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Sinful Suitors #1.5

The Heiress and the Hothead

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Return to the beloved Sinful Suitors series from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries in this delightfully sexy winter-themed novella!

Stunned by the heat of an unexpected kiss on a cold winter’s eve, two strangers from vastly different worlds turn hotheaded principles into burning passion in Sabrina Jeffries’s charming yuletide story, The Heiress and the Hothead.

Can also be found in the anthology, What Happened Under the Mistletoe.

101 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 28, 2016

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736 people want to read

About the author

Sabrina Jeffries

88 books4,798 followers
Sabrina Jeffries is the NYT bestselling author of over 50 novels and works of short fiction (some written under the pseudonyms Deborah Martin and Deborah Nicholas). Whatever time not spent writing in a coffee-fueled haze of dreams and madness is spent traveling with her husband and adult autistic son or indulging in one of her passions—jigsaw puzzles, chocolate, and music. With over 11 million books published in print and electronically in 25 different languages, the North Carolina author never regrets tossing aside a budding career in academics for the sheer joy of writing fun fiction, and hopes that one day a book of hers will end up saving the world.

She always dreams big.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
Profile Image for Julie .
4,251 reviews38k followers
December 4, 2016
The Heiress and the Hothead by Sabrina Jeffries is a 2016 Pocket Star publication.


“Sweet Emblem of returning peace
The heart’s full gush, and love’s release;
Spirts in human fondness flow
And greet the pearly Mistletoe.”

-Anonymous

This holiday novella is centered around the treatment of mill workers and the horrible practice of hiring underage staff and subjecting them to long hours, little pay, and dangerous work conditions.

Amanda is from America, an heiress, running a successful mill, but has traveled to England to see why their businesses are more profitable. She encounters Stephen, a man on a mission, to report on the unsafe environment of mills. He lumps Amanda in with the worst of the lot, sparking a challenge between them, and a little chemistry too. Can Amanda prove she’s not all the other mill owners? Can she calm Stephen’s hot temper and join forces with him to make positive changes? Maybe- with a little help from the Christmas spirit, a sly kiss under the mistletoe and a little soul searching.

I liked this story because it featured an American, a dedicated business woman, and a little action and adventure, and meaty plot line for such a short story.

*It should be noted that this story appears in the holiday anthology ‘What Happens Under the Mistletoe’ (Sinful Suitors 1.5) which was released last year, something I didn’t see mentioned in the blurb.
Profile Image for Carole (Carole's Random Life).
1,939 reviews610 followers
November 14, 2016
This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.

This was a nice short story. I sometimes enjoy a complete story that can be read and a single sitting and this one had a lot of great things going for it. This story is listed as being part of a series but it reads perfectly well as a stand alone. I was pulled into the story almost immediately and found myself really enjoying myself as I read.

This story focuses on Amanda, who owns a cotton mill in America, and Stephen, who is working hard on factory reform. Stephen assumes that Amanda's factory has to similar to the ones he has witnessed. Amanda is a different kind of factory owner. She actually cares about her employees and works hard to ensure their safety. Amanda agrees to an interview with Stephen but only if he introduces her to some of his sources.

I liked Amanda and Stephen as a couple. They have immediate chemistry with each other from the start of the story even though they disagree on just about everything. As they spend more time with each other, they both learn that things are not always as it seems. I loved the sections of the book with the mistletoe - it was just a lot of fun.

My only complaint about this story was the oddly placed sex scene. I don't feel like a sex scene is a necessity in a romance novel although I do enjoy them when they are well written and help advance the plot. A sex scene squeezed into a book in an unnatural location isn't sexy. This pair are in a burning building and it looks like they are going to perish. Do they keep working to find a way out? No. They decide that this is the perfect time to have sex. It just didn't feel realistic to me at all.

