When a bluestocking spinster sets her mind to something…Lady Patience Lane, daughter of the Earl of Desmond and legendary boxer Ivory Bess, grew up learning to fight, not how to mind her manners. She always expected she’d become a trainer like her mother, until injuries from the ring led to her mother’s untimely death. Now, she’s determined to save other families from the same heartache, by … same heartache, by teaching others about the dangers of boxing. Nothing could bring her back to the world she left–until she meets a mysterious stranger who sets her pulse racing.
And a dark, dangerous lord interferes…
Sinclair Chambers, the Earl of St. Seville and known as “Sin” to his cohorts, inherited an insolvent estate. He has to make money, and fast, or his tenants will starve. The prize purses from the bareknuckle mills will go a long way to solving his problems, if he can win them. To be a success in the ring, he needs the best trainer, and Patience Lane is the best there is–all he has to do is convince her that he’ll only fight once.
They just might find their happily ever after in each other’s arms.
The more time Sin and Patience spend together, the closer they become. Soon, Sin’s thoughts are less about winning in the ring, and more about winning Patience’s heart. But can a relationship born out of wicked deception stand the test of time?
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If you haven’t read Christina McKnight…you’re missing out! This Earl of St. Seville is the best!! Totally swoonworthy hero!!
When it comes to love the adjectives are numerous and the emotions are boundless, but there is only ever one conclusion. Love is facing the inevitable, to gain the impossible. Earl of St.. Seville examines love in all it’s glory. From the tragedy that inspires a daughter’s crusade to the man who has her questioning it all. Patience is the daughter of an exceptional woman. Her mother broke down barriers in a male dominated sport, but in the long run the price was too high. Now the daughter she left behind, will risk everything to protect a man she has only just met. Even at the cost of her heart. Sin and Patience are magnificently captivating. From tragedy rises inspiration. Ms. McKnight continues to captivate readers with her empathetic stories of faith, courage and love.
Sinclair Chambers, the Earl of St. Seville has left his bucolic life on his island home to try an earn the money he and his people need. It wasn’t until his father’s death that he realized how bad the finances were. He can only think of one way to earn the necessary cash.
Lady Patience Lane has a reputation for being an interfering bluestocking. She has been putting a lot of pressure on everyone she can, in an attempt to stop the bare knuckle fighting that is so popular. Patience and her family know just how damaging it can be.
This is a very different historical romance, covering an unusual subject. Also the behaviour of our characters is almost completely opposite to what we expect. Lots of fun. I loved it.
4.5 stars!
Sinclair Chambers, Earl of St. Seville aka Sin is “rescued” by James Lane, Earl of Desmond when James sees Sin being attacked in an alley. He brings Sin back to his carriage and learns that he is the son of an old friend. He insists on bringing him home and having his injuries tended. Sin just wants to return to his rented rooms and await his meeting with Coventry at the Wicked Earls’ Club.
He goes with the earl and while waiting for the doctor, a beautiful young woman comes in the room, when she asks who he is and his purpose in her home, he flees. But it will not be the last time he sees the lovely Lady Patience Lane.
Patience’s mother was the famed pugilist Ivory Bess before marrying the earl, she died too young because of complications related to her fighting. Patience has made it her life’s work to inform and warn others of the dangers of fighting, to the point where she is almost a social outcast. She meets Sin again when he defends her at a ball against Lord Holstrom. Holstrom is the man Sin is in London to meet. He hopes Holstrom will set up prize fights for him so he can earn money to save his family and the people of his estate from destitution.
Patience waits for Sin outside his rooms, she wants to thank him for defending her. He is gracious and kind to her and when they part ways, she follows him. She is horrified to see him fighting and knows he will lose. Despite her quest, she knows a lot about fighting from time spent with her mother and at one time she even considered fighting herself. But watching her mother die turned her away from the sport. After the fight, Patience goes to Sin and takes him back to his rooms. She learns why he is fighting and makes a deal with him, she will train him, but in return he must abide by her rules and give up fighting. He agrees, but still intends to follow through with his plan.
