A Touch of Sin

St. John-Duras #4

by Susan Johnson

Author of a dozen national bestsellers, award-winner Susan Johnson beguiles once more with this breathtaking novel, a blend of scandalous adventure, sensual love, and more than just... A Touch of Sin .

Beatrix Grosvenor couldn't have been caught in a more compromising locked in a Parisian apartment with the body of a murdered man.  She could only hope that the charismatic stranger who found her would believe her story of abduction and assassination, and free her to return to her young son in England.

But Pasha Duras was not about to let her escape so easily.  The renowned libertine didn't believe Trixi's fanciful tale, but there was no denying the temptation of her beauty.  He would accompany her home, on a sensual journey that would begin with the most tantalizing of seductions--and end with a dangerous discovery.

Trixi's enemies were real.  Her child was at their mercy... and Pasha's newly awakened heart may prove to be his undoing.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Erotica, Erotic Romance, Historical Fiction, War

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 2, 1999

About the author

And it all began rather serendipitously. Long ago, as they say, in another time, when fast food hadn't reached our area and the only shopping was what the feed mill offered, I was reading a book that annoyed me .

My husband was lying beside me in bed, watching TV. Turning to him, I sort of petulantly said, "How the hell did this book get published?"

"If you think you're so smart," he replied, with one eye still on the TV, "why don't you write a book?"

So I did. And very badly.

I've since learned how to do, he said, she said, and a great variety of other adverb heavy, sometimes lengthy explanations of why my characters are saying what they're saying, along with finally coming to an understanding of what things like POV means. Point of View for you non-writers}.

Although, I still don't fully comprehend why it matters if you switch POV and I cavalierly disregard it as much as possible. So while my technical skills have hopefully improved, what hasn't changed is my great joy in writing. There's as much pleasure today in listening to my characters talk while I type as fast as I can, as there was the first time I put dialogue to paper--in long-hand, then, in my leather bound sketch-book.

Reviews

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★! St. John-Duras series, book 4 of 5. Heir & playboy Pasha Duras is suspicions of the beautiful Trix & decides to escort her back to England only to get enthralled in a mystery!

US EDITION SERIES INFO & REVIEW
St. John-Duras series
Book 4
Formats: Kindle & paperback for both US/UK

The St John-Duras series takes us all across Europe introducing us to the St. John and Duras families. Book 1 starts off with Sinjin St. John, the Duke of Seth one of the most provoking alpha heroes – ever!!! Book 3 in series then continues with the Duras family. General Andre Duras was a side character in book 2 and he is also a very strong, memorable hero.

Susan Johnson aka C.C. Gibbs, is published by different publishers in the US and UK, hence the different titles and covers.

These are stand-alones, but most enjoyed if read in order:
Book 1: (Year 1787)
Sinful (US) / Sinful Dreams (UK)
Book 2: (Year 1800)
Wicked (US) / Wicked Fascination (UK)
Book 3: (Year 1799)
Taboo (US) / The Sweetest Taboo (UK)
Book 4: (Year 1825)
A Touch of Sin (US) / Touch of Sin (UK)
Book 5: (Year 1851)
Legendary Lover (US) / Venus Laid Bare (UK)

PASHA DURAS: 25 years/French-Russian/heir/freedom fighter/playboy/$$$$/black hair/dark eyes.

Introducing Pasha Duras (son of book 3). In this book we have the son of a family matriarch and just like Beau in book 2; I’d describe Pasha as the “jaded alpha male playBOY hero” - of 1825.

BEATRIX GROSVENOR, “TRIXI”: ~20 years/English/gold hair/violet eyes.

Beatrix Grosvenor, a young lady with many secrets, finds herself in a precarious situation add embarrassing to that when she is discovered by the notorious and very handsome libertine, Pasha Duras.

Pasha Duras is immediately both tempted by her beauty and suspicions of her story. So he insists on accompanying her back to England. Their suspenseful story will take us across Western Europe and beyond as secrets are revealed and enemies uncovered.

