Title: Mastering a Sinner
Series: Book #3: The Sinners’ Club
Author: Kate Pearce
Format: Paperback, 288 pages
Published: December 30, 2014 by Aphrodisia
ISBN: 0758290217
Synopsis:
Seductive Surrender: Alistair Maclean enjoys his work as secretary at the Sinners Club until the women at the Club demand a secretary of their own. Suddenly Alistair finds himself at the mercy of a wanton beauty who demands Alistair submit to her in ways he’s only ever dreamed about…
Deep Submission: Diana, Lady Theale, has secrets from her past she must protect. But that doesn’t stop her from enjoying passion in the present. She needs Alistair’s help to untangle the mystery of her parentage, but she also needs his body to satisfy her darkly erotic desires…
Source: Purchase
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
My Review:
Alistair Mclean has spent the majority of his life picking up after his no-account brother, Harry. Harry’s life is a mess and he has no problem using his friends and his family to get what he wants. What Harry wants is a life without responsibility, uninhibited sexual encounters and, wealth without having to work for it. Really? Isn’t that what everyone wants?? Unfortunately, Harry has yet again made a royal mess of his life and as always, he has come to Alistair to bail him out.
Alistair Mclean is one of the newest members of the Sinners’ Club staff. He is secretary to the founding members and leaders of the Club and takes his job very seriously. Alistair is a trusted member of the staff and enjoys his job but Harry’s continual antics are once again threatening the life Alistair is building for himself. Aside from the income and security of a job, the Sinners’ also provides Alistair with an outlet for his own particular sexual proclivities, an environment without fear of judgment or punishment.
Diana, Lady Theale is new to the Sinners’ Club and as the lady’s secretary she has more than just her job on her mind. Diana is driven by one thing and one thing only, determining who her biological parents are and no matter who she has to manipulate, she will discover the truth. Though the title Lady implies Diana is a member of the upper class, her background suggests something very different. Abandoned by her parents and left to her own devices, Diana spent a great deal of her life in a brothel where she learned a great deal about herself, others and, the world in general. Though she was married (it’s how she got the title after all) Diana has never been in love and doesn’t expect to be so until the moment she meets Alistair Mclean. Alistair appeals to every illicit bone in Diana’s body and his willingness to submit to her only increases her desire to have him. Unfortunately, outside of the bedroom, Alistair is frustratingly diligent in his job and suspect of Diana and her intentions toward the members of the Sinners’ Club.
On two seemingly different paths, Diana continues in her efforts to find out the identity of her parents and Alistair continues to fight his urge to help his brother. Both Alistair and Diana are on a path to heartache and it doesn’t take long before they figure out that they don’t necessarily have trust each other in order to help each other. What surprises both is the trust that does eventually grows between the two and the feelings that naturally follow in the wake of the trust. Diana’s quest is fulfilled to both her surprise and her satisfaction and Alistair is able to, with the help of Diana and the Sinners’ to disentangle himself from his brother’s miserable life. The cost to Alistair is very high and though he knows his employers will come to his aid if asked, he is quite surprised to see Diana by his side when push comes to shove.
The Bottom Line: Though I was desperately hoping Mastering a Sinner would finally be Adam’s story I was totally satisfied with this read. Alistair was introduced in the preceding book (Tempting a Sinner) and was an instantly endearing character. Alistair has spent his life in the service of others, be it his country or his family and he is deservedly tired of fixing his brother’s problems. Alistair’s decision to cut ties with his brother is too little too late and unfortunately for Alistair, the consequences are extremely painful, quite public and, somewhat humiliating. Diana is a harder character to get behind and like but once she pulls her head out of her ass and fully appreciates what she has with Alistair, she becomes far more agreeable. Diana’s stubbornness and extreme determination damn-near cause her to lose everything including the one man who can love her and accept her for who and what she is. As always, both old and new characters alike make appearances, the plot is totally engaging and, the naughty bits are on the slightly kinky side and totally entertaining. Three books in and The Sinners’ Club series is still as hot as the first read and has, totally and completely made me its bitch 🙂
About the author and where to find her:
Kate Pearce was born into a large family of girls in England, and spent much of her childhood living very happily in a dream world. Despite being told that she really needed to ‘get with the program’, she graduated from the University College of Wales with an honors degree in history. A move to the USA finally allowed her to fulfill her dreams and sit down and write that novel. Along with being a voracious reader, Kate loves trail riding with her family, ‘western style’ in the regional parks of Northern California. Kate is a member of RWA and is published byNAL Signet Eclipse, Kensington Aphrodisia, Ellora’s Cave, Cleis Press and Virgin Black Lace/Cheek.
