Standing at the altar, Sebastian Rey-Defoe has resigned himself to a marriage of convenience until a flame-haired siren interrupts the ceremony! Worse, he recognises her — this must be her idea of revenge…
Mari Jones is determined to put a dent in Sebastian’s insurmountable pride — and to make him pay for his sins! But she hasn’t bargained on the sparks that fly the instant she and the arrogant tycoon meet again.
Nor has she ever imagined that the consequences of her plan will see her walking down the aisle towards Sebastian!
Though lacking much authentic Welsh blood, Kim Lawrence comes from English-Irish stock. She was born and brought up in North Wales. She returned there when she married, and her sons were both born on Anglesey, an island off the coast. Though not isolated, Anglesey is a little off the beaten track, but lively Dublin, which Kim loves, is only a short ferry ride away. Today they live on the farm her husband was brought up on. Welsh is the first language of many people in this area and Kim's husband and sons are all bilingual she is having a lot of fun, not to mention a few headaches, trying to learn the language! She is a keen gardener and cook and enjoys running often on the beach, as living on an island the sea is never very far away. She is usually accompanied by her Jack Russell, Sprout don't ask, it's long story!
With small children, the unsocial hours of nursing didn't look attractive so encouraged by a husband who thinks she can do anything she sets her mind to, Kim tried her hand at writing. Always a keen Mills & Boon reader, it seemed natural for her to write a romance novel. In 1995, she published her first novels and now she can't imagine doing anything else.
The Sins of Sebastian Rey-Defoe by Kim Lawrence is the 3rd book in the Seven Sexy Sins series and this one is based on pride.
Sebastian Rey-Defoe certainly never expected to have his marriage of convenience to be stopped by a woman he recognizes from years before, when he had humiliated her so publicly.
Mari Jones was determined to get her revenge on the tycoon but she never expected that her actions would bounce back at her.
I really liked the storyline….blackmailed into marriage and falling in love on the way!!! My favorite character was Sebastian. I found him to be such an endearing likeable hero. He took his family responsibilities seriously, care for the people he loved and actually behaved in a very nice manner towards Mari. He was never cruel or unkind. Okay, Mari was a bit of a ditsy kind of girl but all in all….yes, she made assumptions without thinking, opened her mouth and said what she felt or thought without even thinking about it!!!!
She was somewhat an endearing character that just grew on me…and I loved that she was a red-haired heroine!!!!!
I also loved the dialogue and the banter between these two. I laughed and smiled a lot as Sebastian tried his best to “get” who this adorable ginger head was!!!!!
The romance, the chemistry and the pacing was really enjoyable. The story left me with a good feeling….
I liked it much better the second time. It was very sad in a way. He was broken by his parents behavior and she was broken because of her parents or lack thereof. She was a foster child left on a church step with her twin brother. Her twin brother by the way was a shiny loser. Just had to get that out of the way. She gets revenge on the hero by protesting at his wedding for something he had done six years before and I kind of found it amusing. He was a piece of work for sure. He discovers that his fiance is a cold fish and dumps her. He then marries the heroine for 18 months so he can get a deal done. But of course they fall in love and it was very sweet. There was some angst and sadness but the ending was beautiful. I am glad I gave it a second chance.
Insta-lust, misunderstanding, revenge and passion. Arrogant-rich H misjudges h; she gets her revenge after several years spoiling his wedding (no need to say a loveless marriage planned only for business purpose). He decides to turn the tables and force her to merry on a temporary basis. No need to say he has time to change his mind about her, discovering her innocence and strong/resilient personality. At the same time, the h discovers the he is not a cold-arrogant-narrow minded businessman, but is capable of feelings and... passion. OK read but not for re-read....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3 stars, this was a moc where mari shows up at the (also moc) wedding of sebastian and says she's pregnant with his child as a form of revenge for him humiliating her 6 years ago when they were strangers. she faints after objecting at the wedding and seb uses the opportunity to "jilt" his bride who was also practically a stranger to him and basically a snobby society girl that he was marrying in order to help secure a deal.
