In the first installment of USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell’s Sinful Brides series, a bookkeeper-turned-lady takes a gamble on a man she never meant to fall for.London, 1821Lord Robert Dennington, the Marquess of Westfield, has long reveled in the freedom afforded him as the ducal heir. He knows he must someday do right by the Somerset line, but he’s in no hurry to give up his … he’s in no hurry to give up his carefree existence.
Helena Banbury is a bookkeeper in a gentleman’s gambling club, adept at analyzing numbers and accounts but helpless for lack of influence. She’s never belonged among the nobility on the gaming hell floors, but neither does she feel completely herself among the men who run the Hell and Sin Club, despite the fact that they are family. The once-illiterate girl from the streets wants more than the gilded walls her protective cage can offer.
When Robert mistakenly enters her chambers one night, Helena is forced out of her predictable life and thrust into the glittering world of Society. Will the charms of the marquess prove more perilous than any danger she ever knew on the streets?
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Really enjoyed the characters and the authors writing style. I had not read many historical romance novels lately but I needed something to read on a short flight. The characters had great chemistry and the author kept a good pace in the story. The ending could have used a little more closure but overall I was pleased with the story. I will admit that I went and paid full price for book 2 in the series and have now bought more books by the author.
The first time I read this book a few years ago, it was without knowing all of the side characters and backgrounds. Now, having read the previous series related to this one I can say my experience was greatly enhanced. I feel like I am so invested in these characters now! And that is, of course, thanks to the wonderful writing of Ms. Caldwell. Both of these characters are so damaged in so many ways that you can’t help but root for them to find happiness with each other.
You know it’s pretty bad when you start reading a book and you start thinking to yourself that you’ve read this before. Then you go back, look over your reviews, and see that no, you haven’t. Curious now, you go take a look at the author’s goodreads page and realize that you DNF’ed a book that had nearly the same premise awhile back.
Thankfully, this one wasn’t so bad that I felt the need to DNF it, but it wasn’t without its issues. To begin with, I wasn’t feeling either of the main characters, nor their supposed chemistry. Which was a shame because as broken characters, these two had the potential to be more interesting than they were. Helena was abused as a child, and carries the scars on her person to show it. After being rescued by her brother, she has spent the last several years of her life as a book-keeper for her brother’s notorious gaming hell, not being allowed outside the walls to protect her from the man who once hurt her. Robert is heir to a Dukedom, and has spent the last twelve years of his life doing whatever he pleases after his grandfather’s rather vile interference between him and the maid he had intended to elope with.
Separately, interesting. Together? Sure, Helena forces Robert to open his eyes and be more aware of the world around him (especially when it comes to those less fortunate than himself), and Robert shows her that members of the ton aren’t all the horrid cretins she has assumed them to be for her entire life, but there was far too much repetition between these two. Even when they started opening up to each other it was overshadowed by their respective “inner musings”.
Finally, I had a real problem with the fact that Helena is launched into society by her father, and while everyone knows she’s his illegitimate daughter, they accept her as one of their own (well all but her father’s wife which is understandable considering the circumstances). I’m sorry, but that’s just not the way life worked back then. Regardless of the fact that her father is a Duke, polite society, in general, would not have been welcoming to her.
Nor would Robert’s father (another Duke) be overjoyed at the thought of his son marrying a woman so far below his station in life.
There are I believe three more books left in this series, and I may eventually give one of them another shot. I have read other stories by this author that were more enjoyable than I found this one, so I wouldn’t be averse to reading more from this author.
Good but end needed a little more.
Super…I really bought into the characters and loved the circumstances that played out for the love angle to work. Helena is not the conventional beauty due to scarring, and she longs for more than her limited lifestyle working and living in a gaming hell. His lordship Robert is gorgeous and handsome, but yet he recognizes and is mesmerized by her true beauty. It was glorious to watch him fall in love especially with her overprotective, ruthless, gaming hell owner brother around the corner at every turn. When Helena dreams of seduction and then wakes up next to the rogue and she realizes she didn’t lock her door was hilarious yet sweet and exciting. And it only got better from there, turns out there is more to Helena’s true father and she has a wicked stepmother who is unmasked … I couldn’t wait to read the series after this one. Well done.
Borrowed via KU. Audio. I would have asked for a refund if I’d spent a credit on this.
The narrator was really good, despite that I honestly can’t figure out why I didn’t DNF this. It was repetitive. We hear their ages, his thoughts on backstabbing women, her disdain for nobility ad nauseam. Much of the conflict was contrived “angst”, both from Robert & Helena. It was also slow. Not in an enjoyable “slow burn” kind of way or in a world building way ~ but just random info that doesn’t really drive the story. The conflicts were solved with a mere sentence: Helena’s desire to be an accountant & the fate of the evil Duchess.
