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Sin Trilogy #2
A Breath of Scandal
She claimed him as her husband without even knowing his name. Now she will risk everything to keep his secret—but can she give her heart without having his love in return?
Lord Julian Thornton, Earl of Mansfield by day and secret agent of the crown by night, has sworn never to love another woman. But then a mission goes wrong, and Julian is left for dead, his only hope a seductively mysterious gypsy woman named Lara. And when she marries him under gypsy law for his own protection, Julian is too entranced with the dark beauty to deny himself the benefits of their marriage. Yet even as he longs for their idyllic interlude to last, Julian knows his presence alone puts her very life in danger. Until he discovers Lara in the one place he never expected to see his wild gypsy enchantress...the one place where he isn't sure he can protect her—or his own heart.
From the moment Lady Lara, half-gypsy daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, finds a wounded stranger washed up on Scotland's rugged shore, she knows their destinies will be forever entangled. So when a band of smugglers comes looking for the dashing stranger, Lara doesn't hesitate to claim him as her husband "Drago." But when her mysterious husband goes back to his own world—and its dark secrets—Lara returns to her father to take her place as his heiress...never expecting to find her Drago across the earl's crowded ballroom. And although he still enthralls her, Lara is determined that she will never truly be his wife until he surrenders his heart as well.
Lord Julian Thornton, Earl of Mansfield by day and secret agent of the crown by night, has sworn never to love another woman. But then a mission goes wrong, and Julian is left for dead, his only hope a seductively mysterious gypsy woman named Lara. And when she marries him under gypsy law for his own protection, Julian is too entranced with the dark beauty to deny himself the benefits of their marriage. Yet even as he longs for their idyllic interlude to last, Julian knows his presence alone puts her very life in danger. Until he discovers Lara in the one place he never expected to see his wild gypsy enchantress...the one place where he isn't sure he can protect her—or his own heart.
From the moment Lady Lara, half-gypsy daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, finds a wounded stranger washed up on Scotland's rugged shore, she knows their destinies will be forever entangled. So when a band of smugglers comes looking for the dashing stranger, Lara doesn't hesitate to claim him as her husband "Drago." But when her mysterious husband goes back to his own world—and its dark secrets—Lara returns to her father to take her place as his heiress...never expecting to find her Drago across the earl's crowded ballroom. And although he still enthralls her, Lara is determined that she will never truly be his wife until he surrenders his heart as well.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
18 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
Connie Mason
141 books537 followersConnie Mason or Cara Miles is the best-selling author of more than fifty historical romances and novellas. Her tales of passion and adventure are set in exotic as well as American locales. Connie was named Story Teller of the Year in 1990 by Romantic Times and was awarded Career Achievement award in the Western category by Romantic Times in 1994. Connie makes her home in Tarpon Springs, Florida with her husband Jerry.
Prior to her first published work in 1984, Connie was a full time homemaker. Always an avid reader, writing was one of Connie's dreams.
In 1995 Connie was featured on a segment of the CBS news show 48 Hours, a television production that devoted an entire program to the romance novel industry. Connie was also featured in an article published by National Inquirer.
In addition to writing and traveling, Connie enjoys telling anyone who will listen about her three children and nine grandchildren, and sharing memories of her years living abroad in Europe and Asia as the wife of a career serviceman. In her spare time Connie enjoys reading, dancing, playing bridge and freshwater fishing with her husband.
Prior to her first published work in 1984, Connie was a full time homemaker. Always an avid reader, writing was one of Connie's dreams.
In 1995 Connie was featured on a segment of the CBS news show 48 Hours, a television production that devoted an entire program to the romance novel industry. Connie was also featured in an article published by National Inquirer.
In addition to writing and traveling, Connie enjoys telling anyone who will listen about her three children and nine grandchildren, and sharing memories of her years living abroad in Europe and Asia as the wife of a career serviceman. In her spare time Connie enjoys reading, dancing, playing bridge and freshwater fishing with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
April 18, 2017
Julian is a man heartbroken by the death of his late fiance and unborn child. He is after the man who killed them. After he escapes those who are after him he is found on a beach by our heroine a beautiful gypsy woman. Lara is smitten with Julian and in order to save his life they get married gypsy style so their marriage is not legal in England. Julian doesn't know that Lara is the daughter of an English Lord and she will soon go to England. He believes she is a gypsy and that they can't be together cause he is so high above her so he abandons her and returns home. He is shocked when they bump into each other a London party. He is horrified he compromised the daughter of a Lord. He offers to marry her but she refuses because she wants his love and she believes Julian is still in love with the ghost of his dead lover.
Angsty, emotional and steamy. I adored Lara she was a sweetheart and so in love with Julian. I love a smitten heroine. Hero was an arrogant ass at first but he totally redeemed himself. Don't read this if you like flawless heroes. Epilogue was cuteness overload!
Angsty, emotional and steamy. I adored Lara she was a sweetheart and so in love with Julian. I love a smitten heroine. Hero was an arrogant ass at first but he totally redeemed himself. Don't read this if you like flawless heroes. Epilogue was cuteness overload!
July 6, 2016
Having read a few Connie Mason books in the past, and more or less entertained by them, I picked up "A Breath of Scandal" expecting some ahistorical yet sexy, romantic fun. Sadly, except for the wallpaper Georgian background, this one lacked all those elements. Chock-full of my most hated pet peeves, I realize I should've put this book down when the hero raised the ire of my inner Ron Swanson by vehemently proclaiming that smugglers were cheating the Crown out of their right to collect taxes on French wine. Not a good sign of things to come.
