ARC Review: Two Sinful Secrets by Laurel McKee

“Laurel McKee is a truly talented author, bringing to life her characters in this awesome tale.” ~Under the Covers

A young Lady Sophia Huntington wears a mask when she goes to gamble at the handsome Dominic St. Claire’s London club, the Devil’s Fancy. Even masked the Sophia attracts Dominic, who quickly takes Sophia’s breath away. When the Lady leaves St. Claire doubled over in pain after a passionate kiss, he vows to find the mysterious woman.

After running away to marry beneath her station, so to speak, Lady Sophia Huntington, now the widowed Mrs. Sophia Westman is making her way across Europe surviving by occasionally winning at cards. After escaping a rather creepy Lord Hammond hands in Baden-Baden, a little bit richer Sophia heads to Paris where she begins to work in a new gaming club owned by a wealthy woman.

Much to Sophia’s surprise, she becomes reacquainted with Dominic St. Claire and his acting family, for the St. Claires are a famous family of stage actors in Paris to present a play. Dominic quickly realizes that Sophia is the masked woman from London years ago, and more importantly, he discovers that she is from the dreaded Huntington family. You see the St. Claires and the Huntingtons have had a feud going on for over 150 years, when a Mary St. Claire married a Huntington who apparently to the Huntingtons was mistreated and died of a broken heart.

After a whirlwind affair begins and trouble comes to Sophia’s doorstep, Dominic marries Sophia with the intention of protecting her. The unconventional couple have neither declared their love for one another nor come to terms with the relationship. Sophia’s dream of reconciling with the Huntington family is all but dashed when Dominic and Sophia come upon Sophia’s mother in the park and the meeting is ridiculously cold on the mother’s part. Such incidents begin to show what  Dominic what a gem he actually has in Sophia, but is he willing to forget over 150 years of animosity and open his heart to his wife? Will Sophia come to terms that she is no longer a Huntington, but a St. Claire, and will they fully accept her? Well you are just going to have to read Two Sinful Secrets to find out, won’t you?

I thoroughly enjoyed Two Sinful Secrets by Laurel McKee. This is first read by this author and I will most definitely read her again. I love how unconventional these families are. The way the St. Claire family members relate to one another makes me want to be adopted by them. How could Sophia resist when he family was so different, so flawed? Although Sophia has had a life fraught with let-down and sadness, she is not bitter, in fact she is quite refreshing and I really liked her. Dominic may seem like a self-absorbed rake, but those thoughts are quickly dispelled when we find the true Dominic St. Claire as he relates to Sophia and those around him.  Laurel McKee is a truly talented author, bringing to life her characters in this awesome tale.

*ARC provided by publisher

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[about-author author=”Laurel McKee”]