the tropes used here; moc, shotgun wedding, revenge, dependent siblings, unexpected pregnancy etc are very common in harlequins but the writing style and something about the characters was FUN. mari was slightly crazy and seb was actually an easy-going guy. it makes their banter fun because neither one of them takes themselves too seriously so there's little woe is me/tragic backstory angst even though it could have easily gone down that route.
the reason this didn't get a higher rating from me is because the drawback was honestly the development of feelings, they talk a lot about their past and are compatible but the buildup doesn't seem organic. a big part of the issue there is the pacing, over 50% of the book is all exposition setup and drawn out conversations about the failed wedding and mari's hospitalized twin brother and takes place over the a couple days. it would have benefited greatly from all that drama being handled in the first 20% and letting the rest of the book be about their moc especially because mari has a around the 90% mark which seems too late in the book to address an issue like that.
First of all I think Sebastian was the one committing less sins than anyone else in the book. Second, that Mari gave me some headaches. Then there was that awful brother of hers. Can't decide how much I liked the book.
Meh. No angst and coldest hero ever. He sees the heroine one night when she’s 18, she’s with her teacher and he slut shames her in front of many people because the man was married, without even wondering if she knew it. She takes all the blame. Idiot prick. He’s also turned on by her because she’s a stunner. Years later she decides to have a lil revenge and crashes his marriage telling him she’s pregnant with his child. He jilts the bride because she didn’t get angry. Really? H wasn’t in love with his fiancé because he’s a man who doesn’t do feelings and wanted his wife to love him? Hypocrite. Then he offers the heroine’s brother a rehab treatment. The man had an accident and the heroine is very worried. The hero proposes marriage of convenience because she insist that she doesn’t want to be in debt with him. So, no blackmail. They are both very cool. The heroine is somehow messy and empathetic while he’s a cold fish and beside his money and good looks I don’t know what he has for himself. Of course there’s a lot of lust and they become lovers, there’s also a pregnancy and eventually a lil drama where the hero realizes he loves her and wants a true marriage. All this because his parents were one of those dysfunctional couples who were emotionally unstable and divorced time and again. Ok, I can accept it. Actually they suffered both from emotional disruption, and the poor child never felt safe. But the book simply didn’t took my interest. So maybe it’s me and not the book. Whatever. Of course he wasn’t celibate and she was a virgin. His apology for his past behavior is unsatisfactory. He doesn’t really seem sorry to have slut shamed a girl he didn’t even know. I didn’t like him. The heroine was somehow too empathetic and everyone exploited her. Maybe the hero is what she needs. A cold fish for a hothead. Lol!
2,5 . Diciamo che in questi giorni di cervicale questi libri semplici sono perfetti perché non riesco a leggere. La trama è carina ma sviluppata con acceleratore e un po' santamariagoretti
Sebastian sees an attractive woman who rings his bells, but she’s with the husband of the local doctor. He confronts them, but choses to demonize the woman, calling her a slut in a room full of people.
Six years later, the same woman, Mari Jones, has decided to get her revenge for Sebastian’s interference in her life and her brothers. Learning of his wedding, she set out to ruin it and make him look foolish, just as he did to her years earlier.
Mari shows up at the church and at the appropriate the time she objects to his marriage. Her objection: she’s pregnant with Sebastian’s baby and they need him. This claim is utterly false, but it’s a show-stopper, especially when Mari faints right after making her claim.
Obviously, Sebastian’s wedding is called off and the major deal that his marriage was certain to confirm is now in jeopardy. In retaliation, Seb uses his influence and forces Mari to marry him for an eighteen-month period to secure his deal. He soon learns that he was very mistaken about Mari when he finds out first hand that she is a virgin.
The dynamics of their relationship changes after they become lovers. Unfortunately, Mari becomes pregnant and this now cements their marriage as permanent. They consign themselves to this and Mari, knowing that she is in love with Seb is distraught at the thought of being in a marriage without love. Unfortunately, after a distressing circumstance, she suffers a miscarriage.