Julian, Earl of Mansfield, is a known as the Scorpion (Pet Peeve number 2: English nobleman is a spy, plus an animal alias for extra lameness) and he's posing undercover to catch the evil smuggler, the Jackal (there’s another stupid animal codename). The Jackal tried to kill Julian years earlier but instead killed Julian's pregnant fiancée. Julian vowed revenge for the only woman he ever cared for (PP number 3: hero obsessed with dead lover throughout the entire book so much so that he cannot acknowledge his feelings for the heroine). On this mission Julian is exposed and shot by the Jackal’s men. He jumps off a boat and washes ashore, to be discovered by some traveling gypsies.
Mason stretches the bounds of credibility here when Julian is found by lovely Lady Lara, the illegitimate daughter of a gypsy and an English Earl, who first knew of her father's identity when her mother died. She showed up on her father's doorstep at age 13, was accepted and made legitimate and now spends most of the year with her father but is allowed to spend summers with her Gypsy family before she has to settle down with an English husband. Other than caravans and the word "gadjo" for outsider, it doesn't appear as if Mason did any real research on Roma people, but like I said this is wallpaper historical at its worst.
Laura is drawn to the stranger and helps heal him back to health. In a twist of events, Julian and Lara are married in gypsy wedding fashion (?) when Laura declares Julian is her husband three times in front of men looking for Julian and Julian doesn't deny it. With his black hair (another pet peeve--it's nit picky and shallow, I know--his hair doesn't match the reddish hair on the back cover) and walnut-stained skin Julian pretends to be a gypsy while his wounds heal. In the meantime he takes advantage of his marriage to Lara by banging her and banging her and banging her some more. He doesn't consider his marriage to Lara binding because she's only a gypsy after all. He hides his true identity from his "wife" and is known solely as Drago. And, of course, Lara doesn't tell him that she is half-English daughter of an Earl.
Julian goes on and on about how he is an honorable man. What's that saying about how a man with honor doesn't call himself one? Well that applies to Julian as his repeated actions belie his claims. A shame, because I like stuffed-shirt, uptight heroes and was expecting a rigidly noble Julian, but he was just a lame-ass loser.
Julian eventually leaves Lara to go back to his home in England. Lara is headed there as well to enter society and find a husband. Lara's fortune-telling grandmother predicts that she will not see Drago in England.
Of course she does see him... not as Drago but in his true form as Julian, Lord Mansfield. Upon realizing Lara is the daughter of an Earl, Julian's supposed honor returns and he vows to marry Lara for real. (Because gypsies are who-ores who don't deserve respect even if they save your life!)
He does all he can to convince her into matrimony, which consists of compromising her in a carriage in a public park, accusing her father of being the nefarious Jackal, putting her in danger several times, then absconding with Lara to Scotland and leaving Daddy a note, all the while having as much sex with Lara as he can and telling her he doesn't love her, will probably never love her due to the pain of losing his fiancée. Honorable man indeed.
The worst is when he hides in the woods like a coward while Lara and her family convince the Jackal's henchmen that Julian isn't there. Some hero.
Another pet peeve rears its head as Lara declares emphatically that if Julian does not love her she won't marry him. But she'll keep on sleeping with him, cuz he's too irresistible!
Actually the first hundred pages or so this book weren't so bad. Connie Mason has an erotic way with love scenes and I was on board to give it a 3 star rating as there was a Lindsey-like vibe that appealed to my bad taste. Unfortunately this was a 400 page book and the story kept going in circles for the last 300 pages.
When Julian and Lara meet up with her gypsy family Lara's grandmother happily exclaims "I told you that you'd meet Drago again!" No, she said the freaking opposite! For an Avon paperback this one was riddled with errors galore. Julian is referred to as Lord Manchester...but it's Mansfield! And the anachronisms were painful to deal with. If a story has charm, appealing characters or an engaging WTF-vibe I can overlook bad history, but when there are none of those qualities present then I just can't enjoy the ride.
1 1/2 star (The 1/2 star for the somewhat engaging first quarter before the story fell apart.)
Julian, Earl of Mansfield, is a known as the Scorpion (Pet Peeve number 2: English nobleman is a spy, plus an animal alias for extra lameness) and he's posing undercover to catch the evil smuggler, the Jackal (there’s another stupid animal codename). The Jackal tried to kill Julian years earlier but instead killed Julian's pregnant fiancée. Julian vowed revenge for the only woman he ever cared for (PP number 3: hero obsessed with dead lover throughout the entire book so much so that he cannot acknowledge his feelings for the heroine). On this mission Julian is exposed and shot by the Jackal’s men. He jumps off a boat and washes ashore, to be discovered by some traveling gypsies.
Mason stretches the bounds of credibility here when Julian is found by lovely Lady Lara, the illegitimate daughter of a gypsy and an English Earl, who first knew of her father's identity when her mother died. She showed up on her father's doorstep at age 13, was accepted and made legitimate and now spends most of the year with her father but is allowed to spend summers with her Gypsy family before she has to settle down with an English husband. Other than caravans and the word "gadjo" for outsider, it doesn't appear as if Mason did any real research on Roma people, but like I said this is wallpaper historical at its worst.
Laura is drawn to the stranger and helps heal him back to health. In a twist of events, Julian and Lara are married in gypsy wedding fashion (?) when Laura declares Julian is her husband three times in front of men looking for Julian and Julian doesn't deny it. With his black hair (another pet peeve--it's nit picky and shallow, I know--his hair doesn't match the reddish hair on the back cover) and walnut-stained skin Julian pretends to be a gypsy while his wounds heal. In the meantime he takes advantage of his marriage to Lara by banging her and banging her and banging her some more. He doesn't consider his marriage to Lara binding because she's only a gypsy after all. He hides his true identity from his "wife" and is known solely as Drago. And, of course, Lara doesn't tell him that she is half-English daughter of an Earl.
