Scan barcode
amym84's review
4.0
I feel like I've been seeing this book everywhere. At first I just kind of passed on by without a second glance, but I'm of the theory that if something keeps popping up eventually you stop and take notice.
I've not read anything else by Sabrina Jeffries, but just based on reading The Art of Sinning I will no doubt be looking into her other books very soon.
Overall, I enjoyed the read. I don't think there was anything ground-breaking as far as historical romances go, but that's ok with me. I liked really just being able to curl up with my Kindle and read a book where I liked the characters enough that I wanted to see things work out for them in the end, and I was invested enough to care about how events unfolded.
Yvette was a great heroine. I liked that she was a good mix of being very self-aware and proud of who she is, yet she still harbors vulnerabilities about her appearance. She desperately wants love but she's not willing to settle for anything less than true love. Even though in her past she wasn't always able to see things clearly, she always had the best intentions at heart.
I don't think I've read a historical before with an artist as our hero. I rather liked Jeremy Keane. I liked that he's not quite what you see on the outside. I suppose in that way he's like one of his paintings. He can be interpreted in any varying ways based on who's looking. I liked that Yvette almost immediately has his measure even if she doesn't know everything in his past.
The chemistry between Jeremy and Yvette was pretty hot. Of the historical romances I've read I typically wouldn't describe the sex as hot, I find in my opinion they usually fall in the middle ground between chaste and hot, but Sabrina Jeffries definitely turns things up a notch almost to smoldering.
Probably one of the things I liked that most wasn't the romantic relationship (but of course I did enjoy that) but the relationship that we see between siblings, specifically Yvette and her older brother. Blakeborough comes across as a slightly stodgy older brother only concerned with marrying his younger sister off, but he too has predisposed perceptions placed on him somewhat mirroring those placed on Jeremy. I loved seeing brother and sister interact and even though Yvette was a bit blind to her brother's finer qualities, they shined through perfectly well for this reader. I can't wait to see him find his match in a future book within the series.
I found a lot to like about The Art of Sinning. I think if you're a fan of historical romances it will be right up your alley. If you're on the fence, I say go ahead and give it a try you won't be disappointed.
I've not read anything else by Sabrina Jeffries, but just based on reading The Art of Sinning I will no doubt be looking into her other books very soon.
Overall, I enjoyed the read. I don't think there was anything ground-breaking as far as historical romances go, but that's ok with me. I liked really just being able to curl up with my Kindle and read a book where I liked the characters enough that I wanted to see things work out for them in the end, and I was invested enough to care about how events unfolded.
Yvette was a great heroine. I liked that she was a good mix of being very self-aware and proud of who she is, yet she still harbors vulnerabilities about her appearance. She desperately wants love but she's not willing to settle for anything less than true love. Even though in her past she wasn't always able to see things clearly, she always had the best intentions at heart.
I don't think I've read a historical before with an artist as our hero. I rather liked Jeremy Keane. I liked that he's not quite what you see on the outside. I suppose in that way he's like one of his paintings. He can be interpreted in any varying ways based on who's looking. I liked that Yvette almost immediately has his measure even if she doesn't know everything in his past.
The chemistry between Jeremy and Yvette was pretty hot. Of the historical romances I've read I typically wouldn't describe the sex as hot, I find in my opinion they usually fall in the middle ground between chaste and hot, but Sabrina Jeffries definitely turns things up a notch almost to smoldering.
Probably one of the things I liked that most wasn't the romantic relationship (but of course I did enjoy that) but the relationship that we see between siblings, specifically Yvette and her older brother. Blakeborough comes across as a slightly stodgy older brother only concerned with marrying his younger sister off, but he too has predisposed perceptions placed on him somewhat mirroring those placed on Jeremy. I loved seeing brother and sister interact and even though Yvette was a bit blind to her brother's finer qualities, they shined through perfectly well for this reader. I can't wait to see him find his match in a future book within the series.
I found a lot to like about The Art of Sinning. I think if you're a fan of historical romances it will be right up your alley. If you're on the fence, I say go ahead and give it a try you won't be disappointed.
skrobisaurus's review
3.0
My first foray into the world of romance novels-- I was pleasantly surprised by the plot in this one. It took me awhile to plod through it (mostly because it wasn't one of my priority reads) but I appreciated the level of depth and having a heroine with personality. Though I'm not sure if I'll seek out similar stories in the future, I enjoyed this one more than I expected.
kiwicoral's review
3.0
The first half was a solid 3 stars, the second a solid 4, so 3.5 but I can't round up. The first half is bogged down by all the mysterious secrets that take too long to be revealed. I would have cared more about the characters if they had come out sooner.