Patience teaches Sin the art of fighting, but when she realizes he has not been honest, she is heartbroken. Can Sin win back the woman he now knows means the world to him and still save his people? Can Patience forgive him and let go of her past pain? Will her brothers ever get invited to the Wicked Earls Club?
I have read this author before and not really cared for her writing, in fact, I swore never to read her work again, so when I realized that I would be reading her WEC for our blog, I was not really thrilled, but recently I read an anthology and I really liked her contribution, so I decided to read this book with an open mind and I am grateful that I did, because Sinclair Chambers is probably one of the best heroes I have ever read, I really loved him. This book has a few typos, some misused words, a title error, no steam and a fair dash of angst, but I loved it, Patience and Sinclair are characters that will not be easy to move on from, they are perfectly imperfect and I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It is the eleventh book in the Wicked Earls’ Club series, but it can easily be read as a stand alone (as they all can).
Lady Patience Lane, daughter of the Earl of Desmond and legendary boxer Ivory Bess, grew up learning to fight, not how to mind her manners. Following her mother’s untimely death she’s determined to save other families from the same heartache, by teaching others about the dangers of boxing. Sinclair Chambers, the Earl of St. Seville and known as “Sin” to his cohorts, inherited an insolvent estate. He has to make money, and fast, or his tenants & family will starve. The prize purses from the bare knuckle fighting will go a long way to solving his problems, if he can win them.
Another very good read in the Wicked Earls series & a full length novel. The characters are very well portrayed, Patience is shunned & scorned by most of the ton because of her feelings about fighting & the injuries it can cause but Sin sees her as a beautiful, caring woman. Sin is desperate to help all the people he holds dear. The pair meet & after his first fight Patience insists on being his trainer, the pair are attracted to each other but it takes nearly losing each other for them to realise how they feel. I love the authors books & this was up to her usual standard & a great addition to the series.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Patience shows the Earl of St. Seville how to box. There were conditions. One being the first fight after her teaching him how is the last. will he stick to his oath?
Publisher’s Description:
When a bluestocking spinster sets her mind to something…
Lady Patience Lane, daughter of the Earl of Desmond and legendary boxer Ivory Bess, grew up learning to fight, not how to mind her manners. She always expected she’d become a trainer like her mother, until injuries from the ring led to her mother’s untimely death. Now, she’s determined to save other families from the same heartache, by teaching others about the dangers of boxing. Nothing could bring her back to the world she left—until she meets a mysterious stranger who sets her pulse racing.
And a dark, dangerous lord interferes…
Sinclair Chambers, the Earl of St. Seville and known as “Sin” to his cohorts, inherited an insolvent estate. He has to make money, and fast, or his tenants will starve. The prize purses from the bareknuckle mills will go a long way to solving his problems, if he can win them. To be a success in the ring, he needs the best trainer, and Patience Lane is the best there is—all he has to do is convince her that he’ll only fight once.
They just might find their happily ever after in each other’s arms.
The more time Sin and Patience spend together, the closer they become. Soon, Sin’s thoughts are less about winning in the ring, and more about winning Patience’s heart. But can a relationship born out of wicked deception stand the test of time?
My Thoughts:
This is the third book I have read in this multi-author series. There are a total of 12 with only three more that have not yet released.
So far this one is the cleanest/sweetest one I have read.
Lady Patience name is deceiving. She is by no means patient with members of the ton who ignore her edicts and wishes to keep others from suffering like her mother did.
Sinclair Chambers, Earl of St. Seville came to London with one thought in mind… To earn enough money boxing to save his estate and his people.
Patience’s father brings him home after finding him being beaten and calls for a doctor to tend his injuries.
Hearing noises that wake her Patience thinks her brothers have returned home but instead finds a half dressed man she doesn’t know occupying her brother’s bedchamber. rather than identify himself he climbs from the second story window to disappear into the night.
After this inauspicious beginning our couple become enamored with one another however they take no steps toward intimacy. Instead Patience takes over the training of Sin so he is more proficient at boxing.
Instead of a hot romp in the sheets this book includes a story of lies by omission and feelings of betrayal.
