In the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell’s Sinful Brides series, a runaway heiress entrusts her fate to the man she betrayed.Lady Eve Pruitt has never forgotten her childhood friend, the young pickpocket Calum, who she feared had been condemned to the gallows. Now, years later, Eve is the one in danger. Her brother, made desperate by gambling debts, threatens to … gambling debts, threatens to steal her inheritance, and Eve has no choice but to run.
Under an assumed name, she takes a job as a bookkeeper at the notorious Hell and Sin Club. Nothing in this bawdy den shocks her more than discovering that her employer is none other than Calum. Keeping her identity a secret is one thing—but hiding her feelings for him is another.
As Calum becomes increasingly taken with the strangely haunting beauty, he looks forward to exposing her mysteries. But when her masquerade is revealed, it’s left to Eve to prove that her desire for him is no deception.
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This is the 4th book in the Sinful Brides series. It was a nice read but did not enjoy it as much as I did books 1 and 3 of the series. Reading the others do have you to gravitate to Calum a bit and want to get his take on what led him to the Hell and Sin Den.
Hoping the story of Adair will be interesting but not sure if it a part of this series.
Lovely fourth book in the Sinful Brides series. Calum has always been my favorite of the ‘brothers’ and I was really looking forward to his book and his HEA. As it turns out, it is my least favorite book in the series. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first three. The end just felt rushed and the solution with the missing brother just felt too fortuitous and then there was nothing else about him. I’d like to explain, but I don’t want to put spoilers in this review.
The story is solidly written, stays on-point and makes you like the main characters and dislike this villain. I always enjoy this author’s writing.
I have a complaint, but I don’t know whether to point it toward this book or the series. I am left feeling ‘unfinished’. According to the burb on the Goodreads page, this is the last book in the series: “In the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell’s Sinful Brides series, a runaway heiress entrusts her fate to the man she betrayed.” So, we are now left with several things that should have been wrapped up – in my humble opinion. Adair is the fifth ‘sibling’, yet he didn’t get a book – say what? There is no settling of what happens to the Hell and Sin Club. Does it shut down? Does it recover and thrive? Do the ‘siblings’ come back there to live in and run the club? I am hoping that the blurb on Goodreads is incorrect and that there will be a final book that will feature Adair and wrap-up all of the loose ends with the club, etc. Maybe with a lovely epilogue three or four years down the road showing all of the families happily gathered for a celebration of some sort.
Lady Eve Pruitt has always been a very lonely, forgotten and overlooked motherless daughter of a Duke. Her father did love her but ignored her after his wife died. Her next oldest brother, Kit, is away most of the time but spends time with her on the very rare occasions when he is home. Her oldest brother, Graham, is cruel and sadistic and does some gosh-awful things to Eve. Eve has survived it all, but when Graham sets Eve up to be raped, she knows she has to escape. She only has to be in hiding for three months because when she turns twenty-six, she comes into her inheritance and can make a life for herself. It is amazing that Eve has remained as sweet, considerate and caring as she has given all of the things her brother has done to her.
Calum was born in a loving home. His father was a merchant and both parents doted on Calum. However, when he was five, both parents died within just a couple of months of each other. Calum ended up in a foundling hospital where he was beaten regularly – until he decided that living on the streets was preferable. So, he escaped and became a very adept pickpocket. If you read the earlier books you know the story of how the ‘siblings’ came together and what they’ve been through up to this point. Calum was the one in the group who kept his love and kindness. Oh, he could be hard and mean, but underneath, he cared for others.
Calum and Eve had a history. She blamed herself for his death and he blamed her for her betrayal. When Calum was fourteen and Eve was nine they met in the stables on her father’s townhouse property. They spent a year meeting off-and-on and became fast friends. Eve was so thrilled to have a friend – someone who actually saw her and spoke with her as an equal. Calum liked spending time with the little girl, reading books and learning the constellations, etc. When Calum was stabbed, he sought refuge in those stables. Eve was terrified and sought help from the one person she should not have trusted. Calum ended up in Newgate, bound for the hangman’s noose.
Another issue I have is that Eve’s brother isn’t dealt with at all. There isn’t even any public censure must less punishment of any kind. I would have been satisfied if he’d just fallen off his horse and broken his neck. Maybe something along the lines of Calum calling in all of his debts and then he and Eve living in one of the estates. I don’t know – just something.
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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
While it is not my favorite book in the series (I have soft spot for the Tidemore sisters) it’s still not to be missed!
I absolutely loved the “Sinful Brides” series!