Suspenseful plot! Swoon-worthy hero! Exotic settings! Lies, secrets, danger and much more!

***
Hero rating: 5 stars
Heroine rating: 4 stars
Sex scenes rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes frequency: 5 stars
Storyline concept rating: 4.5 stars
Storytelling skills rating: 5 stars
Story ending rating: 5 stars
******************************
Overall rating: 5 stars

Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Yes.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.



Be sure to join CCGibbsFANS here on GR for the latest news:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
(Public group for members 18 years and older)

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★! St. John-Duras series, book 4 of 5. Heir & playboy Pasha Duras is suspicions of the beautiful Trix & decides to escort her back to England only to get enthralled in a mystery!

UK EDITION SERIES INFO & REVIEW
St. John-Duras series
Book 4
Formats: Kindle & paperback for both US/UK

The St John-Duras series takes us all across Europe introducing us to the St. John and Duras families. Book 1 starts off with Sinjin St. John, the Duke of Seth one of the most provoking alpha heroes – ever!!! Book 3 in series then continues with the Duras family. General Andre Duras was a side character in book 2 and he is also a very strong, memorable hero.

Susan Johnson aka C.C. Gibbs, is published by different publishers in the US and UK, hence the different titles and covers.

These are stand-alones, but most enjoyed if read in order:
Book 1: (Year 1787)
Sinful (US) / Sinful Dreams (UK)
Book 2: (Year 1800)
Wicked (US) / Wicked Fascination (UK)
Book 3: (Year 1799)
Taboo (US) / The Sweetest Taboo (UK)
Book 4: (Year 1825)
A Touch of Sin (US) / Touch of Sin (UK)
Book 5: (Year 1851)
Legendary Lover (US) / Venus Laid Bare (UK)

PASHA DURAS: 25 years/French-Russian/heir/freedom fighter/playboy/$$$$/black hair/dark eyes.

Introducing Pasha Duras (son of book 3). In this book we have the son of a family matriarch and just like Beau in book 2; I’d describe Pasha as the “jaded alpha male playBOY hero” - of 1825.

BEATRIX GROSVENOR, “TRIXI”: ~20 years/English/gold hair/violet eyes.

Beatrix Grosvenor, a young lady with many secrets, finds herself in a precarious situation add embarrassing to that when she is discovered by the notorious and very handsome libertine, Pasha Duras.

Pasha Duras is immediately both tempted by her beauty and suspicions of her story. So he insists on accompanying her back to England. Their suspenseful story will take us across Western Europe and beyond as secrets are revealed and enemies uncovered.

Suspenseful plot! Swoon-worthy hero! Exotic settings! Lies, secrets, danger and much more!

***
Hero rating: 5 stars
Heroine rating: 4 stars
Sex scenes rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes frequency: 5 stars
Storyline concept rating: 4.5 stars
Storytelling skills rating: 5 stars
Story ending rating: 5 stars
******************************
Overall rating: 5 stars

Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Yes.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.



Be sure to join CCGibbsFANS here on GR for the latest news:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
(Public group for members 18 years and older)

[Michelle Connolly]

I can't really say I've read this book. I couldn't even finish the first chapter, I found it so ridiculous from the beginning. The hero first meets the heroine while she's standing naked on the bed of a man whos just been murdered, but what really bothered me is the fact that there's no reaction from the heroine whatsoever. Not only was a man just killed with an ax in front of her but now two strange men have entered the room and discovered the scene. You'd think she'd at least try to cover herself with her hands, or be a little agitated over what just happened, or at least plead that she had nothing to do with it... but no. She calmly says a man with an ax did it and asks to be lifted off the bed so she doesn't wet her feet with the blood...
Before discarding the book entirely, I skimmed through it and only found more things not to love about it. I was surprised to find so many good reviews for it, so I might try rereading it sometime. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it this time.

[Farrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review also appears on my blog at http://www.thegoldenruleof666.blogspo...

A Touch of Sin was a lovely book, a delightful read. Other than one complaint, I have nothing but good to say about this wonderful historical romance.

