Could this infamous rake… …finally have found his countess? Part of The Sinful Sinclairs. When Lucas, Lord Sinclair, receives a mysterious summons from a Miss Olivia Silverdale he’s skeptical about whether he can help her. But Olivia, although eccentric, is in earnest about her quest to restore her late godfather’s reputation. Lucas’s curiosity is piqued, and not just by Olivia’s … Olivia’s intelligent eyes and lithe form. A new challenge quickly presents itself: keeping Miss Silverdale at arm’s length!
The Sinful Sinclairs miniseries
Book 1 — The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge
And look out for the next two Sinful Sinclairs – coming soon!
“It is a poignant, sentimental and expertly written love story” Goodreads on Lord Stanton’s Last Mistress by Lara Temple
“Sensitive, touching and perceptive, this emotional book took me on the most wonderful journey where the hero and heroine deal with the obstacles in their way” Goodreads on Lord Stanton’s Last Mistress by Lara Temple
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The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge is the first book in a new series, “The Sinful Sinclairs” by author Lara Temple. I’ve been waiting for this one since I first heard about the Sinclairs in a previous book of Ms. Temple’s and I must say it was well worth the wait! It was absolutely perfect and I loved every moment of it. What a fantastic start to what I expect to be an excellent series.
Lucas is reluctantly the Earl of Sinclair after the infamous death of his father in a duel. Chase and Samantha his younger siblings stories will follow after this one. We do meet Chase in this story and I must say I am intrigued and can’t wait to read his story in the future. But for now I have fallen for Lucas! He was a fabulous hero and it was an absolute pleasure to see him fall for Olivia.
Miss Olivia Silverdale was such a refreshing and entertaining heroine. Lucas describes her as relentless, she definitely is that and so much more. She’s the type of person who will go to any length to help those she cares for. She has such a wonderful personality and you can’t help but love her from the beginning. The chemistry and dialogue between these two were fabulous!
With a gorgeous cover, a mystery to solve and fabulous characters this was a perfect story to start out my 2019 reading! I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to see what author Lara Temple has in store for the rest of the Sinclairs.
Finding answers.
An Earl’s heart doesn’t stand a chance when a young lady enlists his help in solving the death of a friend. Maybe a little confusing on the plot, but great dialogue, some beautiful letters and a hot encounter at the museum make a good book.
A free copy from the author for an honest review.
4.5 stars
Olivia Silverdale is in London, not to catch a husband as her chaperon thinks, but to solve a mystery. She is convinced her guardian’s death is not as it appears and that his name has been smeared and while researching she has uncovered information that may clear the name of another man that was unjustly vilified, Howard Sinclair. She hopes by contacting his family, she will not only help them, but will learn new information about Henry’s death. She summons (there really is no other word for it) Lucas, the Earl of Sinclair to meet her in a dark church and in hindsight wonders if that was the best choice. Olivia tells Lucas what she needs and he is dismissive. She didn’t expect him to be so annoying or to not believe her, he actually accuses her of trying to trap him! He tells her he will think about what she has said and let her know what he decides.
Two days pass before he contacts her, he meets her at another church and tells her he will not help her and furthermore, he forbids her to investigate anything relating to his father. She tells him, she will do what she likes and leaves in a huff. Lucas should be glad to be done with her, but he is strangely drawn to her. She isn’t telling him everything and he convinces himself that is why he changes his mind.
What follows is a wonderful story of two flawed people falling in love, uncovering secrets and making peace with the past.
This was a well written, delightful story with very likable characters, amusing banter, warmish love scenes, secrets, betrayal, misunderstandings and finally a sigh worthy ending. There were a couple of things that felt important but were never explained, like her brother Jack and there were a couple of incorrect formal address issues – but nothing that detracted from the story.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review of an eARC that was provided to me*
Well, what can say about this? Fantastic, wonderful, sexy, charming, entertaining, engaging; in other words absolutely bloody brilliant! What a fabulous start to what is set to be another fantastic series by one of my whole time favourite authors. The Sinful Sinclairs, as anyone who has been avidly reading Ms Temples books will know are a sort of follow on from the previous series; Wild Lords and Innocent Ladies, as the hugely seductive Sinclairs are the cousins of none other than one of those Wild Lords – I am not going to tell you which one, you will have to read that series to find out. I knew that I would be in for a treat, and yet again I was blown away by Ms Temple’s splendid writing.
The story opens when Lucas; Lord Sinclair receives a mysterious message from a Miss Olivia Silverdale, once meeting the young veiled lady in a church in the middle of the night he hears her out – which believe me with how Olivia tells stories is a very long night for Lucas which does leave him with equal amount or headache and ear-ache. He is in disbelieve over what the slightly odd young woman has told him, she wants to restore the tainted reputation of her godfather and amidst her own investigation she has come across mention of Lucas’ own late father. How is the late Lord Sinclair connected to Olivia’s godfather? You’ll have to read to find out, anyway Lucas is sceptical at her claims and wants nothing to do with her or her infernal investigation, which does include the hilarious outing of an occultist by the name of Madam Bulgari – she is a real hoot and I would love to invite her to any party. But Lucas is curious then after voicing his thoughts to his brother; Chase – my goodness another gorgeous brother – he soon finds himself intrigued not just by her fanciful story but also by her, she gets under his skin and now the notorious rake with the sinful reputation may just have found his match in the form of the eccentric young Yorkshire lass with the mesmerizing eyes.