I would recommend this novella to fans of historical romance. I had a lot of fun reading the story even with the oddly place sex scene. The characters were fun and intelligent. I plan to read more of Sabrina Jeffries work in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
Nice short story...but with an oddly placed sex scene.
Profile Image for Sissy's Romance Book Review .
8,992 reviews16 followers
November 20, 2016
'The Heiress and the Hothead' by Sabrina Jeffries is book 1.5 in the "Sinful Suitors" series. This is the story of Stephen and Amanda. Please take into consideration that this book was included in the "What Happens Under the Mistletoe" book collection that was published last year. In addition it is a Novella with about 90 pages. This is also easily a standalone book. With all that being said I truly loved this book and Ms. Jeffries books. Ms. Jeffries is one of my favorite authors. So I was glad to see this being released on its own this year with it beautiful cover!
Amanda is Jeremy's sister...Jeremy was the hero in the first book "The Art of Sinning". Amanda owns the family mills in America. Stephen is Warren's younger brother. Warren's story I will be in "The Danger of Desire" book number 3 in this series. Stephen is working on factory reform and wants to talk to Amanda about her Mills. They both have been thinking badly about the other but have never really met. So when share a kiss and start to learn more of who the other one is...things start to take off towards love!
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
Profile Image for Carrie.
3,576 reviews1,698 followers
September 17, 2024
Amanda owns a cotton mill in America and has traveled overseas visiting the mills there. When a night out brings Stephen into Amanda's life by way of mistletoe the two don't immediately see eye to eye. Stephen has his own views of the factories and has dedicated his life to seeing changes made to the unfair work practices and doesn't believe that Amanda is a completely different type of owner in the way she runs her factory across the sea and cares about her workers.

The Heiress and the Hothead is book 1.5 in the Sinful Suitors series. The book is a relatively short read and can easily be read as a standalone novel if you haven't read any other books in this series. This particular story had actually been previously released in another collection but is now being published by itself.

Being a shorter read this one is a very fast paced romance with the instant chemistry between two characters turning into something a bit more over a relatively short time span. Even with it being a historical romance there are still some steamier moments between the pair so be warned if you prefer a cleaner read. Enjoyed the characters and setting with this quick read and would recommend checking it out for the fans of a quick romance.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
Profile Image for Vellum Voyages.
95 reviews9 followers
October 7, 2016

2 helms


Please follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages


Dear Romance Novel Authors,

Please do not place a sex scene in a novel just for the sake of a sex scene, I really would prefer a passionate kiss rather than an ill-placed sex scene inside a burning mill.

Thank-You!
VV

P.S - I don't read romance novels for sex. I read them so that I can get lost in someone else's life and escape mine. I read them so that I can relive the joyous occasions from my own life through the characters. When I can relate and empathize with the characters, even better!



Well, I definitely had a lot to say about such a short little novella! It is worth reading just to get to those silly scenes and have your say....I wonder if that mill scene had anything to do with the title....curious and curioser....

*Thank-you Sabrina Jeffries, Netgalley & Pocket Star Books for the ARC.
**This title was previously published under the Anthology "What Happens Under the Mistletoe"
Profile Image for Chris  C - A Midlife Wife.
1,835 reviews462 followers
December 18, 2016
This is the second time I read this fun holiday novella. The first time was in the anthology, What Happens Under the Mistletoe; a delightful read, loaded with holiday romance.

Sabrina Jeffries brings us a quick Christmas romance in this offshoot story from the Sinful Suitors series and a sweet one it is. Fiery passion and some naughty hookups between two strangers leads to a delightful story that, while short in words, is long in entertainment.

This author never disappoints and neither does this story! I always look forward to her books.
Profile Image for Beebs.
549 reviews42 followers
November 25, 2016
Sinful Suitors 1.5

I requested this an arc from NetGalley not realising I had already read it as part of the What Happens Under the Mistletoe anthology. It's a sweet little short set at a Christmas House party hosted by characters from a previous book.

*Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Profile Image for Ami.
6,244 reviews489 followers
July 23, 2019
3.5 stars

I am going to dismiss TWO things that rather bothered me... the first kissing scene between Stephen and Amanda are TOTALLY different with the scene written as part of the epilogue in The Art of Sinning. I have only finished reading that first book, so the scene was still fresh in my head, and that was why the inconsistency bothered me so. And second, I am dismissing the short-time span of them falling in love.

If I close my eyes of those two things -- this is one good example of TWO strong personalities butting head, and in the end making good compromise about their different views. I loved their arguments, both had good points and reasons. But at the same time, they also learned about the others in progress.