Julian goes on and on about how he is an honorable man. What's that saying about how a man with honor doesn't call himself one? Well that applies to Julian as his repeated actions belie his claims. A shame, because I like stuffed-shirt, uptight heroes and was expecting a rigidly noble Julian, but he was just a lame-ass loser.
Julian eventually leaves Lara to go back to his home in England. Lara is headed there as well to enter society and find a husband. Lara's fortune-telling grandmother predicts that she will not see Drago in England.
Of course she does see him... not as Drago but in his true form as Julian, Lord Mansfield. Upon realizing Lara is the daughter of an Earl, Julian's supposed honor returns and he vows to marry Lara for real. (Because gypsies are who-ores who don't deserve respect even if they save your life!)
He does all he can to convince her into matrimony, which consists of compromising her in a carriage in a public park, accusing her father of being the nefarious Jackal, putting her in danger several times, then absconding with Lara to Scotland and leaving Daddy a note, all the while having as much sex with Lara as he can and telling her he doesn't love her, will probably never love her due to the pain of losing his fiancée. Honorable man indeed.
The worst is when he hides in the woods like a coward while Lara and her family convince the Jackal's henchmen that Julian isn't there. Some hero.
Another pet peeve rears its head as Lara declares emphatically that if Julian does not love her she won't marry him. But she'll keep on sleeping with him, cuz he's too irresistible!
Actually the first hundred pages or so this book weren't so bad. Connie Mason has an erotic way with love scenes and I was on board to give it a 3 star rating as there was a Lindsey-like vibe that appealed to my bad taste. Unfortunately this was a 400 page book and the story kept going in circles for the last 300 pages.
When Julian and Lara meet up with her gypsy family Lara's grandmother happily exclaims "I told you that you'd meet Drago again!" No, she said the freaking opposite! For an Avon paperback this one was riddled with errors galore. Julian is referred to as Lord Manchester...but it's Mansfield! And the anachronisms were painful to deal with. If a story has charm, appealing characters or an engaging WTF-vibe I can overlook bad history, but when there are none of those qualities present then I just can't enjoy the ride.
1 1/2 star (The 1/2 star for the somewhat engaging first quarter before the story fell apart.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2015
Una novela histórica con intensas y numerosas escenas de pasión. Disfruté de la acción, el drama y el romance.Me encantó la novela, aunque no es de esas que dejan huella. Quizá hubo algunas cosas que no me gustaron, pero son nimiedades. La historia que sigue en esta serie sí es muy superior, El sabor del deseo.
May 28, 2008
This book follows A Taste of Sin. Lord Julian the Earl of Mansfield is a secret agent for the crown and undercover trying to find out who the head of a smuggling ring is and has been working on case for long time. He knows the guy has to be someone important and privy to secret info and suspects him of murdering in pregnant fiancee. He gets caught and wounded and a gypsy (1/2 cause she's actually a Lady)rescues him and then marries him under gypsy law. But he has to go back and leaves her. She goes home to dad and he takes her to London for her comming out and they meet up again. His relationship with her causes the bad guy to go after her and he has to come to the rescue. I liked this book.
October 15, 2015
Me ha gustado mucho, historia de época, con aventuras con contrabandistas, agentes secretos del gobierno, gitanos y unos protagonistas muy cabezotas que se niegan a volver a querer, aunque nunca lo hayan hecho de esa manera tan profunda. En este libro pasas por muchos sentimientos, desde que se conocen, no puedes dejar de leer, se refleja muy bien la sociedad londinense y las discriminaciones a los que son diferentes o demasiado exóticos. Julian y Lara me han encantado, con esos caracteres tan fuertes y valientes, volver a saber de Sinjun y Cristie y volver a las tierras altas. Os lo recomiendo
March 2, 2012
A Breath of Scandal is author Connie Mason’s second novel of the Sin Trilogy.
In this novel we have Lord Julian Thornton, Earl of Mansfield and a half gypsy and daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, Lady Lara.
Julian is only an earl half the time, the other half he is a secret government agent determined to find vengeance for his dead wife who was killed by a man dubbed the Jackal that he has been hunting for years, and he will not rest until he finds him.
Close to finding the Jackal now then his cover is blown when secret information of his presence there is somehow obtained by the Jackal and he barely get away alive, he would have been dead had he not washed up on sore in Scotland and the beautiful Lara not taken him to her grandmother, and then calmed him as husband before the other Rom when the men after him came to look for him.
Lara is instantly drawn to the man who she found washed up on shore and when men come looking for him she claims him without thought to the future, only that she could not let them harm or take the man who she and the Rom come to call Drako.
Soon though Julian must leave and though she knew it was coming and that she would have to leave for her father soon anyways, she can not help but mourn his leaving as she had come to love him, even though he was a virtual stranger to her.
Julian is glad to be leavening as he does not want to put the Rom people in anymore danger than he already has, though at the same time, he does not want to leave Lara, she makes him feel a fiery passion he has never felt before not even with his now dead fiancée. He knows they can never have a relation ship, her gypsy heart would wither in London and he, as an Earl could never wed her.
They are both more than shocked when they find each other in London at Lara’s coming out party and Julian decides to take her as a wife as he realizes he took dishonored an Earl’s daughter, Lara wont have a marriage without love though and refuses him.
Before long danger comes staking Julian once again, and all those he care for.
I have to say that I enjoyed this novel much more than I did the first book A Taste of Sin which featured Julian’s little brother, Sinjun.
Lara and Julian’s relationship was just as passionate sexually as Sinjun’s and Christy’s but I think the relationship as a whole, leavening out the sexual parts, went a lot better than Sinjun’s.
Lara loved Julian from the start and though Julian does not admit his love for he, you could tell that he did care for her, he was just not ready to let go of the guilt he felt for his fiancées death yet. But when the Jackal set’s his sights on Lara, he does whatever it takes to protect her.
