Saturday 13 October 2012

Review: Seven Years to Sin - Sylvia Day

The longer the resistance . . .

Seven years ago, on the eve of her wedding, proper Lady Jessica Sheffield witnessed a licentious scene no innocent young miss could imagine. Shocked, yet strangely titillated, she'd held her silence regarding scandalous Alistair Caulfield, and walked down the aisle as expected. But through the years of serene, unremarkable marriage, Caulfield's image remained burned into her imagination, fueling very illicit dreams . . .

. . . the sweeter the reward

Alistair ran far from the temptation of the prim debutante with the fire of passion in her eyes - all the way to the West Indies. As a successful merchant, he has little in common with the rakehell youth she knew. But when newly widowed Jessica steps aboard his ship for a transatlantic passage, seven years' worth of denied pleasures are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk - and the certainty that surrender will consume them both . . .

Visit Sylvia Day's website for more information.

Review:
Jess spent many happy years married to her husband before she became a widower but she never forgot the night that she saw Alistair locked in a passionate embrace with a married woman. She has mourned her husband for a year and is finally ready to face the world again and what better way to start than by travelling to Jamaica to visit the plantation she inherited. Alistair has a reputation as a ladies man and a rake but the one woman who he ever cared for was the one who was beyond his reach. But now Jess is travelling on one of his ships he sees it as the perfect opportunity to finish what they started all those years ago. He will do whatever it takes to bring Jess's passionate side to the surface.

As a massive fan of Sylvia Day's Bared to You series and a lover of historical romances I couldn't resist reading Seven Years to Sin. This is supposed to be the story that inspired Bared to You but I have to admit I didn't find as many similarities as I expected to. Even so I am happy to say that I absolutely loved Seven Years to Sin and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves erotic romance novels.

Jess is a great character and I loved the fact that she isn't a shy virgin or someone who had an unhappy marriage. Her arranged marriage with Benedict may not have been the most passionate but they both loved each other deeply and had a good life together before his death. Devastated as she was by his loss Jess is slowly rebuilding her life on her own, thankfully Benedict left her financially secure which gives her the freedom to do as she chooses, something she intends to make the most of by travelling. Before her marriage Jess had a very unhappy childhood at the hands of an abusive and controlling father and she won't risk ending up in a similar situation by being forced to marry again. For years memories of Alistair have haunted her and when he makes his move she finds him impossible to resist.

As the fourth son of an Earl Alistair has been allowed to live his life as he pleases, he spent his time building a successful business but also seduced more than his fair share of women. In spite of the fact that he is so successful he has always felt like a disappointment to his father and they have a very strained relationship. Alistair has been half in love with Jess for seven years and there is no way he is going to miss this chance of proving to her that they belong together. Although Alistair has a naughty streak a mile wide he is also incredibly sweet and caring when it comes to Jess, he will do anything to make her happy and he always puts her needs above his own. The couple have scorching hot chemistry that burns up the pages but they also have a deep emotional connection and I loved watching the way they both helped to heal each other.

I couldn't get enough of Seven Years to Sin and was sad to reach the end - I loved Jess and Alistair both individually and as a couple but I also loved the side story with Jess's sister Hester. As soon as I finished I wanted to turn back to the first page and start reading it all over again and I don't think it will be too long before I end up re-reading it (if you had any idea how rarely I re-read books then you'd understand what a high compliment that is!). I became a fan of Sylvia Day when I read Bared to You but this has just proved to me how much I love her writing style, she is able to create characters I am emotionally connected to and I always feel invested in their stories. I am now planning on working my way through her back list and can't wait to see what else she has in store for me! If you're looking for a raunchy and erotic historical romance then Seven Years to Sin is one I would highly recommend. Even if you don't usually pick up historical romances I'd still recommend this book - especially to fans of Bared to You.

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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