Seb realizes that he almost lost her and also realizes that he loves her. They share their feelings and they live happily ever after.
Ok…
This book was almost impossible to wrap my mind around.
1. How did Mari just saunter into what was touted as “The Wedding of the Year?”
2. Her brother has to be the most selfish to not even care what is going on with his twin. His only family.
3. That entire scene with Mari’s father in Seb’s library…I just didn’t get it. For such a wealthy guy, Sebastian has really crappy security. Time to hire a new company, dude!
All in all, not an awful book, but just not very good. I felt the story was disjointed and had no real flow. There were areas that made no sense; like Mari’s father odd appearance and her choosing to get revenge on Sebastian the way she did. I was left with a lot of “hmmmm’s.” But try it, you might like it.
The Sins of Sebestian Rey-Dafoe was a pleasant surprise. The prologue and chapter 1 were underwhelming but it got better once I realized the heroine was a bit cray cray and a shrew and more important I loved how the hero engaged her. He managed her and outmanuevered her. Made me really like what I was reading.
The only negative was the sudden declaration of love...I didn't quite believe it as the hero and heroine didn't spend much time fighting falling in love with inner thoughts.
Think I'm gonna keep this book and do a reread later this year.
This could have been good, really good but the heroine ruined it for me. Sorry, I found Mari a tiresome, smug and uninspiring heroine with an even more annoying and unsympathetic twin brother.
In contrast Sebastian was a well written character and altogether lovely hero. I could not fathom why he would want the unpleasant and permanently aggressive Mari apart from the sex.
I really became annoyed with her from the outset. She didn’t try to find out anything just made assumptions about Sebastian.
Whilst the names he called her 6 years earlier were unpleasant - she was the one appeared ready to fall into bed with a married man - even if she hadn’t known. So why she felt so aggrieved for Sebastian calling it for what it was totally puzzled me. He knew the doctor and her husband and children so of course he would dislike what Mari was apparently doing.
Since she was so fond of opening her mouth and losing her temper, it simply did not ring true that she would not have argued in her own defence and exposed the married man at the time! I do hate scenarios which have not been thought through and don’t make sense.
I’ve read several of this author’s books and enjoyed them but I was somewhat disappointed by this one. Never mind, we can’t like them all I suppose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Sebastian Rey-Defoe is about to get married to a women he thinks is perfect for him. He doesn't love her but thinks she meet his qualification to be a non-emotional wife. Mari Jones and her twin brother were left abandon and they both have issues over it but Mari seems to take responsibility of her brother and always taking up for him. So when he is hurt in a car accident that possible has him not walking due to him being upset that Sebastian didn't think he was good enough for his sister. Mari goes to get some revenge for her and her brother. Because years ago Sebastian had said mean things to her and some people that were around them. So Mari goes to the church were Sebastian is getting married and objects to the marriage. Mari thinking she would just cause a issue not actually stop the marriage. But she ended up causing the marriage to not take place and now Sebastian seems to be in her business all the time.
Well! The story goes like this: A pair of psycho twins decide that their life is miserable because of an oblivious tycoon "of course he's a tycoon DUH". So the sister decides to crash his wedding to humiliate him publicly, especially after he had "traumatized" her six years ago so bad that she chose abstinence and swore off men "seriously". It's lazy writing over and over again. I can understand that Mills & Boon story lines MUST be as cheesy as possible, but this is broad line lazy and stupid. The Hero was alright, but the Heroine must've been detained in a loony bin! Not to mention her pathetic sorry excuse of a brother.
Basically the hero mistakes the heroine for being the 'other woman' and calls her a bunch of horrible words. That was 6 years ago; now in the present , the heroine is still upset over that situation and hears about his upcoming wedding and plans to sabotage it! She goes to claim that she is pregnant... Of course the heroine was a virgin so the hero gets to see how he judged her wrongly.. all in all I would rate this story around 3.5-4
Terzo volume della serie Sette Seducenti Peccati e in questo caso si tratta dell’Orgoglio. Storia dinamica e piacevole, mi sono piaciuti entrambi i protagonisti (hanno una bella alchimia e una bella interazione). Simpatico anche l’epilogo. Purtroppo l’autrice inserisce molta carne al fuoco e a causa della brevità tutto viene trattato in maniera frettolosa (come le origini di Mari o il rapporto Mari con il fratello). È un peccato trovare idee buone e intriganti ma sprecate per romanzi brevi.
