A Sinful Temptation

Sins & Scandals #3

by Kelly Boyce

Mr. Marcus Bowen, former ward and now trusted man of business to the Marquess of Ellesmere, has returned from the brink of death after surviving a knife-wielding thief only to have his perfectly ordered life fall into chaos. A mysterious package arrives and reveals his past is nothing but a lie. To make matters worse, the woman he once shared a passionate, ill-fated kiss with insists he help her capture a proposal from another man—a man far more befitting her station than the son of servants.



The dictates of her father’s will are clear—Lady Rebecca Sheridan must put away her childhood fantasies of Marcus Bowen and marry the very proper Lord Selward. A feat she must accomplish before her next birthday or watch as her family fortunes are forfeited. When Lord Selward drags his feet on a proposal, Rebecca grows desperate and turns to the one man she trusts above all others for assistance—Marcus. But Rebecca soon learns how easily unspoken passions can be re-ignited, and how thin the line between love and friendship can be.

As Marcus works to unravel the mystery of his past and discover his true identity, can he ignore the sinful temptation Lady Rebecca presents? Or will long-ignored desires and well-buried secrets bring them both to the brink of ruin, destroying any hope of a happy future?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Ebooks

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2014

About the author

Kelly Boyce is a multi-published author of historical romance in both independent and traditional formats, including The Sins & Scandals Series, The Lindwells, The Brides of Fatal Bluff Series, and The Salvation Falls Series.

Kelly lives on the beautiful Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia with her husband and clownish golden retriever who is in firm possession of a stubborn streak a mile wide. When not writing, she runs her hand-dyed yarn business, Loch Briar Knits.

Kelly is currently working on her new historical romance series, THE LINDWELLS. A Duke In Gentleman's Clothing is now available, and Once Upon A Gentleman will arrive early in 2025.

To stay up to date on breaking news and new releases, please visit her website at http://www.kellyboyce.com and sign up for her newsletter.

THE LINDWELL SERIES
#1 A Duke In Gentleman's Clothing
#2 Once Upon a Gentleman (early 2025)
#3 A Gentleman of Ill Repute

THE SINS & SCANDALS SERIES
#1 An Invitation to Scandal
#2 A Scandalous Passion
#3 A Sinful Temptation
#4 The Lady’s Sinful Secret
#5 Surrender to Scandal
#6 A Sinner No More
#7 The Sweetest Sin
#8 A Most Scandalous Christmas
#9 A Hint of Scandal

THE BRIDES OF FATAL BLUFF
#1 The Outlaw Bride

THE SALVATION FALLS SERIES
#1 Salvation in the Rancher's Arms
#2 Salvation in the Sheriff's Kiss (re-release coming soon!)

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think with each title in this series, they get better and I loved the relationship between Rebecca and Marcus in this book. It's kind of a friends to lovers story with a mystery thrown in around Marcus' parentage that really gripped me. I might have even shed a tear or two at a particular scene towards the end of the book, and I don't generally do that.

I think what I'm coming to enjoy most about this series is the intrigue and attention paid to the secondary characters. Lady Franklyn, who we meet in book two (and maybe she's in book one but I can't remember now) is turning out to be one of the most fascinating people, and I hope she gets her own novella or SOMETHING because she deserves it. No one is quite what they appear, and I love that in a story.

Highly recommended.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sins and Scandals series just keeps getting better! I love how each book just continues where the last left off and includes characters from the previous books. So I would suggest starting from the beginning. A Sinful Temptation was my favorite so far. I was looking forward to reading Marcus Bowen's story. I was riveted to this story where all kinds of plot twists and turns were revealed. I didn't expect it to get so intense and emotional. The characters were so well developed and I really loved so many of them. Their personalities really come alive! I think that is one of Kelly Boyce's strengths, how well we get to know her characters and care about them. I also love how passionate the stories are...the erotic moments between characters really sizzles. I am eager to get to Book 4 in the series.

[Sue Slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Sinful Temptation by Kelly Boyce, the 3rd in her Sins & Scandals series, was a wonderful friend to lovers’ historical romance with some added mystery to keep things interesting. I really like how we continue to see the characters in her first 2 books and how their lives are developing. I enjoyed Marcus’ story and how the diary of his mother was presented gradually throughout the book. I am definitely hooked on this series and looking forward to the next one.

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of Marcus Bowen, better than the first book, yet worse than the second one in my opinion. The issue I have with this author is that she used more or less the same plot line for all three novels, hopefully she will stop.

[Rose Swalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the plot twist

This wasn’t your average love story! I liked they kept much of Bowen’s history in the dark and fed it to you piece by piece. I knew what would eventually happen in the end but thoroughly enjoyed the storyline getting there!

[iDreem2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 overall stars

Couple 4.0 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Plot 4.25 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
Story 4.25 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
Sex 4.0 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Series 4.0 🌟🌟🌟🌟

[BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dialogues between Nick, Spence and Marcus are hugely funny 😃 As I've also read the previous two parts of the series, I think the author is getting better and better every time!

[Letschat1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars 3/4 (Kate Pearce, Maureen Driscoll, Elisa Braden)

Hey fellow readers I don’t summarize the books (as there are always great full summaries written that I read myself).

I only give it my personal, general, summary of 5 stars to 1 star.

3 stars: This book is worth a read but didn’t really have me excited about interacting with the book where I could not put it down. It lacks the excitement and well roundness of my personal markers for a great read throughout the book.

Development and interest in main characters, secondary characters, humorous, movement of the book, writing/conversation and romantic/sexual content (1-2 scenes or too much unnecessary).

Read it once and that is enough for me.

However, if this book is part of a series, I would read the next book (pervious book) in the series as it would still peek my reading interest.

I’ll continue reading from this author. I wouldn’t cross the author out of my potential reads in the future.

[Lorelei Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, what a surprise it was too! I expected a story of stuffy characters instead I found a story of family love. It's a story of a family torn apart because of rape years earlier

When Mr Bowen receives a package from a women with no idenity attached to it, he discovers his whole life has been a big lie. As he reads the journal from this package and identifies the crest on the watch that came with the package the truth of who he is is discovered. Lady Rebecca who is in love with him proves
her love for him even when he is under suspicion for murder. Lady Rebecca is
a strong character full of life and love.

This is a wonderful love story and now I must go out and buy the other two books in the series.

[Dottiebears · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this whole series a lot, but this book was my favorite of the three. I loved the Marcus character, and it was nice to read a book that the main character actually had a real job rather than just swanning around being an aristocrat.

My only real complaint with this series is that the author used the same plot device in each of the three books--the hero pretending to court the heroine for one reason or another. I probably wouldn't have noticed that had I not read all three books one right after the other.

[Jultri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelly Boyce, a relatively new author, has been consistently good so far in this series. Her characters are appealing, their interactions with another are affectionate and humorous, and her ability to tell a story is quite skilful. In the case of this book, the compelling mystery of Marcus Bowen's parentage takes the focus, somewhat sidelining his romance with his best friend's sister, Lady Rebecca Sheridan.

[Cary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it - loved the characters and their loyalty. Plus happy endings are my favorite.

[Laura Heslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

I have read Nicholas and Abby's story and Spence and Caile story and now Marcus and Rebecca's story. Each story has it's own excitement and adventure. Very well done

[Jane Geltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the three

[MaryD · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit darker than the other two, but somehow I found myself skimming pages at a time.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series just keeps getting better and better. I am loving it so much!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great story. Marcus is so scrummy! This series gets better and better.