My goodness, I have found my whole new favourite heroine in the form of Olivia, she is pure brilliance – yes, I maybe a tad biased with her being a fellow Yorkshire Lass, but she really is fabulous. She is eccentric, talkative, creative, imaginative, stubborn and a bit set in her ways – have I just described myself there? She has a way of seeing people, it’s like she can see past the façade and see what others can’t, she is holding a painful secret, one which Lucas instantly picks up on that and I love how when they kiss he doesn’t rush her, he is solid but gentle, and so patient.
As I mentioned the kissing, my, oh my those kisses! They are hot, sensual, steamy and loving that first kiss is a whopper full of nervous lust and it made me melt, Lucas is such a passionate, tender man – huge heart eyes for him especially this line ‘he wasn’t accustomed to rebellion either from his libido or his conscience’ Love it!
Lucas is a mystery, I love how Temple hints at a past; brief glimpses into the man behind the Sinful mask, she does a great job at dropping breadcrumbs for the reader to follow throughout the story. He is very family orientated, protective, controlled, blunt, out spoken, brutally honest at times, grouchy and a tad brooding – can you see why I am a wee bit smitten? He is definitely the leader of the wolf pack – or should that be the Sinclair pack? And for a man who claims to be in complete control he has an awful lot of randy thoughts, that really have no place at tea.
Did I mention Chase? If there ever was a case for the hashtag; Double Swoon, now would be a time. I know that this book is all about the marvellous Lucas and Olivia, but I just have to mention Chase; I am completely smitten and intrigued by this man on first impression he’s laid-back, witty, mysterious he makes you sit up and pay attention and he has some great one-liners. Lara Temple what are you doing to me?
Overall The Earls Irresistible Challenge is sexy, witty, entertaining, great plot, brilliantly written, Ms Temple has created a mesmerizing and hugely enjoyable love story with two of the most seductive and entertaining couples that you will ever come across and which entwines an edge of your seat mystery. This is hugely romantic, there is no doubt about that, the chemistry sizzles between them and it has some great comedic moments, the conversations between them is brilliant, fast, witty; they have razor-sharp minds and some of the best dialogue that bounces between them.
Absolutely brilliant, I cannot wait to see where this series is going to go.
Absolutely fantastic. Brilliantly written in a language that takes you to the exact time and setting of the novel. These days, historical romance novels are littered with modern phrasing, current issues and situations woven into the plot, and anachronistic terms. This is not true for The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge. Miss Temple has me thinking, believing this was written many centuries ago with her admirable linguistic style. Her skillful use of vocabulary and rhythm drew the characters and locations so vividly, they come alive.
Olivia and Lucas are fully-fleshed out and likable characters whose slow-burn love story is utterly believable. They are evenly matched and have wonderful chemistry. The mystery is a great device to keep them connected and in constant proximity with each other which led to their fall into love.
I also like the minor characters. They’re individualized and supported the main characters really well. I especially love Chase Sinclair and I’m so excited to read his story next.
50+
11
Monique Daoust
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Monique Daoust’s Reviews > The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge (Mills & Boon Historical)
The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge (Mills & Boon Historical) by Lara Temple
The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge (Mills & Boon Historical) (The Sinful Sinclairs, Book 1)
by Lara Temple (Goodreads Author)
F 50×66
Monique Daoust’s review Dec 12, 2018 · edit
it was amazing
When Miss Olivia Silverdale decided to clear her godfather Henry’s name, she was going to do everything she could to succeed. She had found a note that tied Henry to the Sinclairs, so she summons Lucas, the Earl Sinclair. Helping her might also prove to be to his family’s advantage, as his father had suffered a scandalous demise. Lucas wants no part of the charade, but Olivia is more persuasive than he ever anticipated, and against his better judgement, he agrees. He also hopes her quest doesn’t make matters worse than they already are. He is also intrigued; Lucas is a rake, and his thoughts towards the country miss are not as pure as snow.
THE EARL’S IRRESISTIBLE CHALLENGE’s dramatic beginning immediately captured my attention, and the stupendous dialogues kept me enthralled. Both Lucas and Olivia are quick-witted and possess sharp tongues which made for fabulous banter. Lara Temple’s prose is utterly intoxicating, utterly sublime, and she builds an extraordinary atmosphere: partly irresistibly seductive, partly very businesslike, entirely suited to Olivia and Lucas’ interactions. Olivia is one of the best female characters ever: it shows that she was raised amongst brothers, and I loved how she subtly manipulates to get almost everything she wants without being coy or deceitful. And what a delight to watch a confirmed rake, and a very rational man, become unsettled as he unwittingly does her bidding. Lucas is not slouch either! It was a thing of beauty to watch him slowly fall for Olivia, and seldom have I seen such superlative character development and growth, and this for both characters. To be honest, I found only one tiny fault with this magnificent book, it is something very personal: it was with the sole sex scene. It is not very explicit, very short, but I felt it cheapened everything that had happened between Olivia and Lucas up to that point. Because of the explosive passion that had simmered up to that point, and threatened to boil over at every moment, I felt it was anticlimactic.
Both Olivia and Lucas have wonderful backstories, which tie in with the suspense. What could have been merely a pretext to bring our protagonists together turns out to be a most cleverly crafted plot. The Sinful Sinclairs promises to be a very exciting series, and I cannot wait to read Chase and Sam’s stories, respectively Lucas’ brother and sister. Even though she is but briefly mentioned, Sam intrigued me to no end. And let’s not forget the presence of the perfectly delightful Inky …
I give 4 ½ stars