The Art of Sinning - Review

The Art of Sinning by Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley

Description:  American artist Jeremy Keane refuses to return home and take over his father's business.  He'd much rather sample bevvies of beauties abroad, in search of a model for the provocative masterpiece he's driven to paint.  When he meets Lady Yvette Barlow at a London wedding, he realizes she's perfect for his work and determines to capture the young heiress's defiant spirit and breathtaking sensuality on canvas.
No stranger to scandal, Yvette agrees to be Keane's subject - in exchange for his help gaining entry to the city's brothels he knows intimately, so she can track a missing woman and solve a family mystery.  But when their practical partnership leads to lessons in the art of sinning, can they find a bold and lasting love? (from Goodreads)

Genre: Romance - Historical

Why I Picked This Book:  Sabrina Jeffries is one of my absolute favorite authors in this genre.

My Impression:  I found American artist Jeremy Keane intriguing when we first met him in How the Scoundrel Seduces.  It was nice to meet a possible heir to a title who was in no way scheming
after the title.  He was an interesting and unusual character so I was looking forward to seeing him in his own book. Yvette is also a familiar character as we met her and her brother when he was all set to marry Jane in If the Viscount Falls.
As I expect from Jeffries the premise and the characters are interesting and unique.  Jeremy and Yvette both want something from each other - Jeremy wants her to model for an unconventional painting and Yvette wants his help getting into a place no lady should go.  They're fairly upfront and honest with each other though both has their secret pasts and pain. Much of the book takes place while Yvette is posing which makes for lots of very focused conversations and thoughts.  While they do keep secrets from each other it does make sense.  They're strangers when they meet and they don't really trust each other so I think it's pretty natural to not be spilling out your deepest fears and darkest secrets.
These weren't my favorite characters in a Jeffries book and I did have some difficulty forming a connection with them.  Yvette was too argumentative and defensive and Jeremy is so driven that it's difficult at first to really seem him in a romantic way. These are purely personal preferences however as both characters are well done.  The plot kept me turning pages and while this wasn't one of my favorite books by Jeffries I'm really looking forward to Edwin's book and seeing where else the series goes.


Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Oh definitely!  I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes, even though the characters didn't work for me this is still a good book and my issues were purely personal preference.

Challenges Met?  Historical Romance