SEVEN YEARS TO SIN by Sylvia Day

PUBLISHER: Brava, September 2011
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: England, 1800s
HEROINE: Jessica Sheffield
HERO: Alistair Caulfield
GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: Seven years ago, on the eve of her wedding, proper Lady Jessica Sheffield witnessed a licentious scene no innocent young miss could imagine. Shocked, yet strangely titillated, she’d held her silence regarding scandalous Alistair Caulfield, and walked down the aisle as expected. But through years of serene, unremarkable marriage, Caulfield’s image remained burned into her imagination, fueling very illicit dreams. . .

Alistair ran far from the temptation of the prim debutante with the fire of passion in her eyes—all the way to the West Indies. As a successful merchant, he has little in common with the rakehell youth she knew. But when newly widowed Jessica steps aboard his ship for a transatlantic passage, seven years’ worth of denied pleasures are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk—and the certainty that surrender will consume them both. . .

MY THOUGHTS: I found Jessica to pretty interesting. She and her younger sister, Hester, were physically abused by their father. She’s now widowed and has developed a drinking problem over the years. She seems to do a pretty good job of staying away from it.

I liked Hester’s story much more than Jessica’s and Alistair’s. Hester is twenty-three and in an abusive marriage to Edward. Edward has a drinking problem, which makes their marriage a nightmare. Hester is terribly unhappy and it shows in her appearance.

Alistair is very handsome and was a gigolo. He’s always had an attraction to Jessica. What I like most about Jessica is that she’s not afraid to let her feelings for Alistair be known. They’re very straightforward with one another.

The sex was very explicit and there was plenty of it. I’m not sure what year this story took place or how old Jessica and Alistair are. That annoyed me.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.