One Little Sin

1880's Great Brittan ONE LITTLE SIN is a very enjoyable tale of tempting desire and finding love. You can't help but love the characters! The storyline is simple and engaging. Be sure to follow with TWO LITTLE LIES and THREE LITTLE SECRETS.

I've read all three of the Sins, Lies and Secrets Trilogy. Since I read them all out of order, I can tell you they are still good stand-alone but much better to read in order since they over-lap. Also the characters are recurring and it is nice to revisit them all later! This first book has what could be called "the gypsy's curse," but it is not the overwhelming premise in it and is mentioned only briefly in the other books. This was my favorite of the trilogy. Although the hero, MacLachlan, was a scoundrel, he was not as tormented as the other two men were. I found the overall theme of redemption a little easier to take since he only had to climb out of the wallow of self-loathing which led to a life of over indulgence. Although you get hints of why he is this way, I still was not sure??? Esmee was a wonderful heroine. Extremely self-sufficient, she shows the confidence that Alisdair did not. She has led quite a different life, dragged from step-father to step-father and home to home by her vapid and (now deceased) mother. Thrown out of her last step-father's house with little more than the clothes on her back and her two year old sister in tow she arrives at Sir Alisdair's house with his one little sin - the little sister (Sorcha) born after one of his infrequent visits to Scotland. How both Esmee and Sorcha turn his life upside down is humorous and touching. As Alisdair comes to love both, he almost loses Esmee since he feels undeserving. Will he gain the love he craves, the family he longs for and forgiveness for all his sins? Worth reading to find out how they are achieved. I only wish they would have met up with the mysterious gypsy again! Side characters are well fleshed and interesting to meet also!

Sir Alasdair MacLachlan is barely accepted by the ton due to his womanizing, drinking, and gambling. After a particularly stressful day involving an enraged husband, a bruised forehead, and a fortune telling gypsy, all Sir Alasdair wants to do is drink himself into oblivion. A knock at his door interrupts his hard won peace and brings with it a young woman and a basket. Both will perhaps change his life forever, for Sir Alasdair's dissolute past is finally catching up with him. Miss Esmée Hamilton has left Scotland, forced from her home by an uncaring step-father. Struggling to survive and responsible for her infant sister, Sorcha, Esmée travels to London and searches for the man she blames for their predicament,Sir Alasdair MacLachlan. Esmée is determined that Sir Alasdair accept responsibility for one sin in particular. Sir Alasdair is very handsome, charming, and surprisingly tender with baby Sorcha. Alasdair's fiercely passionate nature is irresistible to the mature, but innocent, Esmée. Beautiful, practical, and full of fire, Esmée is a perfect match for Alasdair. These two strike sparks off of each other and heat up a room. Oh the sexual tension! I am a Liz Carlyle fan and am so excited about this new trilogy! One Little Sin is a very engaging story. Although some of the middle chapters of the book were sluggish, this is a very enjoyable read. Alasdair is my favorite kind of hero, I have a soft spot for rakes. And Alasdair deserves this designation. If you're a fan of historical romances and love to see a rake brought to heel and reformed, you'll love One Little Sin. Annabelle Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