Trixi is incredibly strong, going through all that she did and still coming out the victor. Her absolute devotion to her son was so sweet and it made her immediately likable. I literally have nothing bad about her that I can say. She was a wonderful heroine.

Pasha (love that name) was wonderful, except for one instance that kept me from loving him, and the book, entirely. Pasha was, for the most part, sweet and adorable. He's incredibly attractive and oozes sexual appeal right through the pages. And he was also very sweet to Trixi and to her son. It was quite adorable to watch. The relationship between Trixi and Pasha was HOT. They were sweet together, but their relationship was mostly A LOT of spice. Whoo, it had me fanning myself, it was so hot!
I could have adored Pasha very easily. Except for one instance. This literally lasted about 5 pages and no more. But it irritated me so much that I had to knock off a point. Towards the end, Trixi gets caught in a situation that she is completely free of blame from. But Pasha reacts terribly and accuses her of enjoying that situation, blaming her for something that wasn't her fault at all. In fact, it must have been very traumatizing for her. But he yells at her. It made me really angry. He barely even apologized afterwards. That one instance bothered me so much that I could't say that I loved the book entirely. I still really liked Pasha, but I couldn't adore him after that boorish behavior.

Other than that, I really liked A Touch of Sin. It was a lovely book, full of HOT romance, mystery, political intrigue, surprises, and everything else you could hope for in a historical romance.

4/5

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story I loved the characters but I wasn't too fond of the ending seemed kind of rushed too many loose endings.. the ending leaves the newlywed Trixi and Pasha in the middle of a war that is obviously dangerous seeming as half of the plot is about Pash's enemies kidnapping Trixi, with Trixi possible pregnant w/ a Turkish dictators child that would be a product of a drugged rape, by the end of the book the evil rapist is of course killed by Pasha our hero but the couple is still in war torn Greece. The second half of the plot consists of Trixi's late husbands family, her family, and her young son's (from a man who was not her husband) uncles, trying to kill them and keep her son from his inheritance, by the end of the book the one evil uncle has been killed, but the rest of the three crazy families are still on the loose most likely still trying to do some kind of harm.... but we're all guessing at that b/c we get no further information on the subject... So to sum it all up in the end there still in war torn Greece, probably still have crazy extended family trying to kill the son, the son still hasn't gotten his inheritance, and Trixi ends up pregnant with a child that could be either her new husband Pasha's or her kidnapping rapist's... at least Pasha loves her her son and there new baby no matter who the father is... should have wrapped this up better it would have made for an awesome book!!!

[Katherine Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is good, but the scenes with Trixie and the Sultan were a little too much for me. I don't think they were necessary. And the love story developed too quickly. It definitely needed more detail.

[Sandy Frediani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the local library's book sale. I love it. Beautifully written, fascinating characters and an intriguing story. The historical notes at the end are the "icing" on top. A blend of fiction and history, backed up by historical research.
Excellent.

[Mysterious · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than one abominable incident of blaming a woman for being drugged and raped, it was dramatic and entertaining.

[Jesenia Sanabia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. It's a story where love conquers all. There's a lot of passion and suspense. Definitely kept me reading. I adored the characters down to the four year old.

[PurplyCookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Followers of Johnson's 19th-century romance Duras series will welcome the story of Pasha Duras, the Eurasian son of Teo and Andre Duras from "Taboo". Here, Pasha (who displays the usual romance-novel aversion to marriage) meets his lustful match in Lady Trixi Grosvenor when he rescues her. Trixi is relieved when Pasha discovers her; she is now free from captivity after a murderer kills the man who kept her prisoner. She has had nothing but bad luck with men and now wants nothing more than to return to her son in England. Her reason for initially coming to Paris was to attempt to claim her son's inheritance from his father's family, who refuse to acknowledge Chris is the legitimate heir to the Clouard family inheritance. Nothing short of murder will stop Jerome Clouard from preventing Chris from inheriting, not even the cost of a hired killer.

