’s an entrancingly different kind of plunder, and how can a thief resist stealing a kiss?
A Curious Lady . . .
Surprised by a masked man in her own home, Isabel should be quaking with fear. Instead the sight of the sinfully handsome Sullivan makes her tremble with excitement. Who is this man, and why is he so set on this reckless pursuit? Lady Isabel loves a challenge, and she’ll dare anything to uncover Sullivan’s secret—but she may instead convince him that she is the greatest prize of all.
Before I start my review I wanted to say that I loved the cover of this book. I loved it before I saw the significance. I loved that they “painted” the cover to look like a painting because it gave me an idea of what Sullivan’s mother’s paintings would have looked like so I really enjoyed that.
I’ve heard lots of good things about Suzanne Enoch and I got a bunch of books from a friend by Suzanne Enoch that I swore I was going to read and never got around to. Then I picked this book up to read and I read the first couple of chapters and put it down. The heroine got on my nerves. She was one of those uppity lady’s of the ton who looked down their nose at people who weren’t of noble birth. I guess, I could understand why she felt the need to be haughty to the hero but it still grated on my nerves enough that I put down the book and didn’t read it for the rest of the day.
Then I picked the book back up and read….and read and read until I got to the end of the book and I’m surprised to say that I ended up really liking the heroine. Lady Isabel wasn’t planning on falling in love with the horse breeder that has secrets she wants to be nosy about. She was planning on finding out enough about him so that she could turn him over to the authorities but fate had other plans for her.
She fell in love with Sullivan Waring. A man who is not suited to her socially and yet she didn’t give a damn. Her heart belonged to him and the way she fought to be with him, the way she didn’t turn her back on him when everyone else did made me like Isabel against my better judgement.
I really admire Suzanne Enoch taking a heroine that I didn’t like at all in the beginning and turn her character around that by the end of the book, I was glad that I finished it and I was glad that I got to know Isabel. She got on my nerves but she also had me cheering her on, with the learning how to overcome her fears and ride a horse again and coming to love Sullivan and standing by him no matter what and just everything about her. I really liked her character and she was a great heroine for the great hero that was Sullivan.
I enjoyed Sullivan’s character, I enjoyed getting to know him and I enjoyed rootin’ him on while he tried to get back what was rightfully his. He was a strong and honorable man and though it irked me a bit that he cared so much about titles and the aristocracy that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him where Isabel was concerned, I still loved him to pieces.
What I loved most about this story was the sense of brotherhood between Bram and Sullivan. I’m rather intrigued to see more about Bram and if I read correctly online, we’re to get Bram’s story next. I’m also rather intrigued by the mysterious Phin. I’m dying to know what’s up with him, where he’s at and why he hasn’t come home yet. What’s he running from or who is he avoiding? I’m seriously waiting to see what’s up with all of them.
The other thing that I really loved about this book was the love between Isabel and everyone in her family. From her father and her mother, to both of her brothers. The Chalsey family was a great example of what I love most about fictional families. They remind me of my own family and the relationships that I share with my brothers. The way that Isabel fought with her brothers and the way that she loved them made for some great reading and I laughed out loud more than once because of scenes between Isabel and Douglas. I hope to someday read his story and I also hope that Phillip and Barbara get their own story. They were a great addition to the story.
Sullivan’s father and his good for nothing, jealous POS brother Oliver got on my nerves and I hated the way that Sullivan’s father came around. His reasons bugged me but meh whatever, it didn’t take away from my experience with this book. I still rather enjoyed this story and am really glad that it was my first SE, I will definitely be reading more of her.
So you should definitely pick this up, it was a delightful read and I can’t wait for more!
*Edited to add: It’s Phin’s book that comes out next, not Bram’s so I’m looking forward to that.
