TITLE: One Little Sin
AUTHOR: Liz Carlyle
STARTED: December 24, 2010
FINISHED: December 25, 2010
PAGES: 355
GENRE: Romance
FIRST SENTENCE: It was a sweltering afternoon in September when Sir Alasdair MacLachlan very nearly got what his Granny MacGregor had been promising him for at least the last three decades: his comeuppance.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] With this intriguing sentence;"It was a sweltering afternoon in September when Sir Alasdair MacLachlan very nearly got what his Granny MacGregor had been promising him for at least the last three decades: his comeuppance"; veteran Carlyle (The Devil to Pay) opens a trilogy of Regency historicals about three men;Alasdair, his brother and a friend;who flee an escapade gone wrong only to encounter a gypsy with dire predictions about their fates. It doesn't take long for Alasdair to discover that a particular sin of his has indeed come home to roost. The unsuspected toddler offspring of a forgotten dalliance arrives at his doorstep accompanied by her penniless but strong-willed sister, Esmée Hamilton. Before he knows it, Alasdair's world is turned upside down as the confirmed rake discovers that he does have a heart after all, even though he can't figure out what to do with it. THOUGHTS: This series has been sitting on my bookcase for ages. I decided that Christmas was the perfect time to start a romance trilogy. Carlyle, as usual, writes enjoyable romance novels that are unique enough to be interesting but are still your typical Regency romances.
In this book, I enjoyed the dynamic between Alasdair and Esmee - there was a believable give and take even when they were not speaking to each other. I'm not the greatest fan of "Surprise, you have a baby!" plotlines, but One Little Sin managed to not be annoying. Yes, the kid was a plot contrivance to get the two together, but Carlyle handled it well. Because the kid is does not belong to the heroine (that's not a spoiler), the storyline worked a whole lot better.
Carlyle included a ton of characters in the story but they felt whole realized. There was about a half-dozen secondary characters that add side stories to increase the emotional intensity of the book. I wish I could have read more about them as the impact these characters had on plot was greater than normal. A nagging part of my wonders if Carlyle wanted to write more about these characters but her editor said no.
My main issue with this book was that it felt long - usually the scenes where our hero and heroine were not talking and prancing about doing other things. There were several stretches that felt pointless, almost as if they were written to fulfill a page count. Draggy sections make me antsy. I would have much rather enjoyed a shorter, more intense book.
Finally, I almost have to dock this book for reminding me of my neighbor's toddler. Esmee's sister is a brat who screams... much like the kid I can hear through my walls. I did not appreciate the reminder as I was visiting my parent's place for the holidays.
RATING: 6/10 [Good]
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