Judith’s review of Sins of a Ruthless Rogue (Sinners Trio #2) by Anna Randol
When Clayton Campbell shows up on her doorstep, Olivia Swift is stunned. For long ago, Clayton was the boy who stole her heart. He’s also the man her betrayal had sent to the gallows. A man she believed dead, now standing before her, looking leaner, harder, more powerful than ever, his haunted eyes filled with a lust she had never seen—for vengeance…
He’s a Crown spy who once faced death and escaped unscathed. Yet Clayton Campbell cannot deny that the sight of Olivia rouses in him something more than a thirst for revenge. Or that the bold beauty would lure him once more into a dangerous game. Only this time, Clayton plans to be the victor—with the tempting Olivia in his bed as his prize. But once passion ignites between them, the hard-hearted agent will face his greatest battle yet—for his heart.
O what damage can be done by just one person whose knowledge is incomplete and whose trust is placed with those who are unworthy of that trust. So it was with Olivia Swift, the daughter of a paper mill owner who loved and trust her father, whose trust in him led her to serve as his accomplice in attributing blame to a young Clayton Campbell, putting him almost at the end of a rope. His reprieve is at the cost of his life as a free man, now serving his “sentence” as a Crown spy and to ultimately seek out the woman who almost cost him his life. It mattered not that at one time there were tender feelings between them. All that has been washed away in the river of anger that has driven Clayton back to face Olivia and bring her low for her actions of years past.
This is an intense novel that is filled with finely honed characters, with Clayton and Olivia living on the edge of emotional mayhem as their revenge and sorrow turn into passion. It is a mystery that takes them to places they never expected to see, involves them both in the dark side of governing and the politics of the times, that dark place where spies and undercover agents dwell. It is a beautifully written book, and I always appreciate publishers that take the time to proofread, to make sentences sound and read right, that use proper tenses and such. It is a story that is filled with sexual tension as well as the darker and more violent emotions, with deep wounds and grieving, with regret and anger, with disappointment and a deep sense that the best opportunities in life have been lost. Yet as I think good romance fiction celebrates, there is that sense that perhaps the best that is in Clayton and Olivia has not been completely obliterated and that there truly may be another change for their relationship, as battered as it may be.
Readers will appreciate the fact that this novel is one that will not be put down easily, is entertaining and fulfilling as reading should be. It is a testimony to the writing skills of this author that words are used sparingly, that inner reflection doesn’t overbalance the dialogue between characters, that the reader does not lose the gist of the story as the characters interact.
So I highly recommend this novel to those who love a sizzling and passionate Regency romance that is tightly woven into the web of a spy story. It’s some of the best kind of reading and is the kind of book I hate to see end.
I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
The Series:
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.