Despite all the secondary characters spoken about ~ we don’t really get to know any of them enough to care except for perhaps Diana who I really want to have an HEA. But not enough to spend another 10 hours on it.
The prologue was of “wow” factor and drew me into the tale of Robert Dennington, Marquess of Westfield. Helena Banbury, a bastard daughter of a Duke, is a bookkeeper at a gambling club and meets a drunken Robert one night at the club. Both main characters came from “scarred” childhoods. Together, they were able to overcome their demons and find a happily ever after. Love Christi’s writing style and especially enjoyed the lively banter between the two main characters.
I really enjoyed this story & the couple, after a slow couple of chapters that started the book. Robert & Helena both came from being hurt in the past & the interaction between them was wonderful. This was a fun, emotional, romantic & entertaining read that I highly recommend!
This is the first book I have read from this author. I did not buy some of the others I saw because they were too short – usually around 120 pages. When I saw this series was over 300 pages, I bought it. And I was thrilled. What a truly romantic story – from an illegitimate child raised with her older brother and mother and the visits from their father, a duke, to a young mother with 2 children thrown out to fend for themselves in the slums of London. Abused and mistreated until her older brother Ryker rescues Helena and she becomes part of the gaming hell he starts with 3 other homeless ‘brothers’. Helena has a gift with numbers and becomes the successful hell’s bookkeeper. Until the night a drunken peer, Robert, Marquess of Westfield, mistakenly stumbles upon her. From that night their 2 lives are forever changed. At her brother’s proposal, Helena is to spend the season with her father, the Duke and his wife and her half-sister, Diana. Prepared to hate all peers, but especially the man who abandoned them, Helena is surprised at the warm welcome from all – except the Duchess. She learns at the end the true evil of a jealous woman. To keep from fortune hunters, since her father gave her a large dowry, Helena strikes a bargain with Robert – a pretend courtship till the end of the season. He agrees, but circumstances unfold for each of them that breaks down the walls each built up for protection. The end scene when Robert approaches Helena is the most romantic! Beautiful story of how true love conquers all and how we never should judge all the same – there are always exceptions and those exceptions can bring true joy! Can’t wait to read the others – Thank you Ms. Caldwell, for bringing hope and love!
The Rogue’s Wager is book 1 in the Sinful Brides series by Christi Caldwell. I absolutely adored this book. I lost sleep just trying to finish it because I couldn’t put it down. This book had an incredibly romantic scene that I will probably read over and over again. I liked the hero and the heroine. Both characters are relatable and at times vulnerable. Caldwell spins her magic in layers – uncovering complex people who love transforms. “Trapped in the frame of his powerful arms, she swallowed hard. Weren’t lords supposed to be well padded, well rounded figures? This gentleman was chiseled in muscle to rival a stone statue she’d once seen at the British Museum she’d insisted Ryker take her to one birthday.”
I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
I just finished listening to this as an audiobook and I must say I loved the narrator’s voice; it definitely added to the story. Aside from being a classic rags to riches, poor girl falls in love with titled gentleman with a heart of gold sort of story, this one has added depth. Robert has been locked in his own misery, self-loathing and self-pity for 12 years, and it takes Helena to help him truly see the world around him. Helena has a troubled past and has spent her last 14 years locked away seeing to the books in her brother’s notorious gaming hell. She has her idea of how the titled ton behave and has prejudged them all, until she is thrust into their world and has to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about herself and the world around her. A delightful and highly recommended read.
The Rogue’s Wager a moderate paced story of Helena Bansbury the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Wilkinson and Robert Dennington the Marquess of Westfield heir to his father the Duke Somerset.
Both the H/H have had some sort of traumatic episode take place in their lives but none more that Helena who grew up in the streets of St. Giles before being rescued by her brother Ryker Black. A woman with visible scars on her face, hands and back to prove the physical abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her brothers worst enemy. Robert’s pain came at the hands of his grandfather who had sex with the women he was going to elope. She was well below his station but being young and naïve, he didn’t care. The two meet Hell and Sin gaming club owned by Helen’s brothers and became attracted to each other when she was sent to live with her father, the Duke of Wilkinson. He had no hang ups on station, however she placed more on it…above love until Robert breaks down her wall. It shows the heroines venture from the ugly streets of St. Giles into the world of the Ton. She is strong and he non-discriminatory. The characters are human, real and heartfelt individuals.
What I liked about the story?
It was a very good story that dispelled that sometimes station doesn’t matter where love is involved.
What I didn’t like about the story?
It took too long for the H/H to come together and overcome misconceptions of people. It was too much emphasis placed on how much was afraid of things even though she stood up to her brothers and those that worked for him. She was a tall, unattractive, petite woman that managed to capture the love of her Marquess.
A very nice novel by Christi Caldwell and narration by Tim Campbell kept me captivated on every word. I enjoyed the first book of the Sinful Brides series from beginning to end… it did not disappoint.