They were the `privileged' men - brothers Alasdair and Merrick MacLachlan, and Quin, Lord Wynwood who took their pleasures, whenever and wherever they could. They'd been guilty of using and exploiting without paying a price, until when after merrily escaping from a scrape of Alasdairs' making they happened to take refuge in a gypsy tent. The gypsy, a fortune-teller, wasn't about to let them off easy, giving each their comeuppance along with a strange somber warning. Thinking the woman a quack they all walked away - perhaps a little more sober. After returning home, during the night Alasdair was awakened by a disturbance at his door by a young girl - or so she seemed - drenched from the storm, carrying a basket of laundry - or so it looked. The young woman, as it turned out, was Miss Esmee Hamilton, and it was not laundry she carried in the basket, but her young sister - and as she pointedly accused Alasdair - HIS daughter! Upon the recent death of her mother, Esmee, along with her toddler sister, had been tossed out of their home by a very spiteful stepfather who had been cuckolded by her mother who during a bitter fight with him had confessed all. Homeless, Esmee, a very self righteous and determined Scottish lass, made her way to London and planned to beard the responsible party in his den, making him take responsibility for his `one little sin'. Not without noticing her sparkling green eyes, and thinking to keep the young woman around as a governess to care for the child she was loathe to leave, Esmee and Alasdair negotiated the position of governess. Although Esmee was prepared to despise the man, who'd caused her life's upheaval; and she let her tongue give him a lashing he rightfully deserved; she found that as time went on, and when push came to shove, the tongue he gave her back was pure pleasure! --- When the gypsy foretold --- "What is to come will be as real and as painful as that bruise between your eyes." Clearly, Carlyle, who has a gift in creating original and captivating characters surely outdid herself with this latest entry and first book in a new series. We've all read books with rakes that have been reformed by the love of a good woman- and believe me Alasdair MacLachlan had very little in the way of redeeming qualities! Yet, when a prophecy by a mysterious gypsy came back to haunt him - WOW! My God - Carlyle engaged emotions making ME feel Alasdair's pain in a way that was so heart wrenchingly real she all but took my breath away! Sorcha, the toddler was darling and the transformation of Alasdair into doting father will definitely cause a lump in your throat. The secondary characters were built up with just enough over gloss to tease the reader into anxiously awaiting the sequels for Quin and Merricks' stories. Carlyle scores BIG TIME with this highly creative, extremely well-written and powerfully emotional and sensual laden romance! -- Marilyn (...)

I am a huge fan of Liz Carlyle's books and this latest is no exception. It's the first in a trilogy of stories about three friends - two rakes (Alasdair MacLachlan & Quin Hewett first seen in THE DEVIL TO PAY) and one semi-recluse Alasdair's brother Merrick. Our story opens with the three in the tent of a gypsy fortune teller who makes dire predictions for all three about "making things right" and "redeeming past misdeeds". Though momentarily uneasy, our three friends quickly shake off their unease and make for home. Sir Alasdair MacLachlan, at thirty-six is a known scoundrel who spends most of his time drinking, skirt-chasing and gaming. He's got a very good head for numbers and so usually wins big at cards. He's perfectly happy with his live-in-the-moment lifestyle - what else could a fellow want? And that gypsy and her "atoning for sins" rot. Which sin - there are so many to choose from? After passing out on the sofa after returning home he is awakened by banging on his door. Good Lord, it's midnight in the middle of a raging thunderstorm, who could it possibly be? My, my has one of his sins come home to roost? The person at his door turns out to be Miss Esmee Hamilton, newly arrived from Scotland. She looks like a drowned wren, very young and vulnerable. But when she tells him that the little bundle in her basket is his daughter and that she is leaving the child with him to be raised in his home Alasdair is shocked and in denial. His little wren turns out to have a fiery side as she tells him in very tart language that little Sorcha is the product of a tryst with her mother two years past. When her mother died two months ago, her stepfather kicked both Esmee and Sorcha out of his home and now they have nowhere else to go. Alasdair has no memory of her mother, only the vaguest feeling that it could really be true. When he learns that Esmee has accepted a post as a governess and intends to leave the child in his most uncapable hands, he panics and tries to convince her to stay and act as Sorcha's governess instead. Though she knows it is wrong and that her reputation will likely be ruined, she agrees as leaving Sorcha would break her heart. And so, the MacLachlan household is in for some major changes. Of course Alasdair and Esmee fall for one another but there are many twists and obstacles in the way. Both are appealing characters. Alasdair is charming and sexy with a suprisingly strong sense of responsibility. His growing relationship, not to mention patience with "terrible twos" Sorcha is very sweet to watch. Esmee is naive yet also smart and doesn't allow him to get away with too much. The only issue I had with the book was that, after the first rousing chapters, the pace seemed to get a bit klunky and uneven midway through. There are some amusing scenes, some surprising twists and the wonderful dialog that is standard in Ms Carlyle's books. I can't wait to read Quin's and Merrick's stories! Highly recommend