I would love to rounded up my rating because of that, if not for ONE SILLY THING that annoyed me even more that those two I mentioned above. That Amanda would beg for Stephen to, well, make a woman out of her, by them having sex, because she thought they would die. WOMAN, PLEASE! PRIORITIES!! I rolled my eyes so hard because of that. I couldn't dismiss it. So rounded down indeed
Profile Image for Leo.
4,995 reviews629 followers
December 23, 2020
It was a rather decent historical holiday romance, but wasn't anything spectacular to hang in the Christmas tree.
Profile Image for Zoe.
766 reviews203 followers
November 22, 2016
it's a very short book, where things happened very quickly for the lead characters. characters in this series make frequent appearances and it got a little tedious reading about the same people shuffling in and out creating artificial scenarios.

Stephen, the hothead, was some kind of an activist advocating social reforms. he wanted to expose the rich, how they had exploited the working class. Amanda, the heiress, was his next target. they met under a mistletoe, so a kiss by mistake led them both on a shortcut to passion and love. there really wasn't anything else to say about this book. I read it in less than 20 minutes. It's not an awful read because of Sabrina Jeffries, but I do wish she would write something that is more substantial in terms of content. I checked her books and saw that I have never rated any of her books more than 3 stars. That means none of them had ever made me feel for the characters. They are pure light entertainment and one can only read so much of the same kind of light entertainment from the same writer.

*This review is for an ARC I received on NetGalley from the publisher.
Profile Image for Ceki.
377 reviews89 followers
June 21, 2017
I have no idea why I decided to read a Christmas novella on a scorching June day, but hey... that's just me being normal.

I never tend to take novellas seriously because let's admit it, only really capable writers can pull off a book of this length without making it too lacking.

Sooo I guess it was really normal to kiss under a mistletoe in a 19th century ballroom full of strangers? I did a research on it and I guess it's true but it still kinda bugs me in a weird way. Oh well.

Anyway, what really ground my gears was the epic sex scene

I actually liked Amanda for being a capable businesswoman but disliked Stephen, he was a bit too much of a "hothead" but I liked how he proclaimed his love for her in the end by saying that he was "perfectly willing to follow her to the ends of the earth." You do not see often in HR novels heroes giving up everything and heroines who are actually more capable than them; so that was refreshing but now developed enough.

I would recommend this one only to those who really love Christmas novellas and do not have anything better to read, honestly.

P.S. Clarissa was unbelievably irritating here and I think I'll hate her when she gets her own novel!
Profile Image for Mak ♡.
1,103 reviews7 followers
September 12, 2021
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wonderful: 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Hot: 🔥🔥

Amanda e Stephen ...
São duas pessoas com vidas diferentes, ela é americana e dona de uma fabrica de tecido, ele um jornalista revolucionário.. São duas pessoas que possui seus objetivos, mas o Natal trás algo mais para eles, pois uma pequena tradição causa um grande reboliço dentro deles, um beijo muda tudo na vida deles.. O amor vem e consome eles até não ser possível ficar sem.. 🥰🥰
Eu amei e quero ler os demais livros da série...
A super tip, let's read.... Happy reading, and until the next reading.. 😘😘
Profile Image for Under the Covers Book Blog.
2,840 reviews1,343 followers
September 6, 2017
Yet another series I haven't read and the only reason I picked it up is because I'm always on the lookout for a holiday themed historical romance at this time of year. THE HEIRESS AND THE HOTHEAD was released last year as part of an anthology that I hadn't seen and I had to jump on it when I saw it was being released as a single novella.

I was pleased to see this worked okay as a standalone novella. I don't think I had the opportunity to read this author before and I was quite happy this features a plot I hadn't seen before. The heroine, Amanda, owns a cotton mill in America while the hero Stephen is an English journalist trying to expose the bad working conditions at the local mills. Meeting Amanda at a Christmas celebration is his one chance to write a new piece to expose the similarities between America and England in the treatment of workers in his quest for bettering their lives.

This is a quick story so I was expecting a bit of insta-love, and we certainly got that. Being that they live in different continents and have such ingrained views about the other to overcome, it seems a bit far fetched that there would be an HEA after such short time. But aside from that, this was a cute story. It managed to weave in some sweet and playful moments and it kept things simple. I couldn't help but keep turning the pages, mostly because I enjoyed the authors' voice. I'll be looking forward to going back and reading the first book soon.