The only thing that bothered me was Lara believing she knew Julian did not love her she was constantly saying she knew that he did not and true he told her he did not want love once or twice but still after all he does for her still she insists he does not and when he tries to tell her she will not let him get the words out and instead make sup a stupid ‘test’ for him to prove his love. Altogether tough I did really like the novel.
I would recommend this novel to anyone that is looking for a good historical romance read.
In this novel we have Lord Julian Thornton, Earl of Mansfield and a half gypsy and daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, Lady Lara.
Julian is only an earl half the time, the other half he is a secret government agent determined to find vengeance for his dead wife who was killed by a man dubbed the Jackal that he has been hunting for years, and he will not rest until he finds him.
Close to finding the Jackal now then his cover is blown when secret information of his presence there is somehow obtained by the Jackal and he barely get away alive, he would have been dead had he not washed up on sore in Scotland and the beautiful Lara not taken him to her grandmother, and then calmed him as husband before the other Rom when the men after him came to look for him.
Lara is instantly drawn to the man who she found washed up on shore and when men come looking for him she claims him without thought to the future, only that she could not let them harm or take the man who she and the Rom come to call Drako.
Soon though Julian must leave and though she knew it was coming and that she would have to leave for her father soon anyways, she can not help but mourn his leaving as she had come to love him, even though he was a virtual stranger to her.
Julian is glad to be leavening as he does not want to put the Rom people in anymore danger than he already has, though at the same time, he does not want to leave Lara, she makes him feel a fiery passion he has never felt before not even with his now dead fiancée. He knows they can never have a relation ship, her gypsy heart would wither in London and he, as an Earl could never wed her.
They are both more than shocked when they find each other in London at Lara’s coming out party and Julian decides to take her as a wife as he realizes he took dishonored an Earl’s daughter, Lara wont have a marriage without love though and refuses him.
Before long danger comes staking Julian once again, and all those he care for.
I have to say that I enjoyed this novel much more than I did the first book A Taste of Sin which featured Julian’s little brother, Sinjun.
Lara and Julian’s relationship was just as passionate sexually as Sinjun’s and Christy’s but I think the relationship as a whole, leavening out the sexual parts, went a lot better than Sinjun’s.
Lara loved Julian from the start and though Julian does not admit his love for he, you could tell that he did care for her, he was just not ready to let go of the guilt he felt for his fiancées death yet. But when the Jackal set’s his sights on Lara, he does whatever it takes to protect her.
The only thing that bothered me was Lara believing she knew Julian did not love her she was constantly saying she knew that he did not and true he told her he did not want love once or twice but still after all he does for her still she insists he does not and when he tries to tell her she will not let him get the words out and instead make sup a stupid ‘test’ for him to prove his love. Altogether tough I did really like the novel.
I would recommend this novel to anyone that is looking for a good historical romance read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2011
Connie Mason, WTH?! I really like this author, but this book was like the biggest eye roll ever! Somehow, I couldn't stop reading it though. You know, like when you're addicted to trashy celebrity gossip. SPOILER below...sort of...
The hero is so thick and stubborn. He spends the whole book whining about avenging the death of his fiance. He didn't even love the chick, yet he swears off marriage and children forever. Then, he spews these awful stereotypes about Gypsies. He accuses the heroine of being a whore because she's a half-breed (half English, half Gypsy)...and then like 5 minutes later, he's ready to rip apart some fops who imply that the heroine is a whore. Dude, you can't have it both ways.
Then, he's overbearing...insisting for like 40 pages that the heroine marry him. This happens of course after he finds out that she's not some common "Gypsy wench." She's actually an earl's daughter. Sigh. So, she was only worthy of your peen as a Gypsy? Hmmm.
The heroine is half Gypsy, so she's more fiery than milksop English girls...or at least that's what the author tries to make you believe. This heroine spends a good 80 percent of the book begging the hero to love her. All they do is have sex and I'm like, really, you're in love? She keeps telling the hero that she'll marry him when he loves her. He is afraid of love and retorts that "he cares for her deeply". He also talks about all the good sex they have...and boy do they have a lot of it. For all the heroine's stubborness about marriage, every time the hero practically looked at her, her legs fell open. (eye roll)
Well, there's danger and attempts on lives...and finally evil is vanquished... that's not a spoiler. The hero is ready to express his love, because he realizes that after all this time he does love her. OK, well she's not wanting to listen. She runs away. (blank stare) In the snow. While pregnant.
I'll stop there. Oh and lastly, there were LOTS of errors in this book. Since when is "tume will tell" a platitude? It's spelled t-i-m-e. Oh and the rats were eating in the "corner" not "comer".
The hero is so thick and stubborn. He spends the whole book whining about avenging the death of his fiance. He didn't even love the chick, yet he swears off marriage and children forever. Then, he spews these awful stereotypes about Gypsies. He accuses the heroine of being a whore because she's a half-breed (half English, half Gypsy)...and then like 5 minutes later, he's ready to rip apart some fops who imply that the heroine is a whore. Dude, you can't have it both ways.
Then, he's overbearing...insisting for like 40 pages that the heroine marry him. This happens of course after he finds out that she's not some common "Gypsy wench." She's actually an earl's daughter. Sigh. So, she was only worthy of your peen as a Gypsy? Hmmm.
The heroine is half Gypsy, so she's more fiery than milksop English girls...or at least that's what the author tries to make you believe. This heroine spends a good 80 percent of the book begging the hero to love her. All they do is have sex and I'm like, really, you're in love? She keeps telling the hero that she'll marry him when he loves her. He is afraid of love and retorts that "he cares for her deeply". He also talks about all the good sex they have...and boy do they have a lot of it. For all the heroine's stubborness about marriage, every time the hero practically looked at her, her legs fell open. (eye roll)
Well, there's danger and attempts on lives...and finally evil is vanquished... that's not a spoiler. The hero is ready to express his love, because he realizes that after all this time he does love her. OK, well she's not wanting to listen. She runs away. (blank stare) In the snow. While pregnant.