Will our couple get past the untruths or will Sinclair’s lies lead to the end between the couple?
I gave this novella 4.5 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 1 of 5 flames. No intimacy ever develops between our couple.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read and review. I also received a link to an ARC at Bookfunnel from the author.
This in no way affected my opinion of this novella which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
This is a great read. Good plot and wonderful characters!
I wasn’t sure I would like this book as the story revolved around bare-knuckle fighting and the main character who tried to earn enough money doing that in order to save his family estate and the people who depended on him. I was pleasantly surprised. The main characters, Sinclair Chambers, Earl of St. Seville, or better known as Sin, and Lady Patience Lane, daughter of an Earl, a bluestocking who crusades against pugilism and the longterm toll it takes on its participants, seem to have nothing in common. They end up crossing paths with one another as he seeks to engage in boxing matches and she tries to sway him to give up his quest to earn income through that method.
This ended up becoming a really nice romantic read about Sin and Patience which I wasn’t expecting. My opinion was sealed with “He wanted to ask her the secret to letting it all go, to accepting the things you had no power over and moving forward.” And they both managed to do that.
I received this book as an ARC in exchange for a honest review. My honest review is that every historical romance reader should read this book. I have read many in the Wicked Earls Club series, and this is my favourite. I also enjoyed the fact that this is a clean story which is how I prefer my historical romances. I felt that the lack of sex did nothing to take away from the beautiful love story.
Patience is a young woman struggling with the pain and loss of her mother from injuries caused by her boxing past and Sin, Earl of St Seville is a young earl determined to do what he has to, to save his family and people from starvation. Ms McKNight has developed the characters so smoothly that Patience doing something she totally disagrees with just seems so right and Sin, struggling with hurting someone who shows so much compassion and care for him and the possibility of leaving his family destitute is a real issue for him. The secondary characters where also very appealing. A father struggling also with the loss of his wife but doing much to help his lost daughter and two brothers who seem to just be enjoying their time in the ton but really are there for their sister when they are needed.
Sinclair “Sin” Chambers is in London for one reason and one reason only, he needs to get enough funds to repair and take care of his estate and the people who depend on that estate. His father was not very good with investments and has left the estate in ruin. Sin is the only one who knows this. To protect his mother, sister and tenants he travels to London to compete in a few bare knuckle fights. He is a huge man, he has one all the fights he has competed in on the island of Brownsea so it so be easy! In, out and on his way! Well comes across some trouble one being Lady Patience Lane, her mother was a fierce fighter known as Ivory Bess. She died of complications associated with boxing, and Patience has been on a crusade to educate and stop bare knuckle fights for the last 5 years. She makes Sin’s acquaintance and witnesses his first fight. He loss was devastating to both of them. Something kicks in for Patience and she agrees to help him before his next fight on the condition he will never fight again. Sin is shocked to learn he is not that knowledgeable and that Patience is far superior in the knowledge of pugilism than he is. He agrees to her conditions (knowing he is going to continue fighting until he earns enough money) and she starts training him. Well of course during this time they both fall for each and Sin does indeed win his next match. Patience overhears Sin schedule his next match and she is devastated. She is also caught at the fight from her father and he immediately takes her home. Sin realizing he loves Patience must figure out how to tell her without her thinking he is after her money. Well in come Patience’s two comical brothers Merit and Valor. The have a plan of their own (membership into the Wicked Earls Club) and agree to get Sin into their home and IF she marries him Sin must get them into the club. Will the three of them be successful??
I did not know much about Pugilism and learn a bit about the back alley fights… the characters were colorful and you could really relate to Sins devotion to his family and people. Great story and addition to the Wicked Earl’s Club. I have not been disappointed with any of the Wicked Earl’s Club stories yet!
