Reviewer: Tracy
When the Scoundrel Sins by Anna Harrington
Series: Capturing the Carlisles #2
Also in this series: If the Duke Demands
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: August 29th 2017
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 352
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Series Rating:

A MOST INDECENT PROPOSAL

Annabelle Green needs a husband-and quickly. To inherit the only home she's ever known, she must be married by her twenty-fifth birthday. But finding a suitor has been next to impossible after a reckless rogue named Quinton Carlisle seduced her into a scandalous midnight tryst. Her reputation in ruins, Belle now needs a rather large favor. And she knows just who to turn to . . .

Quinn can hardly believe that the shy bookish girl he teased as a child has grown into such a brazen beauty. The very idea of marrying Belle to right the wrongs of his past is downright shocking . . . and deliciously tempting. Too bad marriage, convenient or otherwise, is the last thing Quinn wants. He'll help Belle find a husband and be on his way. But if he can't control his attraction to the bride-to-be, this marriage could go up in flames-of wicked desire.

Six years ago Annabelle Green and Quinn Carlisle were caught in the garden at a party.  The people who had been making fun of Annabelle because she wasn’t of the peerage had even more reason to mock her.  She refused to let her childhood friend, Quinn, marry her and retreated to the country.

Now she’s almost 25 years old and the inheritance that her guardian left her is about to fall through her fingertips.  There is a stipulation that she much be married in order to inherit.  Annabelle’s had an offer from the neighbor but he’s older than her and despite that not anyone she’d want to marry.  Her guardian’s wife tries to help her by asking Quinn and his brother to come vet suitor’s as they plan to let the information out about Annabelle’s dowry.

Quinn is shocked at how womanly Annabelle is now.  She’s changed considerably and he can’t stop himself from wanting her.  He is leaving for America to buy land there because he knows that as a third son his actions will always fall under her Duke brother.  He doesn’t want people to think he got anything without hard work.  He does end up offering from Annabelle but she refuses as she knows that’s not what he wants. Falling in love with each other isn’t in the plans but it happens – too bad Quinn’s leaving will make them both miserable.

This was a cute story.  It was different as the woman has to marry in order to inherit but she’s the one who wants to work the land.  Yes, technically the property will be her husbands but truly it would be hers to run and finding a husband to agree to that is damned near impossible.  I loved that she wouldn’t settle for just anyone and tried to find a way out of the will’s stipulations.

Quinn was a decent person for the most part.  It annoyed me that he wouldn’t take responsibility for what had happened in the garden six years earlier.  It was just as much his fault as Annabelle’s and he should have insisted that they marry.  Instead he’d been cutting a swathe through London’s woman.  Yuck.  I think he had a good heart in there but it took us too many pages to find it.  Annabelle was stubborn as all get out and frankly annoyed me at times.  I wasn’t pleased with all of her actions and got frustrated with her a time or two, I must admit.

Overall a cute book but one I found frustrating at times. Unfortunately I didn’t like it as well as book one in the series.

Rating: 3.5 out of

Reviewer: Tracy
If the Duke Demands by Anna Harrington
Series: Capturing the Carlisles #1
Also in this series: When the Scoundrel Sins
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: February 28th 2017
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Series Rating:

A LESSON IN SEDUCTION . . .

Miranda Hodgkins has only ever wanted one thing: to marry Robert Carlisle. And she simply can't wait a moment longer. During the Carlisle family masquerade ball, Miranda boldly sneaks into his bedchamber with seduction on her mind. Soon she's swept into rock-hard arms for the most breathtaking kiss of her life. But when the masks come off, she's horrified to find herself face-to-face with Sebastian, the Duke of Trent-Robert's formidable older brother.

Shocked to find Miranda in his bed, Sebastian quickly offers her a deal to avoid scandal: He'll help her win his brother's heart if she'll find him the perfect wife. But what begins as a simple negotiation soon spirals out of control. For the longer this reformed rake tries to make a match for Miranda, the more he wants to keep her all to himself.

Miranda believes herself in love with Robert Carlisle.  He kissed her when she was 14 years old and she’s been completely infatuated with him ever since.  The night of a masquerade ball at the Carlisle home she asks a footman to tell her which room belongs to the man dressed as a panther.  She heads to his room when the ball is over and when he comes in it’s all she dreamed it would be – until she finds out that the masked man isn’t Robert but his older brother, Sebastian. She’s mortified and can’t figure out how she could have made a mistake until she realizes that by a twist of fate Sebastian and Robert had decided to switch costumes.

The Carlisle family decides to sponsor Miranda for a season.  When Sebastian’s father died 2 years prior she had been such a great help and had continued to that day.  Despite Sebastian’s misgivings he agrees but when he tells Miranda this info she comes up with a plan (not Sebastian as it says in the blurb).  She can help Sebastian find a wife (as she’s privy to info in the retiring rooms) and he can help put her close to Robert so that she can finally get him to notice her as a woman, and not just a pesky neighbor girl.

The plan woks to a point but unfortunately Robert doesn’t notice her at all and she finally realizes that he probably never will.  Sebastian has a list of women that are proper but try as he might he can’t quite get excited about any of them.  He finds himself thinking about Miranda much too often and when he finally lets himself act on his desires he finds himself a happy, happy man.  Unfortunately no matter how he thinks and feels about Miranda he can never marry her as he promised his father before he died that he’d find a proper wife and a farm girl doesn’t qualify.

This was my first time reading one of Anna Harrington’s books and I’m glad I took the chance.  I found If the Duke Demands to be fun, touching, emotional and sexy.

Miranda’s character was written so that we were led to believe that she was a bit of a clutz.  A person who gets herself into trouble – mostly unwittingly – but trouble nonetheless.  Despite being told these things I didn’t actually find her to be either trouble or a clutz.  She was a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it.  She’d had a crush on Robert and when she realized that he might offer for another woman took it upon herself to prove to him that she was all woman.  It really wasn’t her fault that Sebastian and Robert changed costumes and she pointed out the wrong man.  Miranda proved to have a strength of character that I admired.  She spoke her mind and had fun with life which was awesome and obviously attracted Sebastian.

Sebastian was a good man who was stuck in what he thought was a horrible quandary.  He fell in love with Miranda, body and soul, but no matter how much he wanted her he couldn’t let his father down and marry someone that wasn’t a member of the ton.  I thought he was a bit of a bastard at times – mostly when he was acting the part of the stuffy Duke – but he was always honest with Miranda – it was she who seemed to read things into his comments and actions and I couldn’t fault Sebastian for that.  I was happy that someone finally sat down and made him see that his thinking was a bit skewed so that the H/h got their HEA.

I very much enjoyed Harrington’s writing.  She pulled me and had me turning page after page wanting to know what was going to happen next.  I didn’t particularly care for the other Carlisle brothers, Robert and Quinton but as this book was so good I’ll definitely pick their books up when they are released.

Rating: 4 out of 5