*ARC provided by publisher
Reviewed by Francesca❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤
Profile Image for eyes.2c.
3,115 reviews110 followers
December 4, 2016
Romance amongst 'dark satanic mill[s].'

Having inveigled an invitation to a Christmas house party, the radical Lord Stephen Corry, meets his match in Miss Amanda Keane. Stephen is a prolific writer who champions the cause for better mill working conditions and practices. He wanted to interview the American owner Montague Mills for an upcoming article.
Mill owner Amanda, and heiress, has modern and compassionate ideas about cotton milling, workers conditions and the treatment of children particularly.
Answering a friend's call to help stir a would be suitor into action, Lord Stephen Cory finds himself under the mistletoe kissing a different young woman under the mistletoe by mistake.
A deeper than usual Christmas romance skating the surface of a not so light issue, conditions in mills and factories that are still present in various parts of the world.
I must admit that the dalliance during a fire took on a certain absurdity, that maybe fits with the surface story. On the other hand--maybe not!
Mill conditions and romance seem strange bedfellows but Sabrina Jeffries makes it work!

(I thought this title was familiar. Yes, like others I had read this Christmas novella before in the collection of Christmas stories, 'What Happens under the Mistletoe.' I must say that I'm somewhat nonplussed by the cost comparisons!)

A NetGalley ARC
Profile Image for Sheila Melo.
1,873 reviews52 followers
October 5, 2016
FINAL DECISION:  Enjoyable novella that gives a taste of what the Sinful Suitors is all about.

THE STORY: Lord Stephen Cory, the younger brother of a marquess writes radical articles about the plight of mill workers and child laborers. He wants to meet Miss Amanda Keane, an American who owns mills, in order to prove that mill owners everywhere are atrocious. When he meets Amanda, he finds that she is more than he expected.

OPINION: I liked this story. Both Stephen and Amanda are headstrong people who have strong opinions. I liked that Stephen moves tremendously in his opinions. The two are cute together and the characters are well developed for such a short story. I liked this one.

WORTH MENTIONING:  THE HEIRESS AND THE HOTHEAD was previously released as part of the anthology WHAT HAPPENS UNDER THE MISTLETOE.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  This novella is book 1.5 of the Sinful Suitors series.  I had not yet read the other books in the series when I first read this one so it is definitely not necessary to read the others books first.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 4 stars.This review was originally posted on Top10RomanceBooks.com
Profile Image for Anna's Herding Cats.
1,274 reviews319 followers
November 30, 2016


Reviewed for herding cats & burning soup.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2eSdq1u

The Quick Of It: A Christmas gathering. A heated kiss. A hero set on expose the atrocities of mill owners. An American heroine who owns a mill. Realizing you just kissed the enemy? #Priceless

The Yay: Jeffries is always entertaining. I adore her romances and characters. Stephen and Amanda were quite the thing. Poor bloke. He just never had a chance against the pistol that was Amanda. She was a fierce chickie and not about to take any of his crap over the mills. Had him all turned upside down and churned up over all his warring desires. I had fun watching their sharp tongues and seeing the resolve weaken. They may have seem at odds over the mills but really they're both great people who want to make the world a safer place for workers though they definitely went about it different ways. Whew! There's a little heat and a little danger that brings them together. The only thing that didn't quite work for me was the sex scene. It was just bit oddly placed and had me giving them the wonky eye because really yall? lol But other than that it was a fun little jaunt and tasty holiday treat.
Profile Image for Ruth.
594 reviews72 followers
December 21, 2016
This one, provided to me by the publisher in return for a review, was a pleasant enough little read. The characters were somewhat different in that the heroine was a businesswoman and the hero was a crusading reformist aristocrat, but I was left more than a little relieved that this was a novella and not a full-length romance, since I was left feeling that neither the main protagonists would have withstood the scrutiny of a full book.

The plot is a good one. I really liked that the author chose to delve into a subject which isn't much explored by historical romances. The industrial revolution period strikes me as full of the contradictions and tensions which would make for exciting romances, but the only one I've ever read which really did it justice was An Untitled Lady, which was just excellent.

