Giveaway and Review: "Duchess of Sin"

As part of the "Duchess of Sin" blog tour, I have my review and a giveaway of 5 copies of the book, sponsored by Hachette!

"Duchess of Sin"
by Laurel McKee

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: Dec 1, 2010

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads.com:

Blonde and beautiful Lady Anna Blacknall is in the mood for mischief. Entering Dublin's most notorious den of vice, she finds herself in the arms of a mysterious, emerald-eyed Irishman. And although he is masked, his tender kiss is hauntingly familiar.

Conlan McTeer, Duke of Adair, has come to Dublin to fight for a free Ireland. But he's suddenly reunited with the young Englishwoman who had once claimed his heart, and his passion turns from politics to pleasure. When their sizzling encounter brings danger to Anna's door, she must decide where her loyalties lie-and quickly. For someone will do whatever it takes to destroy Conlan . . . and anyone he dares to love.

My Review:

"Duchess of Sin" is just the kind of historical romance that I love. The love story is so sweet and heart-stoppingly romantic. The lead couple is caring towards each other, and the secondary characters are vivid in their own right. The plot is fast-paced while still focusing on the romance.

Anna and Conlan aren't stereotypical romance characters, they're both fully developed and have many sides to their personalities. In fact, one of the things Conlan loves so much about Anna is that he is always learning something new about her.

I love that Anna is a bit wild and reckless (but not to the point that she's stupid or puts herself in real harm). She's so different from most of the super innocent and straight-laced society ladies we generally see in historical romance.

Conlan plays the role of dark, brooding, reclusive duke to a tee. However, he's also kind, caring, and heroic to anyone who cares to look past the surface.

As an added bonus, there are two more romances woven into the story. Anna's sister, Caroline, finds herself almost falling for 'the wrong man', a story that looks like it will be continued in the next book in the series. And Anna's mother, Katherine, has her own romance with Caroline's gorgeous and sensitive art tutor. I loved all of the supporting characters just as much as the leads.

The Irish history was not the typical historical romance fare, either. I really enjoyed reading about this time period in Ireland's history.

The story does have a bit of Christmas spirit, one part of the book focuses on a house party celebrating the season. It's fun to see the holiday traditions they took part in.

Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line: I loved this story, the leads were perfectly multi-dimensional and I really cared about what happened to them. Laurel McKee has just become one of my must-read historical romance authors.

DUCHESS OF SIN

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GIVEAWAY RULES:
Hachette books has generously provided FIVE copies of this historical romance for readers of my blog!



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• Ends Monday Dec. 20
  

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