Secrets of Sin

I was surprised at how much I loved Secrets of Sin by Chloe Harris. The Aphrodisia line of Erotic Romances from Kensington Publishing has been kind of hit or miss for me...to the point that I almost decided to stop reading them, except for the authors that I follow independent of the publisher. I was initially captivated by the story after reading a blog post by one of the authors of this writing team who was expounding on the reasons why a reader might fall in love with their hero. Afterwards I was desperate to read Secrets of Sin despite not knowing anything more about the author, or much more about the book other than the blurb. The story begins with Emiline visiting her lawyer to request a divorce from her husband who abandoned her several years ago. She was left as a young bride, and while learning to become a woman she also had to assume the responsibilities of her family's plantation after the death of her father, and provide for everyone that is dependant on its success; a life and independence that she has grown to love. Reinier feared his growing love for his young wife who seemed only to care about the latest fashions, gossip, and projecting the image of perfection of herself and her marriage to her peers in her self centered world. After many years of living at sea he returns to Emiline and to the island that holds bittersweet memories to try and secure the affections of his wife, while protecting his own heart in the bargain. He gets Emiline to agree to experience the burning passion they once shared for each other over the course of three days in order to convince her that divorcing him would be a mistake. In those three days he strives to earn her trust and touch her heart through their exploits in erotic lovemaking. And while there may seem to be an abundant amount of loves scenes in this book I felt that each one had a distinct purpose in illustrating Reinier's seduction of his supposedly wayward wife. Even though the love scenes were explicit and numerous, they were crafted in a way without seeming to be gratuitous or graphic; instead I felt they were more sensuously erotic and purposeful to the overall story. One of the things that I loved most about Secrets of Sin was how the story was told. Almost the entire book is just the Heroine and Hero interacting with each other. There aren't a lot of secondary characters, no villains to have to fight...just inner demons, lack of communication, misunderstandings, and their struggle to discover each other again after several years apart, and develop a lasting type of love and relationship. Surprisingly the story didn't feel lacking because of the limited supporting characters; instead I felt that it gave the reader an undiluted experience into Emiline and Reineir's journey towards love. However, there are a few things that I wish would have been delved into more deeply that I think would have really enhanced the story for me. First, I wish more would have been done wit

If you couldn't tell Secrets of Sin is an erotic romance. And wow. My first thought when I read the first couple pages of Secrets of Sin is `You had me at hello.' This book is erotic without being porny. It was really hot and descriptive. I mean if you want a complete idiot's guide to spicing up your sex life, get this book. Really. I think my eyes popped out of their sockets a couple times, but in a good way. There was a time or two when reading that I thought, `Oh, so that's how that's really done.' And I don't recall ever thinking that when reading an erotic romance before. Secrets of Sin is a compelling read. What really piqued my interest is the location and history of the country where the story takes place. After reading Secrets of Sin, I spent over an hour on the internet goggling Grenada, its culture and its history. Very few books engaged me so completely in that way. That leads to the plot. The plot engaged me because it's amazing that I would spend so much time on the internet. Secrets of Sin is more than a marriage reunion story. It's about finding yourself and accepting yourself and the person you love for who they are. That's the strength of Secret of Sin. There were a couple things that bothered me about Secrets in Sin. There's a subplot involving Reinier's best friend that distracted from Emiline and Reinier's story, especially in the beginning. This could've just been me, because when I first start reading a novel, I want to get to the hero/heroine's story and conflict. There is a scene in the beginning of the book that I felt could've been left out, but once I got to the end of the book, it was explained and I had a `Oh, I see why you did that' moment. I know I'm being annoyingly vague but to go any deeper would reveal too much. Although I understood why something was done, I still believed Secrets of Sin would have been stronger if the majority of the best friend's story was left to his own book. It was certainly a strong enough subplot to do so. Another thing that annoyed me about Secrets of Sin is the conflict that pulled Reiner and Emiline apart. I understand why it might have ruined the marriage in the beginning, but all these years later they never talk about what drew them apart. After awhile I got a little annoyed that they didn't just sit down and talk to each other, because Secrets of Sin had so much more going for it that even if they talked about what drew them apart, they had so many other issues they needed to work through. Overall, I loved this book and would definitely read it again REVIEW COURTESY OF [...]

In 1745 Sea Captain, Reinier Barhydt sails the Caribbean without seemingly a care when he decides to divorce the wife he left behind in Bougainvillea four year ago. Thus he returns home, but is shocked with what he sees. First the plantation is thriving; second his wife Emiline du Ronde-Barhyd is also thriving with beauty, charm and intelligence; third she demands a divorce; and fourth the biggest stunner to the sailor is he uncertain he wants the divorce. Instead of signing and filing papers, Reinier offers his spouse a deal. She gives him three full days in which she must obey his command in return he will sign the divorce document and sail away forever. She readily agrees as she feels she can handle anything on his body for seventy-two hours in order to be free. Neither expected what happened over those three days of sex to the nth degree, but in this Eden a friend of his arrives devastating the Captain's revised plans re his wife. This is a super heated erotic historical romance starring two delightful lead characters whose exploits in and out of the boudoir make for an entertaining tale as each starts off competing to trump the other, but passion overwhelms both of them. As they fall from lust to in love with lust, each considers modifying their schemes as three days seems inadequate. Readers will relish this strong mid eighteenth century Caribbean erotica and look forward to the sequel. Harriet Klausner