I'll stop there. Oh and lastly, there were LOTS of errors in this book. Since when is "tume will tell" a platitude? It's spelled t-i-m-e. Oh and the rats were eating in the "corner" not "comer".
December 2, 2011
Another good story by Mason, though the basic premise was a little hard to believe. Did English lords in pre-Regency England legitimize bastards sired on Gypsy women? Present them to Society? And if the dad did take the girl in at 13, would he let her return to the Gypsies for weeks and months?
That said, this is another romance that has more adventure to the story--which is a huge plus for me. Julian is a government spy codenamed Scorpion, onto a smuggling ring that appears to be headed by someone high up in government, called the Jackal. He must be close, since the Jackal already tried to kill him, and ended up killing his fiance and unborn child instead. He's infiltrated the smuggling ring, but he's found out and shot twice.
Lara, said half-gypsy legitimized bastard, discovers Julian's lifeless figure and has him taken to her wagon in the Gypsy camp. Later, to protect him, she claims him as her husband (which, according to the story, makes them married in fact by Gypsy tradition). As he heals, Julian is only too pleased to enjoy his marital rights, but he refuses to divulge his real name, and he has no intention of honoring the marriage--she's a Gypsy, after all. When he leaves, he intends never to see her again.
Surprise, surprise, he meets Lara again at a ball held by her father in her honor. When he realizes she's the daughter of a lord, all of a sudden, she's good enough for him, and he decides to court and marry her (and won't hear or recognize her refusals or the reasons for them). Meanwhile, the Jackal sees his interest in her, which makes her a target.
A couple characters in the book do point out that he treated her shabbily when he didn't know who she was, but he never really seems to acknowledge that he was wrong. For that reason, I never quite liked this guy. Even so, I liked the story. It's a good read.
That said, this is another romance that has more adventure to the story--which is a huge plus for me. Julian is a government spy codenamed Scorpion, onto a smuggling ring that appears to be headed by someone high up in government, called the Jackal. He must be close, since the Jackal already tried to kill him, and ended up killing his fiance and unborn child instead. He's infiltrated the smuggling ring, but he's found out and shot twice.
Lara, said half-gypsy legitimized bastard, discovers Julian's lifeless figure and has him taken to her wagon in the Gypsy camp. Later, to protect him, she claims him as her husband (which, according to the story, makes them married in fact by Gypsy tradition). As he heals, Julian is only too pleased to enjoy his marital rights, but he refuses to divulge his real name, and he has no intention of honoring the marriage--she's a Gypsy, after all. When he leaves, he intends never to see her again.
Surprise, surprise, he meets Lara again at a ball held by her father in her honor. When he realizes she's the daughter of a lord, all of a sudden, she's good enough for him, and he decides to court and marry her (and won't hear or recognize her refusals or the reasons for them). Meanwhile, the Jackal sees his interest in her, which makes her a target.
A couple characters in the book do point out that he treated her shabbily when he didn't know who she was, but he never really seems to acknowledge that he was wrong. For that reason, I never quite liked this guy. Even so, I liked the story. It's a good read.
December 24, 2007
This is book #2 in the Sin Trilogy. Julian is Sinjuns (from book #1, "Taste of Sin") mysterious brother. I thought this story had a lot of potential, but it just failed miserably for me. The characters were frustratingly ignorant and I was dissappointed in how the story progressed.
October 12, 2017
JULIAN INTRIGUED ME THE MOMENT WE MET IN SINJUN'S STORY. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING EXCITING ABOUT A PAIRING BETWEEN A NO-NONSENSE HERO WITH A WILD CHILD HEROINE. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS! Yet as I read this author's story, my second from her, I begin to frown upon the repetitive plot pattern that can be easily identified from the climax point onwards....
OUR HERO works for the government and the perils of his occupation costed him a fiancee and unborn child. Reasoning so, he refuses to marry or have a child ever again to save him the pain. Yet during one of his latest mission, his identity was uncovered by the enemy and he nary escapes with his life. Washed upon shore, with two bullets in his body, he was rescued by our heroine who was staying with her Gypsy grandparents. To save his life, he was wedded to her in Romany culture, and because most people's beliefs were that Gypsy women were free with their bodies....you can imagine what Julian did. That wasn't very nice or gentlemanly of him....and anyway pompous that he is, goes back to the real world believing the woman he ferociously hungers for, never feeling such strong emotions for, not even the deceased Emily...is a common Gypsy girl. Until, he sees her in London on the arm on an Earl and assumes the worse of her again! Oh botheration! Now he is determined to wed her because "honor demands it" and what a load of horse shit because he loves her.
OUR HEROINE is half Gadje and half Gypsy. Her golden skin and curly black hair makes the English uneasy, especially since she's the daughter of an Earl and one who wants to see her wed this season. Spending the last time with her grandparents in the Gypsy camp, she didn't expect to find her fate in the form of a man. Her belief is that she will never marry until she finds love...but finds herself wedded to Julian in Rom fashion and they consummate the wedding vows in bunny fashion until he leaves. Going back to the ton, she didn't expect to meet him again and he's hurling insults and pestering her for attention now.
OVERALL the story was quite enjoyable if you don't delve into the details and such. It IS A FICTIONAL tale, so any unrational decisions may be forgiven. But, I only have a foreboding feeling that this author has one repetitive writing style in this story, whereby she always makes the heroine misunderstand the hero's words as he's lying wounded on the bed....and then leaves and then he has to chase her down after his recovery. As much as I appreciate that plot and the hero claiming his undying love...it just doesn't work everytime and more unnecessary than needed.