Awesome! Earl Of St. Seville by Cristina McKnight is the 11th Book in the Wicked Earls Club, all written by different authors. Earl Of St,. Seville has me inthralled from the first page to the last. Kristina’s characters come alive and her descriptions are amazing. You really can get lost in this story. The story has boxing, kindness, death, a family’s devotion, poverty, greed, deceit, protesting, pride, loneliness, struggles, lies, trust, caring, a cause, and of course love. I highly recommend this book as the rest of the Wicked Earls Club series. You wont be disappointed. Travel back in time to 1822 London England With Sinclair (Sin) Chambers Earl of St. Seville and Lady Patience Lane.
***This book was gifted to me and I am voluntarily reviewing.
Christina McKnight is able to engage the reader from the beginning of this story and not let go until the last page. She captures the essence of the time period and introduces a new subject not often expanded upon in historical romances. This is a story involving boxing and the uglier side of what can happen to the fighters, which we all know today, but not talked about as much then. Lady Patience Lane, daughter of legendary female boxer and trainer Ivory Bess, is on a mission. Her mother had sustained substantial injuries from the sport and ultimately passed away due to severe injuries. Patience is trying to educate others on the dangers of boxing so this does not happen to them. But as fate would have it, in steps Sinclair Chambers, Earl of St. Seville who has come to London to try to earn money by boxing. He is desperate to generate funds fast for his estates and looks for the best trainer to help him. Of course that is Patience, but he has to convince her first to work with him. Can Patience help him yet follow her missive to keep Sin safe while training? As they spend time together, they are drawn more and more toward each other. But as secrets are revealed and trust is in question, the price might be too high to keep the two together.
I truly enjoyed this story and encourage anyone to read. It will keep you captivated with the courage, trust and love of these two characters.
I really enjoyed reading about Sin and Patience. Her greater desire to protect others from suffering what her mother did versus her own reputation speaks much about her personality! Sin reminded me of a cuddly bear of a man. Gentle and patient while falling in love with Patience and getting to know her. You could tell the love he felt for his own family and people by the actions he forced himself to take to protect and care for them all. Meeting Patience’s brothers Valor and Merit added to the fun and games! Loved the story and ending! Thank you for the advance copy so I could share my thoughts on the book!
Earl Of St. Seville is an awesome historical romance by Christina McKnight. This is a fairly quick read, perfect for those with limited reading time. Ms. McKnight has delivered a well-written book and furnished it with amazing, lovable characters. Patience is determined to inform fighters and sponsors of fights the dangers of pugilist pursuits. Sinclair’s father let the coffers run empty making bad investments. Sin goes to London to try and win enough money fighting to rescue his family and workers on Brownsea. Patience and Sin’s story is packed with drama, action, humor and spice. I enjoyed Earl Of St. Seville from cover to cover and look forward to reading more from Christina McKnight in the future. Earl Of St. Seville is part of The Wicked Earls’ Club but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
In this unusual Regency romance, Lady Patience is on a one-woman mission to warn pugilists about the risks they take in participating in the sport. Apart from the antagonism she arouses in the organisers of the fights, she is an embarrassment to her family and friends as well. It is generally thought that she should put her time and energies into finding a husband instead of confronting the fighters. When he Earl of St Seville escapes from her home after her father brought him home as he had been accosted in the streets, Patience sets out to find him and when she realises that he is hell-bent on participating in fights to solve his family monetary problems, Patience offers to help train him. The story revolves around training a pugilist and preparing him for a fight, which might just not be fair. The story is clean and well written with some suspense, however I was surprised at the subject matter of this book and the manner in which Patience set out her training program. Despite the ridicule that Patience has earned at the expense of trying to get her message across, Sin is protective of her and sees in her a woman who cares. I enjoyed the book and the romance that bloomed between Sin and Patience despite it being so different. I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.
I almost didn’t request/purchase this book because of the subject matter – bare-knuckle boxing – however, I decided to go ahead with it because I wanted to read all of the books in the series. Also, I had not read anything else by the author and wanted to give her writing a try. What a wonderful surprise! No, I still don’t like the subject matter and it still wouldn’t be my normal choice of books to read, but this is a marvelously well-written, well planned and well-executed book. This author made me feel as if I were reading a full-length novel because of how complete the story was. The characters were fully-developed, interesting and very relatable – I could even see a couple of them in later novels perhaps. I really dislike it when I read a review where someone has lowered the star-rating on a book because they didn’t like the subject matter. I think that is very unfair to the author and I always try my best not to do that. I knew the subject matter when I purchased the book, so I shouldn’t complain when that is what the story is about. So, I have given this book 4-stars because of how well it is written – not because I liked the subject.