I didn't like anything about it. The characters were unlikable and the plot was not interesting. I wasn't a fan of hero being moments from marrying another woman. I also didn't like the miscarriage in the last chapter (not something in a book I would ever want to re-read about). P.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Una novia diferente de Kim Lawrence, es el 3° de la serie Seven Sexy Sins y este se basa en la ira-orgullo de Sebastián combina con el orgullo de Mari... Esto se pone más interesante....
The Sins of Sebastian Rey-Defoe by Kim Lawrence was a well written romance with an interesting premise with good story execution. I enjoyed reading it but compared to the author’s other works, this was not that special.
Mari was too much on the extreme side for me personally. The reason she took her revenge against Sebastian was hardly something for which you gatecrash a very high profile wedding and humiliate someone very publicly. Sebastian did humiliate her years ago but in front of total strangers (a very small group) and for a reason which I thought was justified. Granted he went a little overboard with his accusations (most of which were right anyways) but Mari just topped everything with going over the top in my opinion. She formed opinions way too quickly and rarely tried to consider that yes she might be wrong. In a way she was a female version of a jerk male alpha. Sebastian was actually a very good hero who I loved very much because he was responsible, mature and a great brother. I felt he deserved someone better .
The romance is enjoyable with some memorable scene but the pacing was a little off for me with some parts dragging.
Overall, this was an enjoyable romance and the author’s fans might like this one but for me personally it was nothing special. Kim Lawrence has written much better romances than this and compared to her previous works this one felt a little flat personally.
Sebastian Rey-Defoe saw a flame-haired young woman out with a married man and called her some not so nice names, humiliating her in public. Years later, on the point of a loveless marriage, this same woman stands up and objects to his marriage on the grounds that he's promised to her and that she's carrying his child! Mari Jones decided to have her revenge for her humiliation at last and to get back for her brother's dismissal from Seb's company. This, of course, doesn't go over, too well with Seb who wants her to honor the marriage he was to have for business purposes! Two more unsuited people you never met but who needed to work together for each other's sake.
Mari was stubborn to a fault and her brother not any better. Yet each of them came under Seb's influence and were changed for the better. Seb, meanwhile, found that such a thing as love is possible even with someone as independent as Mari.
Standing at the altar, Sebastian Rey-Defoe has resigned himself to a marriage of convenience, until a flame-haired siren interrupts the ceremony! Worse, he recognizes her, and this must be her idea of revenge…
Mari Jones is determined to put a dent in Sebastian's insurmountable pride—and to make him pay for his sins. But she hasn't bargained on the sparks that fly the instant she and the arrogant tycoon meet again.
Nor did she ever imagine that the consequences of her plan would see her walking down the aisle…toward Sebastian!
I've got a subscription to Mills and Boon so I had the pleasure of reading this book earlier than it is released to those without a subscription...
Good points 1. The heroine isn't as moronic as can be. 2. Hero is dreamy with a hint of anger
Bad points (sorry) 1. I'm not IN LOVE with the heroine. She needed to be a little bit more kick butt and instead its a little swoony and I'm a poor female HELP ME. 2. As usual this book just finished too quickly, feels unfinished.
I like this book, I didn't LOVE it. However it is a nice read, if a little quick.
I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did but I am very pleasantly surprised. The stars are the male and female leads, Sebastian and Mari. Sebastian is handsome and rich; Mari is attractive and spunky. But what takes this book to another level is how humorous it is. The witty repartee between the leads, the exceedingly funny descriptions of the characters, the engaging storyline. This is not your typical hero, he is not full of himself. And this heroine is more than capable of standing up for herself, she is no ninny. This is a funny, romantic book; read it and enjoy yourself.