When Niall Lindsey, the Earl of Margrave, is forced to flee after killing a man in a duel, he expects his secret love, Brilliana Trevor, to go with him, or at the very least wait for him. To his shock, she does neither and sends him off with no promise for the future. Seven years and one pardon later, Niall returns to England disillusioned and cynical. And being blackmailed by the government into working with his former love to help catch a counterfeiter connected to her father doesn’t improve his mood any. But as his role as Brilliana’s fake fiancé brings his long-buried feelings to the surface once again, he wonders who is more dangerous—the counterfeiter or the woman rapidly stealing his heart.

Forced to marry another man after Niall was exiled, the now widowed Brilliana wants nothing to do with the reckless rogue who she believes abandoned her to a dreary, loveless life. So having to rely on him to save her father is the last thing she wants, much less trusts him with….But as their scheme strips away the lies and secrets of their shared past, can she let go of the old hurt and put her pride aside? Or will the pleasures of their renewed passion finally enable them both to rediscover love?

Click on title below for direct Amazon buy link:                                                    The Pleasures of Passion (The Sinful Suitors Book 4)

My Review:

When Brilliana “Bree” was only seventeen years old, she fell in love with Niall Lindsey, the heir to an earldom.  The two have been meeting secretly, as neither have met the other’s family yet.  When a distraught Niall tells Bree that he is in deep trouble and must leave the country immediately, he begs Bree to come with him.  Because Niall has only mentioned marriage in a vague way, and he won’t tell her the full details of what has happened, Bree chooses not to leave with him.  In addition, her mother is very ill, and Bree’s wastrel father certainly won’t take care of her.  Thus, Niall leaves, but begs Bree to contact his father, who will know how to reach him.  Fast forward a few months, and Niall receives correspondence from his father which includes a notice of Bree’s wedding to a Captain Trevor.

It’s now seven years later, and due to Niall’s successful spying while in exile, he has been granted a pardon and is able to return to England and claim his title of Earl of Margrave, since his father has died.  The man who was Margrave’s spymaster, Fulkham, has one final assignment for him before he frees him to live his own life.  Unfortunately, that assignment is to pose as the fiancé of Bree, who is now widowed.  Bree’s estranged father is suspected of being involved in counterfeiting, and her agreeing to partake in this assignment will garner her father a lesser sentence.  Though she has no love for her father, and certainly doesn’t want to spend time with Margrave, Bree doesn’t want to see her father hanged either, so she agrees.

Obviously there is a lot of anger and bitterness between Bree and Margrave.  Each feels they are the wronged party and that the other betrayed them.  In fact there are multiple instances of deception, false gossip, coercion, and interference from others, all contributing to the demise of their youthful love affair.  Slowly, they begin to learn the truths of what really happened, and realize that they still feel a burning desire for each other, though the love is gone.  Or, is it?

Seven years is a long time to be apart, and Bree and Margrave are different people now.  He’s grown cynical, while she realizes how dreary marriage can be.  I enjoyed watching them fall back in love, though I felt sad at the disillusioned people they had become.  So much heartache could have been avoided if they both had just trusted each other and told each other the truth seven years ago.  THE PLEASURES OF PASSION contains romance, mystery, and betrayal, while handily allowing Bree and Margrave to see their own mistakes, and how they were misinterpreted, as fate grants them the sweet gift of a second chance at love.