Unfortunately, we didn't really get any sense of the heroine as a businesswoman. She just seemed to me to be like any other historical romance heroine, and I missed the additional details in the writing and character development which I felt the idea deserved.

2 stars. It was OK.
Profile Image for Margaret Sholders.
1,121 reviews12 followers
December 27, 2016
I liked this short Christmas story. It is a bit dark. Sabrina has done a good job with her characters. They give us a serious story line. Amanda has come from America to visit her family. She owns cotton mills across the pond and wants to walk to see how the mills run in England. Lord Stephen is trying to fix the bad mills. He wants to talk with Amanda. He blames her and she gets pissed off. Spoiler. He shows her workers and really sets her off. This reminds me of a ghost show and how the mills work. Major Spoiler. I liked her meeting a mistletoe ball for the first time. There is fun in this book. Spoiler. Everyone is ready for the House Party when the Hanson mill goes up in flames. All run to try to stop it but Amanda and Stephen get stuck. I will leave you here to decide if you want to read this book. I would recommend this book for you to choose it. I hope you will enjoy reading this story! I volunteered to read and review this book.
Profile Image for Bambi Unbridled.
1,297 reviews139 followers
December 3, 2016
This story is part of the Sinful Suitors series, and was first published in the anthology What Happens Under the Mistletoe. Our heroine in the story is Amanda Keane, the sister of Jeremy Keane, who was the hero from book one. Amanda is an American heiress, owner of cotton mills in her own right. Our hero, Stephen, is a journalist and writes about the horrid circumstances in English mills, hoping to shock society into reform. Our H/h pairing was combative for much of the story, but it was an enjoyable read. There was an oddly placed intimate scene that had me raising an eyebrow, but it was fun nonetheless.
Profile Image for Pauline Destinugrainy.
Author 1 book265 followers
April 1, 2018
Novella ini kisahnya Amanda Keane dan Stephen Corry. Amanda adalah pemilik pabrik kapas di Amerika. Dia datang ke Inggris dalam rangka membujuk kakaknya untuk kembali ke Amerika, sekaligus belajar tentang pabrik kapas di Inggris. Stephen adalah adik bungsu Warren yang merupakan seorang jurnalis. Dia banyak menyoroti perilaku pemilik pabrik yang sering tidak adil bagi karyawannya terutama mempekerjakan anak di bawah umur. Ya kali anak 4 tahun udah disuruh kerja di pabrik...

Well ketertarikan Amanda dan Stephen diawali ciuman salah alamat Stephen di bawah mistletoe. Karena memang Stephen punya niat wawancarain Amanda selaku pengusaha dari Amerika, Stephen berusaha mendekati Amanda. Amanda yang baru kali ini dapat perhatian dari pria yang menghargai dirinya sebagai seorang pengusaha dengan mudah terpesona pada Stephen.

80an halaman yang intens, menegangkan tapi juga lucu.
Profile Image for Jo Reads Romance.
945 reviews66 followers
January 6, 2021


A short, sweet Christmas tale
5 stars

This story was first featured in the 2015 anthology What Happens Under the Mistletoe. Although it’s quite a recent book, you might want to check you haven’t got that book before purchasing this as a stand alone story. Although I do quite like having my favourite stories as stand alone books.

This book is one of the Sinful Suitors stories. Amanda first appeared in The Art of Sinning and we also meet characters in this book from future books in the Sinful Suitors series. You might be enticed to read more of the series but this book does stand alone quite nicely.

Amanda and Stephen are quite opinionated and both hold strong views on mills and mill reform - which is the backdrop to this story. What’s nice is that while the mills are a big feature, and richly described, they never take away from the story or from Amanda and Stephen’s romance.

I liked that both Stephen and Amanda were made to work hard for their happily ever after. Both were stubborn and opinionated and both had to realise their own faults stood in the way. It wasn’t just the man, as is often the case in these kind of stories, that made a mistake and had to right his wrong before it was too late.

The consummation of Stephen and Amanda’s love was a little different - at least the location was! I won’t spoil the story by saying too much but while it wasn’t hugely sexy (at least compared to Jeffries’ other works), it did seem realistic and fit the circumstances.