OUR HERO works for the government and the perils of his occupation costed him a fiancee and unborn child. Reasoning so, he refuses to marry or have a child ever again to save him the pain. Yet during one of his latest mission, his identity was uncovered by the enemy and he nary escapes with his life. Washed upon shore, with two bullets in his body, he was rescued by our heroine who was staying with her Gypsy grandparents. To save his life, he was wedded to her in Romany culture, and because most people's beliefs were that Gypsy women were free with their bodies....you can imagine what Julian did. That wasn't very nice or gentlemanly of him....and anyway pompous that he is, goes back to the real world believing the woman he ferociously hungers for, never feeling such strong emotions for, not even the deceased Emily...is a common Gypsy girl. Until, he sees her in London on the arm on an Earl and assumes the worse of her again! Oh botheration! Now he is determined to wed her because "honor demands it" and what a load of horse shit because he loves her.
OUR HEROINE is half Gadje and half Gypsy. Her golden skin and curly black hair makes the English uneasy, especially since she's the daughter of an Earl and one who wants to see her wed this season. Spending the last time with her grandparents in the Gypsy camp, she didn't expect to find her fate in the form of a man. Her belief is that she will never marry until she finds love...but finds herself wedded to Julian in Rom fashion and they consummate the wedding vows in bunny fashion until he leaves. Going back to the ton, she didn't expect to meet him again and he's hurling insults and pestering her for attention now.
OVERALL the story was quite enjoyable if you don't delve into the details and such. It IS A FICTIONAL tale, so any unrational decisions may be forgiven. But, I only have a foreboding feeling that this author has one repetitive writing style in this story, whereby she always makes the heroine misunderstand the hero's words as he's lying wounded on the bed....and then leaves and then he has to chase her down after his recovery. As much as I appreciate that plot and the hero claiming his undying love...it just doesn't work everytime and more unnecessary than needed.
December 4, 2023
Though Julian may not be the best HR hero but I can’t stand his standoff-ish behaviour and his absolute asshole-ry. Gypsy this, gypsy that. Like dude, so fucking what? The fact that he used her for sex, left her for many weeks without either a word nor a backward glance and then got angry with her when she showed up to a ball in London with her father (the father was mistaken as her protector) thinking that she hopped on to another man’s bed soon as he left (yet you were the one who wanted to leave her behind in the first place!). I also don’t understand why Lara couldn’t come clean immediately of all the men Julian mistake as her lovers (Rondo and Lord Standhope) instead of stringing Julian along in the fake charade. Like the angst and the misunderstandings were amped up for shock value.
I also abhor the fact that Julian didn’t think twice of courting Lara after finding out about her being a daughter of an earl when he didn’t give a tosh about her dignity and integrity as a woman when he was thinking of her as simply ol’ Gypsy wench. His constant disparaging remarks about her Gypsy background left such a bitter taste in my mouth, he only thought of her good enough as a mistress but not a wife. Apparently that had changed after the truth of her aristocratic background prevailed. Now all men were not good for her except him🙄
I’m sorry I could barely connect with any of these characters as there are barely any emotional depth and romantic nuances I can relate with.
I also abhor the fact that Julian didn’t think twice of courting Lara after finding out about her being a daughter of an earl when he didn’t give a tosh about her dignity and integrity as a woman when he was thinking of her as simply ol’ Gypsy wench. His constant disparaging remarks about her Gypsy background left such a bitter taste in my mouth, he only thought of her good enough as a mistress but not a wife. Apparently that had changed after the truth of her aristocratic background prevailed. Now all men were not good for her except him🙄
I’m sorry I could barely connect with any of these characters as there are barely any emotional depth and romantic nuances I can relate with.
July 6, 2023
"A Breath of Scandal" by Connie Mason is an emotionally charged novel that delves into the depths of intense romance and the poignant pain of its hero, Julian.
The writer’s masterful storytelling takes us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, skillfully crafting a narrative that immerses us in the turmoil and passion of the characters. The intense romance that unfolds between Justin and Lara is both intoxicating and heartbreaking, making every moment feel poignant and significant.
Justin’s journey is filled with raw vulnerability, and you can't help but feel a deep sense of empathy for him. The author doesn't shy away from exploring the depth of his pain, making the moments of hope and redemption all the more powerful.
The chemistry between the couple is electric, filled with intensity and desire! Their interactions crackle with tension, as they navigate the obstacles that threaten to tear them apart. The emotional depth and connection they share make every scene bristle with anticipation, when if the protagonists are too far in doubts to realize it!
"A Breath of Scandal" is a story that will make you laugh, cry, and ultimately believe in the power of love to heal even the deepest wounds. If you're looking for a book that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, this written tale is not to be missed.
The writer’s masterful storytelling takes us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, skillfully crafting a narrative that immerses us in the turmoil and passion of the characters. The intense romance that unfolds between Justin and Lara is both intoxicating and heartbreaking, making every moment feel poignant and significant.
Justin’s journey is filled with raw vulnerability, and you can't help but feel a deep sense of empathy for him. The author doesn't shy away from exploring the depth of his pain, making the moments of hope and redemption all the more powerful.
The chemistry between the couple is electric, filled with intensity and desire! Their interactions crackle with tension, as they navigate the obstacles that threaten to tear them apart. The emotional depth and connection they share make every scene bristle with anticipation, when if the protagonists are too far in doubts to realize it!
"A Breath of Scandal" is a story that will make you laugh, cry, and ultimately believe in the power of love to heal even the deepest wounds. If you're looking for a book that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, this written tale is not to be missed.
