A Sinful Education by Layna Pimentel

Lord Charles Avonlea has evaded marriage over the last year, but his mother is determined to find him a wife. Far from consenting to any of her choices, he sets his sights on the one woman unavailable to him, his best friend's younger sister. With no regard for the law or her impending nuptials he is determined to make Lady Emily Thompson his bride. The only trouble is, he’s stumbled upon dangerous information and hopes he can get to her before it’s too late.

Stunned and dismayed at discovering the arrangement between her mother and the Duke of Downsbury, Lady Emily Thompson searches for a way to break the marriage pact with the Duke. She longs to be with the only man who indulges her curiosity, yet finds herself in the middle of a scandal that will crush her dreams forever.

Will she find a way out of marrying the Duke, or will she find herself in the same predicament at the previous duchess? Dead.

I found this book to have somewhat enjoyable.  I must admit, I am still not finding the full attraction to books of this genre and time frame but I am giving more and more a try.  I find for myself the Lords and Duke along with their traditions and language to be a bit distracting for me, but this author did a pretty good job at balancing that out so people like me could understand and follow the story with some interest. 

Where I found the disappointing parts was the feeling of things being rushed which made it hard for me to connect to the story and characters.  There were a few times that I thought we were building up to an intense scene, the blood was flowing and poof, it wasn’t as intense as I felt the lead up made us believe. 

Charles and Emily were what I would consider a forbidden couple due to family, heritage and customs but Charles was going to have to find a wife soon or his mother and aunt was going to drive him crazy.  The banter back and forth between these three drew my attention at the beginning of the book.  While Charles had wanted Emily against his mother’s wishes, Emily had been “given” to the Duke for marriage. 

I loved how Charles was willing to protect his secretive past until it became a choice of guarding his secrets or protecting the ones he loved.  Emily had a fire about here that caused her determination to overpower any issue placed before her.  Between the love and strength of these two people, they would fight the battle against family and society rule.

This was a fast read with some suspense and a lot of love.  If you fancy this kind of story I am sure you will highly enjoy it.  I am grateful for the experience but this just really didn’t leave a lasting impression with me.