Sabrina Jeffries is one of my favourite authors and this story doesn’t disappoint. Lively characters, strong emotion and an unusual premise give this tale something more than most and it’s a story I’d happily recommend.


Profile Image for Wyldrabbit.
219 reviews9 followers
October 9, 2016
Some books you read, and really wish there was more. More story, more pages! More substance. In 90 pages or actually on my Kindle, 80 I believe , you can only do so much. Easily this could have been a full length story. I dearly wish It would have been. I was just getting to know Stephen and Amanda. I was just barely starting to actually like Lord Stephen. He was difficult. Stubborn,hardheaded, a newspaper man. Thinking he was doing everyone a favor by spouting his opinion all over the floor waiting for someone to step in it. And I was just starting to dislike Amanda's attitude. She was also stubborn, and self assured. She wanted to be with Stephen, but refused to make any sacrifice towards it whatsoever. So much more could have been said, could have been done.
I wonder if Sabrina quaked about this also. Making a character is kind of like baring a child. You need to work them out, from birth. It is difficult, and time consuming. I wanted to know more about both of them. I loved the few times they were alone together. The scene in the library was precious, even though it ended rather badly, I enjoyed it.

The cotton mill seems to be the one thing that I read the most unhappy comments. The last thing anyone would want to do is have sex in a burning building. Completely inappropriate. And with someone I was not at all sure that I really even liked all that much, made it even more of a no no. Sabrina Jeffries has no problem going there. I have said in other reviews, I give her credit for taking things to levels I find uncomfortable. Would I had sex in a burning building? I am still thinking about that. I was always the kind of girl who took on a dare, and sex was always on my mind one way or the other. Yes. Yes. I think I would have, Damn it. That is my final answer. Making Amanda do it was a priceless treat. I will cherish bringing her down a peg forever.

The Heiress and the Hothead is a novella that is part of a much larger more consuming treasure world created by Sabrina Jefferies, and one I encourage you to read. Check out her website and follow her. http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/

* I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank You.
Profile Image for Tracy Emro.
2,130 reviews64 followers
October 20, 2016
* I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and am voluntarily leaving a review*

I originally read this novella in the anthology "What Happens Under the Mistletoe"

While this book is technically part of the series (Sinful Suitors), it can easily be read as a stand alone title.

Amanda is Jeremy's sister and owns the family mills in America. Stephen is Warren's younger brother and is passionate about factory reform.

Stephen has finagled an invitation to Yvette's house party so he can meet Amanda and prove that she is just as bad as English mill owners.

Neither of them expected the attraction between them. Amanda is nothing like what Stephen expected and she is just as opinionated and stubborn as he is.

For such a short story, this book packs quite the punch.

Profile Image for Romance Readers Retreat.
2,346 reviews225 followers
November 29, 2016
One of my favorite things about the holidays is getting to read holiday themed romances! An entertaining quick holiday read is Sabrina Jefferies' new novella, The Heiress and the Hothead. This is a novella in her Sinful Suitors series but can definitely be read as a standalone. I'll also note that this was previously published in the holiday historical romance anthology, What Happens Under the Mistletoe.
This was fun story about two people who have very firm opinions about each other and, is the way of many a romance, discover upon actual meeting that much of what they thought is not true. Stephen is a hardheaded and suborn journalist. Amanda runs her family's coton mill in America. She is in England wanting to learn more about how mills are run there. He is hoping to interview her and expose the injustices she is committing against her workers.
Stephen is sure she is a terrible person and unfair cotton mill owner. Amanda is sure he is a terrible person who spends all of his time spouting off about things he knows nothing about. After a case of mistaken identity leads to a stolen kiss they find themselves engaged in a passionate battle of wills that was a joy to read. Jefferies always writes such interesting characters and some of the best witty dialogue you will read. There is much ado by readers/reviewers over the burning mill love scene (yes, they make love in a mill as it is on fire). While it seems to be a very ill placed love scene, I'm going to go against the norm here as I think it actually fit with these characters and their hotheaded passion pretty well.
This was a short read (about 90 pages) and as is always the case when I read novellas, I wish their story could have been longer. Definitely entertaining and a great short holiday read for fans of holiday romances!
Profile Image for Francesca the Fierce (Under the Covers Book Blog).
1,886 reviews505 followers
January 30, 2017


Yet another series I haven’t read and the only reason I picked it up is because I’m always on the lookout for a holiday themed historical romance at this time of year. THE HEIRESS AND THE HOTHEAD was released last year as part of an anthology that I hadn’t seen and I had to jump on it when I saw it was being released as a single novella.