December 11, 2022
Una historia bonita y más intensa que la anterior, pero que me ha dejado mal sabor de boca por cómo piensa el protagonista. La trama de misterio me ha gustado la mayor parte del tiempo, pero se ha resuelto demasiado rápido y sin ningún tipo de sorpresa, ya que la autora había dejado demasiadas pistas. Es una prosa tremendamente repetitiva, los personajes tienen las mismas reflexiones y conversaciones una, otra y otra vez, hasta hacerse cansino. El tira y afloja se me ha hecho muy pesado porque todo el rato era lo mismo.
Julian no me ha gustado, su forma de ver a los cíngaros, su clasismo, su manera de ver la relación con Lara y esos perjuicios tan arraigados me han molestado mucho porque vale, al final los sentimientos aparecen, pero ¿qué hubiera pasado si Lara no llega a ser la hija de un conde? A ver, sé que eso pasaba, pero me hubiera convencido si Julian se hubiera redimido, cosa que no sucede.
Lara me ha gustado bastante más por luchadora, intensa e intrépida, pero esa oposición a casarse con Julian mientras sucumbe una y otra vez a la seducción me ha molestado bastante.
Julian no me ha gustado, su forma de ver a los cíngaros, su clasismo, su manera de ver la relación con Lara y esos perjuicios tan arraigados me han molestado mucho porque vale, al final los sentimientos aparecen, pero ¿qué hubiera pasado si Lara no llega a ser la hija de un conde? A ver, sé que eso pasaba, pero me hubiera convencido si Julian se hubiera redimido, cosa que no sucede.
Lara me ha gustado bastante más por luchadora, intensa e intrépida, pero esa oposición a casarse con Julian mientras sucumbe una y otra vez a la seducción me ha molestado bastante.
August 7, 2017
Connie Mason es, seguramente junto a Kat Martin, Sylvia Day y Arlette Geneve mi autora favorita de romántica de época. Hacía muchísimo tiempo que había leído esta novela por primera y única vez y la verdad es que no la recordaba del todo bien. La trama es apasionante, los personajes son maravillosos, aunque de los Thorton yo me quedaría con Sinjun, aun así la considero una trilogía indispensable para los amantes del género.
February 23, 2020
This story is better than book 1; A taste of sin. Julian is working as spy for the government. The story does not discuss about his job details but keep on stressing he is a powerful agent in few chapters. Whereas, Lara claiming Julian as her husband in order to save him & Julian agreeing to the claim is a bit unrealistic. One thing I hate about Thornton's brother are their judgmental behavior towards the lady.
February 2, 2017
El segundo libro me gustó más que el anterior. Aunque no tiene elementos distintivos, la madurez de los personajes y los sucesos hicieron que mi interés fuera mayor. Obviamente hubo uno que otro suceso que me exasperó un poco, pero en general fue bien. Por esta razón la caficiación fue de 4 estrellas.
December 8, 2018
Mercy
Una muy recomendada novela muy entretenida me encanta como escribe esta escritora,describe el paisaje que uno cree que esta ahi,mucho amor y mucha pasion.
Una muy recomendada novela muy entretenida me encanta como escribe esta escritora,describe el paisaje que uno cree que esta ahi,mucho amor y mucha pasion.
February 11, 2019
This would have been good, but it was VERY REPETITIVE. Seriously, some authors borrow themes from other books, but Connie phoned this one in.
May 28, 2019
I have read this book several times and it's my favorite out of the series
June 28, 2019
Tema interesante pero se repite mucho y resulta largo.
April 29, 2020
Will be reviewed and shelved later when i have find time and energy after this tiring times.
March 4, 2017
Julian is an ass. He's domineering and controlling...the whole argument between the hero and heroine regarding the marriage is frankly ridiculous. He insists that they marry because he's ruined her and even though she wasn't good enough for him as a gypsy, now that she's an Earl's daughter, his honor demands he make ammends.
If I were the heroine, I'd tell him to go blow himself. And she very nearly does, only she has no self-respect and switches her argument to "I'll only marry you if you love me." They have this argument for over half the book.
Also, the guy has absolutely no control over his sexual response. He accosts her in a frickin carriage in broad daylight because he simply can't help himself. He constantly has to apologize for losing control. Not that she has any either.
And Julian throws out so many stereotypes about gypsies its unreal. And this charming guy takes her virginity, believing there's no way a gypsy could possibly be one (She tells him she's a virgin and he says, that no gypsy holds onto their virginity past the age of 13 so that's simply impossible)...then he finds out she is and he gets angry at her for not telling him. WTF? So now that she's crying at losing her virginity in such a romantic way, he simply says, "Well, I'm inside you now, so let's make the best of it." What an ass.
If I were the heroine, I'd tell him to go blow himself. And she very nearly does, only she has no self-respect and switches her argument to "I'll only marry you if you love me." They have this argument for over half the book.
Also, the guy has absolutely no control over his sexual response. He accosts her in a frickin carriage in broad daylight because he simply can't help himself. He constantly has to apologize for losing control. Not that she has any either.
And Julian throws out so many stereotypes about gypsies its unreal. And this charming guy takes her virginity, believing there's no way a gypsy could possibly be one (She tells him she's a virgin and he says, that no gypsy holds onto their virginity past the age of 13 so that's simply impossible)...then he finds out she is and he gets angry at her for not telling him. WTF? So now that she's crying at losing her virginity in such a romantic way, he simply says, "Well, I'm inside you now, so let's make the best of it." What an ass.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2016
3.5 Stars
Connie Mason is one of my go to historical romance authors. She does a great job pairing romance with adventure.
Julian is a man haunted by the death of his late fiance and unborn child. As a secret agent, he lives a double life and uses all of his resources to find the Jackal - the man responsible for his loss. Julian is close to discovering the man's identity when he is captured. He barely escaped with his life. Found on a beach by a beautiful gypsy woman who nurses him back to health. His desire for her is uncontrollable, but he knows she and her tribe would be better off without him around.