In the fourth – but I hope not the last book – in this series (what happens to the club? And Adair?) two children meet in a stable, Eve, a lonely 9 year old and Calum, a 14 year old orphan, living on the streets with his “family”, 3 other boys and a girl. Eve brings Calum food which he brings back to the others and a relationship is born. But one day, Calum runs into Eve’s eldest brother who stabs him for stealing. Eve not knowing this tries to help her friend. But Gerald drags the wounded boy to Newgate to hang. Luckily, his ‘street family’ rescues him but that betrayal stings throughout the years. Fast forward 17 years and Eve is again running from her evil brother, a Duke now. He wants her dowry their father settled on her and will do anything to get it. Since she has been keeping the books since her father’s stroke, she applies for the bookkeeper job as the Hell and Sin – Calum’s club he co-owns with his ‘family’. Disguised, Calum does not recognize Eve, but she is shocked since her brother tortured her with the story of how he watched him hang. Thinking she will be safe from her brother’s manipulations to get her dowry which will be hers on her marriage or age 26 (in 3 months time). The last place he will look is the very club he owes a fortune to. Eve plans to help the founding hospital with her inheritance in memory of the friend she inadvertently betrayed. Realizing the sensitive position she is placing the club in, she finally confesses all to Calum, the boy she never stopped loving. Adventures follow leading to a wonderful and romantic proposal and an unexpected hero. I enjoyed this book very much – it teaches about love, resentment, anger, bitterness and forgiveness. Most importantly, it proves “the most important is love”!
The Heiress’s Deception is the last book in the Sinful Brides Series by Christi Caldwell. I really enjoyed this book. I think Lady Eve Pruitt is one of my very favorite heroines by Caldwell. She is smart, caring and not a great beauty. Calum Dabney is everything you could want in a romance hero. “An errant ray from the sun played off his face, highlighting his strong, unyielding jawline and sharp cheeks. With his height, power, and strength, he embodied that statue of the Greek god Helios once erected in her family’s Kent estate. Only, where that marble masterpiece and the Colossus of Rhodes had both fallen, Calum Dabney could never be toppled.”
This is a book you won’t be able to put down. Loved it!
Calum Dabney is the most laid back of all the siblings of the Hell & Sin family. Having been born the son of up and coming merchants, he was raised by a loving family until he was orphaned at age 5, and therefore is more comfortable with displays of affection than his siblings. Acting as head proprietor of the club in Ryker’s absence, Calum is forced to hire a new bookkeeper. Eve Pruitt is seeking a place to hide out from her violent and evil brother until she reaches her majority and can claim the fortune her father left to her, funds her destitute brother is desperate to get his hands on to support his gambling habit. Unbeknownst to Calum’s siblings, he has a history with Eve, who used to be his friend, but she is also responsible for his capture and stint in Newgate. In disguise, Eve takes up the post of bookkeeper in the Hell & Sin, though she recognizes Calum immediately due to his distinctive scars, she keeps her true identity hidden. As she and Calum grow closer again, hiding her true self, and staying safe from her brother, becomes increasingly difficult and Calum must decide what he’s willing to risk for his chance at happiness.
I really liked the author’s writing.
Although the book can be read separately – as far as the couple’s romance is concerned -I’ve missed having read the previous books to better understand the connection among other characters.
The romance here is good – and sometimes funny – when the whole bad guy Calum shows himself so kind to Eve.
At first, he doesn’t remember her from the time when she was his childhood friend.
Now she needs to stay hidden because her brother is capable of anything to get her inheritance.
A good historical novel with HEA.
4 stars
The Heiress’s Deception by Christi Caldwell
Sinful Brides #4
This beautifully written story of childhood friends from disparate levels of society befriending one another only to be ruthlessly separated then reunited under extenuating circumstances captured me on page one and kept my interest till the end. Calum, orphaned street urchin, and Lady Evelina Pruitt had tough childhoods. They were wonderful people with strength of character and love for their fellowman when they met again as adults.
I came into this series on book four and loved it. I found Calum to be wonderful at fourteen and even better as an adult. Eve had a horrible brother to contend with and my hope as I read was that he would get his comeuppance at some point in time…but he just seemed to get away with so much…evil to the core.
This is the first book I have read by this author but it will not be my last. I hope to find the previous books in the series and am hoping Adair, the last “brother” mentioned will find his true love in an upcoming book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Knowing that Christi Caldwell wrote this story and it is the final installment in the sinful bride series, you probably do not even need to read a review!! Calum Dabney has grown up on the streets just as his brothers and although tough, deep down he has always had a good heart. Now managing the Hell and Sin Club, he comes in contact with Lady Eve Pruitt. Of course he does not know it is Eve because she is in disguise, hiding out as the bookkeeper of the club. Doing her best to avoid her brother who is trying to take her inheritance, Eve does her best to keep up her pretense. She has a lot of spunk to attempt to hide in plain sight and as Calum is around her, he is intrigued by this beautiful girl. You see, there is a history of friendship between the two that goes back to when they were younger. Unfortunately that friendship did not end well and they have not seen each other since. But the spark is there and as fate would have it, here they were together again. As always with this author, the characters come alive and the descriptions make you feel as if you were there. This book is one you will read again, as all the books in this wonderful series. Thank you Christi for giving your readers another great story!!
Strength of character, faith in the impossible and hope for the future are put to the test. Calum and Eve’s friendship is as unique as their reunion is surprising. Beyond the boundaries of social class and despite the hands of time, the lonely girl with a title and the pick pocket, had a love that although interrupted, withstood the hands of time. Now the lonely girl has become a lady haunted by her past and in danger of losing her future and the penniless boy has become a fearless man. Their’s is a complicated history of unwitting betrayals and dangerous liaisons, but even with no memory of the past that haunts Eve, Calum’s heart is drawn to hers. He taught her what it meant to love, she shows him how it feels to care and together they discover what it means to be brave. Ms. Caldwell speaks the language of the heart, like no other.