Sinful in Satin
by Madeline Hunter
Sinful in Satin is the third book in Madeline Hunter's "Rarest Blooms" series and has, for its leads, two illegitimate people striving to make a place for themselves.
Celia Pennifold is the daughter of Alessandra, a famous beauty and courtesan. At the age of 16, she was brought to live with her mother and groomed to be her successor. Once Celia fully grasped her mother's intent for her life, she ran away and found refuge with the ladies of The Rarest Blooms, who run a floral and nursery business, and has basically hidden there. When her mother dies five year later, Celia is forced from her retreat and, after the debts are paid, is left with a modest home her mother rarely used in London where Celia hopes to gain some independence and make a quiet life for herself. Unbeknownst to her, she inherited a tenant along with the house.
Jonathan Albrighton was a frequent guest at Alessandra's salons, though he was never a lover, and she leased him a room in her little-occupied home during his infrequent stays in London. Jonathan is the illegitimate son of an earl and is trying, through his uncle, to gain acknowledgement of his parentage from his cousin, the current earl. Such acknowledgement would help with his acceptance in society and his career at the Home Office, as well as be a personal vindication for him. During the war, Jonathan did some spying and continues to do pesky little jobs for the government. His latest is to investigate Celia's mother, who may have passed information from her well-placed lovers to the French. Jonathan is looking for concrete evidence of the names of possible traitors. Living in Alessandra's house affords him proximity to any papers that may have been left behind - if only he wasn't so darned attracted to Celia.
I liked Celia a lot and sympathized with her in her wish to be a normal, anonymous person going about her life and business. Unfortunately, she is recognized and her mother's reputation follows her along with wild speculation about her own activities. Indeed, she is beset with a particularly ardent admirer who sought to buy Celia's services from her mother all those years ago and is now manipulating things so that Celia may have no choice but to live the life she's tried so hard to avoid.
Jonathan is a stand-up guy who has his hands full trying to protect Celia and learn the truth about her mother, while trying to figure out who wants him dead. The answers to all these questions take a circuitous route with some surprises at the end. And along the way is a moving, heated and tender romance.
"The Rarest Blooms" series continues to impress, and I'm looking forward to the next installment.
Reviewed by Cheryl Sneed, October 7, 2010
“The Rarest Blooms series continues to please.”
October 2010, 368 pages
Publisher: Jove
ISBN: 051514844X
When famed London courtesan Alessandra Northrope passes away, her daughter Celia Pennifold inherits little more than a hopelessly contaminated reputation, a house in a middle class neighborhood, and an education that prepared her to take her mother's place the way Alessandra intended. Celia hopes to make her own life on her own terms, however, and moves into the house only to discover one more legacy - an enigmatic, handsome tenant who knows her mother's plans for her future rather too well. It does not help that Jonathan Albrighton's mere presence creates delicious excitements that remind her of the thrilling pleasure that Alessandra taught her to arouse in others and enjoy herself. When new claims on her mother's estate threaten her hold on the property, she is forced to fulfill her deathbed promise to Alessandra - to give fair consideration to the future for which she was trained. Unfortunately, she discovers that the only man with whom she really wants to share the secrets of her erotic education is unsuitable for a role in any future she might claim.
Jonathan thinks he is on a simple mission to discover whether Celia's mother left accounts of her lovers that might embarrass important men. Instead he finds himself embroiled in a mystery full of dangerous betrayals and secrets, old and new, that touch on his life as well as Celia's. The chamber that he leases in Celia's home becomes convenient for protecting her, but their proximity only fuels his desire to seduce the radiant, beautiful woman she has become. With his first touch and stolen kiss, he decides that she will have no lover except him, whether she considers him suitable or not.
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