Lara is drawn to the stranger and he sparks a need within that is undeniable. But she is also living a double life. She is the recognized bastard daughter of an English Lord and will be joining her father soon. She knows she and the man she rescued cannot be together.
They go their separate ways only to bump into each other a London party. Imagine their surprise. She thought he was a smuggler and he thought she was just a gypsy. Out of honor, Julian offers to marry here and she refuses - though they are already married gypsy style - and they must work together to bring the Jackal to justice and find their future.
This was a good book. Lara's background and circumstance were different than the usual regency romance, but a titled a bit to the unbelievable side. And there were times when Julian deserved a good slap for being an ass - he wasn't the romantic hero he could have been, which is why I didn't give this book 4 stars. Still, it was a fun read.
Connie Mason is one of my go to historical romance authors. She does a great job pairing romance with adventure.
Julian is a man haunted by the death of his late fiance and unborn child. As a secret agent, he lives a double life and uses all of his resources to find the Jackal - the man responsible for his loss. Julian is close to discovering the man's identity when he is captured. He barely escaped with his life. Found on a beach by a beautiful gypsy woman who nurses him back to health. His desire for her is uncontrollable, but he knows she and her tribe would be better off without him around.
Lara is drawn to the stranger and he sparks a need within that is undeniable. But she is also living a double life. She is the recognized bastard daughter of an English Lord and will be joining her father soon. She knows she and the man she rescued cannot be together.
They go their separate ways only to bump into each other a London party. Imagine their surprise. She thought he was a smuggler and he thought she was just a gypsy. Out of honor, Julian offers to marry here and she refuses - though they are already married gypsy style - and they must work together to bring the Jackal to justice and find their future.
This was a good book. Lara's background and circumstance were different than the usual regency romance, but a titled a bit to the unbelievable side. And there were times when Julian deserved a good slap for being an ass - he wasn't the romantic hero he could have been, which is why I didn't give this book 4 stars. Still, it was a fun read.
July 16, 2012
Julian gets washed up ashore, shot and hunted by the smugglers he´s investigating. Lara, a gypsy woman, saves him by claiming him as a husband. When he´s healthy enough to return to London, he does so, without a thought of his wife, determined to continue the investigation to find the one responsible for his fiancee and unborn childs death.
Of course Julian and Lara meet again, when she´s introduced to the ton by her father and Julian is there. It bugged me that he´s such an old fart, he´s hung up on his old love and doesn´t give Lara one thought. He does redeem himself but it takes a while. 3,5 Stars.
Of course Julian and Lara meet again, when she´s introduced to the ton by her father and Julian is there. It bugged me that he´s such an old fart, he´s hung up on his old love and doesn´t give Lara one thought. He does redeem himself but it takes a while. 3,5 Stars.
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January 27, 2010Decidedly better than the other Connie Mason I had read.. I'm even half tempted to try to read the others in this trilogy. What I found excessively annoying is the hero who is such a twerp you wonder what the heroine sees in him. The hero's prejudices about the Rom were fairly amusing, but the portrayal of this culture did remain quite superficial and stereotypical. Very light fare.
April 16, 2012
I think this book would be a lot better if it wasn't for the halting way she had the characters interacting with each other. Very thick, very wordy...
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July 31, 2011Great story, probably would have been better if I read the first in the series.
December 17, 2016
Много слабо. Не знам защо продължавам да се изтезавам с Кони и нейните повтарящи се сюжети, описания, драми...
historical
January 2, 2019he claimed him as her husband without even knowing his name. Now she will risk everything to keep his secret—but can she give her heart without having his love in return?
Lord Julian Thornton, Earl of Mansfield by day and secret agent of the crown by night, has sworn never to love another woman. But then a mission goes wrong, and Julian is left for dead, his only hope a seductively mysterious gypsy woman named Lara. And when she marries him under gypsy law for his own protection, Julian is too entranced with the dark beauty to deny himself the benefits of their marriage. Yet even as he longs for their idyllic interlude to last, Julian knows his presence alone puts her very life in danger. Until he discovers Lara in the one place he never expected to see his wild gypsy enchantress...the one place where he isn't sure he can protect her—or his own heart.
From the moment Lady Lara, half-gypsy daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, finds a wounded stranger washed up on Scotland's rugged shore, she knows their destinies will be forever entangled. So when a band of smugglers comes looking for the dashing stranger, Lara doesn't hesitate to claim him as her husband "Drago." But when her mysterious husband goes back to his own world—and its dark secrets—Lara returns to her father to take her place as his heiress...never expecting to find her Drago across the earl's crowded ballroom. And although he still enthralls her, Lara is determined that she will never truly be his wife until he surrenders his heart as well.
Lord Julian Thornton, Earl of Mansfield by day and secret agent of the crown by night, has sworn never to love another woman. But then a mission goes wrong, and Julian is left for dead, his only hope a seductively mysterious gypsy woman named Lara. And when she marries him under gypsy law for his own protection, Julian is too entranced with the dark beauty to deny himself the benefits of their marriage. Yet even as he longs for their idyllic interlude to last, Julian knows his presence alone puts her very life in danger. Until he discovers Lara in the one place he never expected to see his wild gypsy enchantress...the one place where he isn't sure he can protect her—or his own heart.
From the moment Lady Lara, half-gypsy daughter of the Earl of Stanhope, finds a wounded stranger washed up on Scotland's rugged shore, she knows their destinies will be forever entangled. So when a band of smugglers comes looking for the dashing stranger, Lara doesn't hesitate to claim him as her husband "Drago." But when her mysterious husband goes back to his own world—and its dark secrets—Lara returns to her father to take her place as his heiress...never expecting to find her Drago across the earl's crowded ballroom. And although he still enthralls her, Lara is determined that she will never truly be his wife until he surrenders his heart as well.
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