Sandy M’s review of Sinful Between the Sheets (The Carlisle Series, Book 2) by Barbara Pierce
Historical romance published 3 Apr 07 by St. Martin’s

Fayne Carlisle’s father died just days ago, leaving the title and everything that goes with it in his hands. He hopes that includes his father’s last mistress, Lady Kilby Fitchwolf. It was in her boudoir that the old duke’s heart gave out, collapsing him in the arms of the young beauty. Now that Fayne has seen her, he wants her in his bed, thinks of nothing else, and is quite flabbergasted when the woman declines his advances.

Grateful to be in London for the season, sponsored by her parents’ good friend Lady Quennell, Kilby has a plan of finding a husband of her own choosing and thereby thwarting her brother, Lord Nipping, in choosing one for her. While in London she also wants to find people who had known her parents, gathering information that may lead her to her biological father. And now the scandal concerning the death of the duke has led her into the path of his son, a man who wants her only because he thinks his father bedded her.

When Kilby’s brother shows up in London and forces her to return home, she knows the only one who can protect her is Fayne. Eloping to keep their marriage a secret, they spend a few blissful days together before their lives are turned upside down again by a stalker trying to kill them. Fayne now fights for the love of his life and life he thought he’d never want nor have.

Barbara Pierce is a new author for me and she has very quickly become a favorite. Her Carlisle series is about a family who plays and loves long and hard, all the while taking care of each other when misfortune and catastrophe decide to invade their world.

Wicked Under the Covers is the first book in the series and features Fayre Carlisle and Maccus Brawley, who we see a good bit of in this book, along with their mother, now the dowager duchess. SBTS is a nice follow-up, although I was disheartened to see the last of the old Duke of Solitea. He was loads of fun in the first book, but for Fayne to grow and find his way in life, he has to endure hardships.

Grade: B+
Here’s the blurb:

A FATAL ATTRACTION

Fayne Carlisle is not yet ready to assume the title of Duke of Solitea, but his father’s sudden death means that his lusty bachelor days are numbered. Is the fabled Solitea Curse to blame for this stroke of ill luck? Or is Lady Kilby Fitchwolf the poison? A violet-eyed beauty with a family scandal of her own, she has just arrived among the ton and soon becomes the object of the Duke’s wildest fantasies.

AND A FATEFUL PASSION

But are the rumors true? Was Fayne’s father really found dead in Lady Kilby’s very bedchambers? And if so, should that preclude the duke from keeping her company? Surely there’s no more pleasurable way to perish. But as the duke comes to know the beautiful siren, it seems she couldn’t be less interested in seducing him-and what begins for the Duke as romantic sport escalates into a do-or-die courtship that brings the two lovers dangerously close to falling in love.

Read an excerpt.

The next book in the series is Naughty by Nature and releases 27 Nov 07. Don’t miss this series if you are a lover of historical romance!