The first half also seemed bogged down by characters and plot points from a previous series that I haven't read. When I start a new series, I don't want to feel like I'm trying to catch up on the details of another one.
The couple was well matched and the way of bringing them together was a little bit different. Edwin was a good secondary character. I'm glad his book is next.
The first half also seemed bogged down by characters and plot points from a previous series that I haven't read. When I start a new series, I don't want to feel like I'm trying to catch up on the details of another one.
The couple was well matched and the way of bringing them together was a little bit different. Edwin was a good secondary character. I'm glad his book is next.
thepassionatereader's review
3.0
Purple purple prose combined with a hero who behaved badly but constantly justified his actions with self-awareness made this book not for me.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
5.0
*I received a free ARC of The Art of Sinning from Gallery via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*
The Art of Sinning is a delicious tale of forbidden love and attraction, made very tense because of the time it is set in, and I loved every look, pun and touch!
The Art of Sinning is a delicious tale of forbidden love and attraction, made very tense because of the time it is set in, and I loved every look, pun and touch!
soph75's review
4.0
Loved it. I also liked how she included a tall heroine. Although the resolution occurred really quickly, but makes sense.
bracketedromance's review
2.0
The Art of Sinning is a decent romance that follows a well worn path but doesn't contain much originality or chemistry.
As an avid romance reader, I'm well aware of the tried and true formulas and tropes and I enjoy them, but the characters have to be interesting or funny or exciting, the chemistry and banter amusing and entertaining. Unfortunately, there wasn't much about this book that I hadn't read before, and the characters were so cliche as to offer almost nothing new.
Jeremy is the hero and is haunted by his past. In his first sexual encounter with a widow they conceived a child and he did the honorable thing and married her, agreeing to give up his dreams of becoming an artist. His wife and child died during a difficult birth and he blamed his father, ran from home, and has been roaming and avoiding emotional attachments ever since. Yvette is the heroine, a tall dark haired woman with an unusual hobby of writing slang dictionaries and due to a brush with a blackmailing fortune hunter in her past, is very wary of rogues. Her height and demeanor do not invite many suitors and she's deeply insecure about it while being prideful enough to bristle should anyone point this out to her.
My biggest problem with the book is that I just had no idea why Jeremy or Yvette liked each other beyond wanting to sleep together. There is so little about there conversation that develops emotional intimacy, friendship, or warmth. After a kiss, Jeremy completely shuts down emotionally and they spend most of their time together with him deflecting her inquiries about him and she seems not to confide in him much either. Which made it difficult to believe that after two weeks they were in love. How could they be? It was also rather frustrating that the author kept adding in commentary about how they were so good at banter and parrying each other, but there was very little evidence in the dialogue.
It was also annoying that Yvette was so insecure. The first half of the book every conversation they had revolved around her wanting to be pretty and be "more than just a model" and have Jeremy constantly prove to her that he wanted to have sex with her and then her being disappointed that he didn't desire her enough to marry her. Which, of course not, they met two days ago! Her neediness and insecurity were frustrating when she was also painted as being an incredibly strong, self-assured person who managed the men around her. I know those things can go side by side, but I wanted her to have a little more self respect, or I wanted a higher percentage of their conversations not to involve her saying "no man wants a woman like me" or fishing for compliments. It got very tedious.
It was also a little strange that the obstacle at the end was Jeremy realizing that he was still hung up on the death of his wife and child....duh. The first scene of the book is him being nearly incapable of coping at a wedding because it reminded him of these bad memories. He's admitted throughout the book he's been running from his past and it's the reason he didn't want to marry and didn't think he was capable of loving anyone. How can that possibly be a huge reveal for himself? It was well done in terms of how it was shown to him, but since his internal monologue had been telling us this revelation the ENTIRE book, and he actually said it out loud to Yvette several times, I was just put off by the fact that it was treated like some sort of surprise. I wish it had been written as not a surprise to him, but exclusively as Yvette realizing the depth of his issue and deciding she needed more from him. This is half of how it was written, but I wish this had been the main focus. The issue was then resolved in less than 24 hours, which begs the question, how? He spent 12 years incapable of getting past it and just like that someone says "you're not over it" and he just figures his shit out emotionally in 12 hours??? I mean I think the idea was that his love for Yvette and his fear of losing her fixed everything, but it wasn't convincing since I didn't really understand what it is they loved about each other. And all he did was paint over something on a painting and that was it. Hello? What revelation did he have that got him past his guilt? What got him past his fear? Touching up a painting? Really?
