TEST
Master of Sin is a book with a great premise. The hero, Andrew Rossiter, is a male prostitute. Having already made a fortune providing an heir for the Duke and Duchess di Maniero, he’s been invited back to go to bed with them again in an effort to make a spare. The trio are cruising the Mediterranean with the infant heir when their ship is boarded by the Duke’s cousin, who murders the Duke and Duchess for disinheriting him with a cuckoo in the nest. Andrew barely escapes with his son. Unfortunately, from there Andrew’s life goes sadly awry, as does the book.
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Andrew changes his name to Ross, his son’s name from Marco to Marc, and has a friend purchase a house for them on Scotland’s Western Isles. The friend also hires an Italian-speaking governess, Gemma Peartree. Expecting a snug little home where he can rear his son in peace, when Andrew finally makes his way to their new home he finds a cold dirty ruin, inhabited only by a filthy little rodent of a woman. Gemma has been waiting for her new employer in the cold dirty house for two weeks, locked out of the bedchambers by a vengeful housekeeper, sleeping on a damp couch and scrounging for a little warmth and sustenance.
Andrew immediately decides that the nasty little governess is completely unsuitable and resolves to get rid of her as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Marc falls instantly in love with Gemma, so Andrew resolves to keep her around until Marc warms up to him. Isolated with Gemma and Marc on the bare little island, which is cut off from the mainland for weeks at a time, and surrounded by people who speak only Gaelic, Andrew still keeps himself at a distance from Gemma until one day he happens to catch her at her bath. Afterward all Andrew can think about is how much he desires her. Gemma needs her job badly, so when she realizes that Andrew is attracted to her, she hopes to extend the two weeks he’s given her by seducing him.
Andrew and Gemma both have difficult histories. Andrew was abandoned on the streets of Edinburgh at age seven by his prostitute mother and picked up by a pedophile who kept him for years. When his keeper died, Andrew slept his way through the aristocracy, serving both sexes, earning a fortune with the charm and education that were a gift of his former keeper. Gemma’s mother was Andrew’s equivalent, who finally gave up “the life” to marry well. She taught Gemma a lot, except how to harden her heart against Gemma’s older stepbrother. When their parents die, the stepbrother allows Gemma to seduce him and then he throws her out of their home, which is how Gemma became Marc’s governess. When they exchange stories it becomes apparent that Gemma and Andrew, two such wounded souls, belong together.
I was kind of digging the book until this point, although there were some things that bothered me, but once Andrew and Gemma start sleeping together I stopped enjoying it much at all. Andrew decides that he’s not good enough for Gemma (among the other myriad reasons he decides they shouldn’t be together), because although she’s the daughter of a courtesan, she’s miles above him in station because he was once a whore. Here the book devolves into that familiar refrain – “I don’t love you, go away” vs “I don’t care, I love you and I’m staying no matter what you say”. Or worse, “I’m just using you because I was horny” vs “I don’t care, use me, just don’t send me away.” Andrew tries repeatedly to push Gemma away, but Gemma’s stubbornness, Marc’s needs, and the constraints of language and lack of easy travel conspire to keep them together. I despise books where angst is the main conflict, so you think I would have cheered when the bad guys finally showed up again, but their appearance seemed to be more of an afterthought and did little to help the story.
What I liked least about the book was its…I’m not sure what word to use here…vulgarity? Perhaps earthiness? I’ve read many books with the same situations in them that didn’t gross me out, but here they did. The reason Gemma is treated badly before Andrew’s arrival is because the housekeeper decided she’s some kind of deviant after catching her masturbating in the bathtub. Bathtub/masturbation scenes, to me, should be titillating and erotic, but here it just seemed furtive and dirty. I didn’t want to read about how filthy Gemma was when Andrew finally arrived. She hadn’t washed her hair, bathed her body, or changed clothes in weeks. She stank. So I found it unbelievable that Andrew sees her naked once and is forever captivated. I also didn’t care to read how a kiss from a post-cry Marc leaves snot on Gemma. I especially wasn’t interested in knowing how, after sex with Andrew spunking all over her back, Gemma spoons with him with the sticky mess left uncleaned and sleeps until morning. Its not one big event or situation that made me feel put-off, but more a myriad of little ones that gave the book a tone that was just slightly too….organic?…for me. Obviously, this is a matter of taste; this could all work a lot better for someone else.
The actual writing mechanics weren’t bad, and the plot premise was interesting, but otherwise this angsty, slightly gross story just isn’t worth the fourteen dollar price tag.
Grade: D+
Book Type: European Historical Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 22/05/12
Publication Date: 2012/04
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.