Pasha is swept away by this beautiful woman and finds himself escorting her back to England and showering her and Chris with gifts, which she is reluctant to accept. Passionate flames ignite almost immediately between the two and Pasha finds himself offering his assistance should she ever need his protection. Trixi was quick to succumb to the charm of Pasha and lust of her own, so quick that all claims of her naivety sounded quite hypocritical.

Upon his return to Paris, Pasha is drawn into the war in the effort to help Greece fight the Turks. Once again the Clouards come into Trixi's life and flush her and Chris from England. Reluctantly she flees to Paris in search of Pasha's help only to find out that he's involved in the war. Realizing that they aren't safe in Paris without Pasha she and Chris head for Greece and now become pawns for Pasha's enemy.


More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie


Book Details:

Title A Touch of Sin (Duras #2)
Author Susan Johnson
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pasha Duras and Beatrix ("Trixi") Grosvenor
France, England and Greece

Gosh, I loved the first half of this book even though there were some oddities (including Trixi's strange antipathy to witnessing a murder and being found naked by strange men and I did feel like she was manipulated a little into sleeping with Pasha at first). But it was a sexy good time for the first half and I loved the fact that the hero and heroine did not hide their attraction to each other/affection for each other or play games. It was clear from the get go that each was falling for the other even though circumstances would necessarily require them to part.

But then the story took a strange turn for the bizarre when Trixi (TERRIBLE name!) goes to war-torn Greece to find Pasha with her child in tow (an unbelievable plot turn), and is subsequently kidnapped, drugged and raped by an evil warlord. At this point, the following happens: (1) Pasha blames Trixi for the rape and (2) Trixi is mad at Pasha for his treatment at her but seems to have a "no-big-deal" approach to the actual disclosure that she was raped. I understand that Trixi was out of her mind on drugs and has no real memories of what occurred to her, but any normal woman would have some reaction to learning that she was raped while drugged (disbelief? sorrow? grief?). But nothing. Trixi basically gets in a huff about Pasha's reaction and does the equivalent of flouncing away. Okayyyy.

So I am very confused with how to rate this book. The latter part of the book was just so strange.

[penelopewanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa, several years since I've picked up a Susan Johnson...I'd forgotten her no holds barred approach to sexual rapprochement, so to speak. I'm only some forty pages in, but the demure young woman (ok, she's a widow, not a virgin) is already in the grips of an irresistable lust. She's also one of the rare romance writers to offer footnotes, usually interesting and sometimes, when they come in the throes of a seduction, rather amusing.

I think I'd rather give this book three and a half stars... at times I really like it, but then there are moments... There are parts when the whole thing feels all too modern, not least of which is the relationship between Pasha and Trixi.
A good romp nonetheless.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, this book was a suprise. I really enjoyed this book. I liked how Susan Johnson put a single mother in her book. Trixi meets Pasha (not my fav name)in a murder scene, they have good chemistry. To me, Trixi was not a whiny woman in this book. She lusts after Pasha and is not afraid to admit it. Pasha is the perfect man for her and he's also a man that knows that he wants. The story flowed very well from the beginning until the end. I ordered more Susan Johnson books.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, don't read this in a public place. *grin*
It was great all the way through; good characters even if I hated their names, and an interesting take on the Greek war for independence. Also, I've never before seen a romance novel with footnotes.

[Kiera Boudibiua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will always have a special place in my heart. It was one of the first "adult fiction" I read. And until this day, I still have a soft spot for historical romances.
I loved the authors writing style. The language, the character development, especially the naughty scenes

[Mitzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4 in St. John Series. Good.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again she got a little to carried away detail not as much as with WICKED but never the less she did drag out her ending which to me made this very good 4 star novel not a 5

[Daneesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm still reading this book, but damn. the main chararacters have had some scorching bouts of sex...all before page 100!

[Karen Desmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

2

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent.

[SBC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Personally I just didn't like the writing style or the characterisation

[Temmy]

nice

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book recently, and recall reading it years ago. Steamy, with a good story-line!