I liked Sinclair Chambers, Earl of St. Seville from the very beginning. When he inherited the title from his father, there was no money in the coffers – none – and he had to find a way to save his estate, his family, and his people. His family and his people are his heart and soul and he will do whatever it takes to save them from ruin. Sin is a huge man – well over six feet with shoulders so broad that he takes up an entire carriage seat. With his size and all of the muscles he’s earned from working in the fields along with the people on his estate, he decides to go to London and become a bare-knuckles prizefighter. The purses are very large and if he can win enough fights he can fill the coffers of his estate. With his size and muscle, he is sure he can take on and beat all comers – that is – until he learns that there is more to boxing than brute strength. He loses his first match – badly – to a much smaller, smarter and more agile fighter.
Lady Patience Lane, daughter and youngest child of the Earl of Desmond is still reeling from the death of her mother five years earlier. She hides it well, or at least she thinks she does. Patience has become a zealot against prizefighting. She writes pamphlets and her father goes into the most dangerous and seediest of hells to deliver them for her. He does that because he knows how much pain she is in. You see, her mother was Ivory Bess, a renowned female prizefighter and the cause of her death was what we’d call today CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Patience watched her mother lose functions like speech and muscle movement, etc. until one day she died of it.
I enjoyed watching Patience learn to cope with her grief. She finally realized that her zealotry was only causing people, even her own family, to turn away from her. They still loved her, but they avoided her. Her father couldn’t heal until she could heal.
If reading about a violent sport like bare knuckles boxing doesn’t bother you, this is an outstanding book and I’m sure you’ll love it.
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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
A totally Awesome book!!
Sinclair Chambers, Earl of St. Seville [Sin] is “rescued” by James Lane, Earl of Desmond when he sees Sin being attacked in an alley. He brings Sin back to his carriage and finds out that he is the son of an old friend. He insists on bringing him home and having his injuries tended to. Patience hears a noise coming from her brothers room and decided to check it out and sees Sin standing by the window half naked and he climbs out the window. All Sin wants to do is return to his rented rooms. Sin is trying to save his family and people and has a meeting with Coventry at the Wicked Earls’ Club. Sin meets with Coventry and he ends agreeing to a boxing match. Patience’s mother was the famed pugilist Ivory Bess before marrying the earl, she died too young because of complications related to her fighting. Patience has made it her life’s work to inform and warn others of the dangers of fighting, to the point where she is almost a social outcast. Patience happens to see the boxing match and she sees Sin get beat bad. Patience decides to help Sin with his injuries and she ends up telling him about her mother and then she offers to train Sin but, she had some conditions in which Sin agrees to. Does Sin [Earl of Seville] win his next boxing match? Does Sin stick to the conditions he agreed with? Do Sin and Patience fall in love? The only way to find out is to read this book. I totally loved this book!!
3.5 stars. As with other stories in “The Wicked Earls’ Club” series, this is a stand-alone.
I have mixed feelings about this story. It was easy to read; I cannot say it was boring. The club itself plays a very small role, which does not affect my rating. However, as the club is the center of the series, I would have expected more of it. Towards the end, the club does plays a role to add some smirk-worthy humor when it comes to a certain contract, though.
Other reviewers wondered about the boxing, but I’ve read several novels and novellas set in 19th century England in which boxing to earn money was a (sub)plot. That did not bother me here. I did feel there were some unexplained “connections”, e.g. Lord Coventry seems to have encouraged St. Seville to travel to London and he set up the meeting with the boxing organizer. But as St. Seville has led a rather reclusive life with his mother and sister on their island, I did wonder how Coventry learned of Seville’s financial straits to begin with.
I received an advance copy of this book and voluntarily read and reviewed it.