I was pleased to see this worked okay as a standalone novella. I don’t think I had the opportunity to read this author before and I was quite happy this features a plot I hadn’t seen before. The heroine, Amanda, owns a cotton mill in America while the hero Stephen is an English journalist trying to expose the bad working conditions at the local mills. Meeting Amanda at a Christmas celebration is his one chance to write a new piece to expose the similarities between America and England in the treatment of workers in his quest for bettering their lives.

This is a quick story so I was expecting a bit of insta-love, and we certainly got that. Being that they live in different continents and have such ingrained views about the other to overcome, it seems a bit far fetched that there would be an HEA after such short time. But aside from that, this was a cute story. It managed to weave in some sweet and playful moments and it kept things simple. I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages, mostly because I enjoyed the authors’ voice. I’ll be looking forward to going back and reading the first book soon.
Profile Image for Sandy S.
8,274 reviews207 followers
November 18, 2016
3.75 stars

Re-release date: November 28, 2016

Stunned by the heat of an unexpected kiss on a cold winter’s eve, two strangers from vastly different worlds turn hotheaded principles into burning passion in Sabrina Jeffries’s delightful yuletide story, The Heiress and the Hothead.


REVIEW:

Originally released in the October 2015 multi-authored anthology-What Happens Under the Mistletoe- THE HEIRESS AND THE HOTHEAD is a novella from Sabrina Jeffries SINFUL SUITORS historical romance series ( a spin off from the Duke’s Men series). This is journalist/writer Lord Stephen Corry, and American heiress/mill owner Amanda Keane’s storyline. Amanda is the sister of artist Jeremy Keane (The Art of Sinning #1). THE HEIRESS AND THE HOTHEAD can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

The storyline focuses on the unsafe working conditions in the cotton mills of England, and Stephen’s attempts to bring the atrocities to the public’s attention by reporting and investigating the people and workers. Enter Amanda Keane, an American mill owner who views Stephen’s work as attacks against all mill owners including herself. But a mill fire finds our couple trapped following the rescue of a young boy, and a profession of love and a possible future are made in the heat of the moment.

THE HEIRESS AND THE HOTHEAD is a quick read with a little bit of romance, conflict and a happily ever after. The premise is interesting with a holiday theme; the characters are familiar, colorful and entertaining; the romance is quick to develop- the lone $ex scene is mostly implied with no graphic imagery or text.

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Profile Image for Cynthia.
750 reviews301 followers
February 7, 2017
I had not realized that when I requested this book from Netgalley that I had actually read it already. It’s actually part of the anthology What Happens Under the Mistletoe! Here’s my thoughts on this Sinful Suitor holiday novella!

For me, Jeffries’ The Heiress and the Hothead was my favourite. It might have been because I knew the characters (Amanda and Stephen) from her Sinful Suitors series, or it might be because I love bantering couples. It’s got the bit of pride and prejudice and it was cute to see their romance grow. There was one kinda odd scene, but otherwise all around fun.
Profile Image for Dallass.
2,249 reviews
November 14, 2019
This had potential

... but I think the author wasted it.

I really wanted to like this. I enjoyed the synopsis, and while the main characters, Amanda and Stephen, are front and centre, we really don’t get enough time with any of the other characters to make them more realized and three dimensional. The plot was good. A grand idea to set a story around the reformation of the notoriously dangerous textile mill industry, yet the story is over so quickly that it just glosses over the world building so we can have snarky interactions with Amanda and Stephen.

And speaking of them, while I don’t mind sex in romance book if it furthers the plot, or a characters development, the scene placement in this book just didn’t work for me at all. It seemed awkward, like it was shoehorned in just because it’s expected in a historical or Regency romance.

Has this made me want to read any of the other books in this series? Eh, jury’s still out on that.

2.5 stars ⭐️
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