I also didn't love that the hero and Yvette's brother were putting together a club to investigate then male suitors chasing their sisters. I think it was supposed to be protective and ~sweet~ but in the book it felt very condescending.
All in all, the book is fine, but not compelling. There was nothing egregiously off putting about the characters or plot, there just wasn't much to it either.
As an avid romance reader, I'm well aware of the tried and true formulas and tropes and I enjoy them, but the characters have to be interesting or funny or exciting, the chemistry and banter amusing and entertaining. Unfortunately, there wasn't much about this book that I hadn't read before, and the characters were so cliche as to offer almost nothing new.
Jeremy is the hero and is haunted by his past. In his first sexual encounter with a widow they conceived a child and he did the honorable thing and married her, agreeing to give up his dreams of becoming an artist. His wife and child died during a difficult birth and he blamed his father, ran from home, and has been roaming and avoiding emotional attachments ever since. Yvette is the heroine, a tall dark haired woman with an unusual hobby of writing slang dictionaries and due to a brush with a blackmailing fortune hunter in her past, is very wary of rogues. Her height and demeanor do not invite many suitors and she's deeply insecure about it while being prideful enough to bristle should anyone point this out to her.
My biggest problem with the book is that I just had no idea why Jeremy or Yvette liked each other beyond wanting to sleep together. There is so little about there conversation that develops emotional intimacy, friendship, or warmth. After a kiss, Jeremy completely shuts down emotionally and they spend most of their time together with him deflecting her inquiries about him and she seems not to confide in him much either. Which made it difficult to believe that after two weeks they were in love. How could they be? It was also rather frustrating that the author kept adding in commentary about how they were so good at banter and parrying each other, but there was very little evidence in the dialogue.
It was also annoying that Yvette was so insecure. The first half of the book every conversation they had revolved around her wanting to be pretty and be "more than just a model" and have Jeremy constantly prove to her that he wanted to have sex with her and then her being disappointed that he didn't desire her enough to marry her. Which, of course not, they met two days ago! Her neediness and insecurity were frustrating when she was also painted as being an incredibly strong, self-assured person who managed the men around her. I know those things can go side by side, but I wanted her to have a little more self respect, or I wanted a higher percentage of their conversations not to involve her saying "no man wants a woman like me" or fishing for compliments. It got very tedious.
It was also a little strange that the obstacle at the end was Jeremy realizing that he was still hung up on the death of his wife and child....duh. The first scene of the book is him being nearly incapable of coping at a wedding because it reminded him of these bad memories. He's admitted throughout the book he's been running from his past and it's the reason he didn't want to marry and didn't think he was capable of loving anyone. How can that possibly be a huge reveal for himself? It was well done in terms of how it was shown to him, but since his internal monologue had been telling us this revelation the ENTIRE book, and he actually said it out loud to Yvette several times, I was just put off by the fact that it was treated like some sort of surprise. I wish it had been written as not a surprise to him, but exclusively as Yvette realizing the depth of his issue and deciding she needed more from him. This is half of how it was written, but I wish this had been the main focus. The issue was then resolved in less than 24 hours, which begs the question, how? He spent 12 years incapable of getting past it and just like that someone says "you're not over it" and he just figures his shit out emotionally in 12 hours??? I mean I think the idea was that his love for Yvette and his fear of losing her fixed everything, but it wasn't convincing since I didn't really understand what it is they loved about each other. And all he did was paint over something on a painting and that was it. Hello? What revelation did he have that got him past his guilt? What got him past his fear? Touching up a painting? Really?
I also didn't love that the hero and Yvette's brother were putting together a club to investigate then male suitors chasing their sisters. I think it was supposed to be protective and ~sweet~ but in the book it felt very condescending.
All in all, the book is fine, but not compelling. There was nothing egregiously off putting about the characters or plot, there just wasn't much to it either.