After the Kiss (Notorious Gentlemen, #1)

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After the Kiss (Notorious Gentlemen #1)

by Suzanne Enoch

3.73 · rating details · 656 ratings · 52 reviews

A Notorious Gentleman . . .

Sullivan Waring wants only two things: his rightful inheritance, and revenge against the man who stole it from him. By day, Sullivan is the most respected horse breeder in England; by night, he plunders the "ton"'s most opulent homes to reclaim his late mother's beautiful paintings. His quest is going swimmingly . . . until the night

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Mass Market Paperbound, 357 pages

Published June 24th 2008 by Avon

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Aug 11, 2008

Julie (jjmachshev) rated it

Shelves: 2008-reads, queuemyreview

What a delightful Regency historical Suzanne Enoch has provided with "After the Kiss". This is the first story in her new trilogy 'The Notorious Gentlemen' which, according to her blog, will tell the tales of three friends who somehow end up on the wrong side of the law after returning from the Peninsula War (1808-1814). First up is Sullivan Waring, the 'natural child' of a peer, yet unacknowledged.

Sullivan is a successful horse breeder/trainer and has only turned to thei...more

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Sep 04, 2010

Juliana rated it

Shelves: historical-romance, 2009-reads, 2009-may-reads, 2010-reads, 2010-sep-reads, 4-stars, hr-class-difference, hr-hero-poor-background, hr-hero-commoner, hr-hero-working-man, hr-heroine-good-girl, hr-heroine-nobility-aristocrat-lady, hr-hero-ladies-man, 3-half-stars, hr-revenge-aspect, 0-own-in-dead-tree-form, 0-reviewed, hr-heroine-popular-society-darling, set-in-england, georgian-historical-romance, regency-historical-romance, hr-light-mystery-subplot, hr-mistaken-identity-impersonation, 1810s, 19th-century, best-romance-heroes-ever, 4-to-5-stars

(3.5-4 stars) I reread this book and unfortunately did not like it as much as I remembered - had to take my rating down from 5 stars to 4. Someone wrote recently in their own review that they found Isabel to be quite spoiled, haughty, and snobbish for too much of the book and I have to completely agree on that one (really hated how much she ordered him around)! I was a little shocked by how turned off I was this time around, considering I apparently liked the book so much the first time. Sulliva...more

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Aug 20, 2008

AzuresHeart rated it

Recommends it for: Regency Era fans

I think I probably wanted to give this a 3 1/2 but I gave it a 4. I thought the story was different... that was a plus... a non-titled bastard who would never be recognized by his Marquis father and the heroine was a titled daughter. He was a horse breader and she blackmails him in to training an unbroken horse for her for her silence in some burglaries that she knows he has committed. It moves fast, but for some reason I wasn't feeling the love. They fell in love but really all the had was ...more

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Jul 23, 2008

Christa rated it

Shelves: booksfree-com

In this book, Suzanne Enoch strung together several plot lines, none of which I usually enjoy, and she somehow turned them into a story that really worked for me. I have enjoyed most of the dozen or so historical romances that I have read by Enoch, but this one is now one of my top two or three favorites by her.

Sullivan Waring, an illegitimate horse breeder who has never been acknowledged by his father, comes home from war to find that his inheritance has been stolen. All that Sull...moreIn this book, Suzanne Enoch strung together several plot lines, none of which I usually enjoy, and she somehow turned them into a story that really worked for me. I have enjoyed most of the dozen or so historical romances that I have read by Enoch, but this one is now one of my top two or three favorites by her.

Sullivan Waring, an illegitimate horse breeder who has never been acknowledged by his father, comes home from war to find that his inheritance has been stolen. All that Sullivan expected to receive from his artist mother was a few paintings that she kept and meant for him to have. Upon her death while Sullivan was away, these paintings were taken by the man who sired Sullivan and then sold or given to friends. Sullivan is enraged and decides to turn to thievery in order to take back what is his while also annoying his father. While recovering one painting, Sullivan is discovered by the daughter of the house, Lady Isabel Chalsey. When Sullivan recklessly kisses Isabel in order to keep her quiet, she unmasks him before he makes his getaway. To her astonishment, when Isabel accompanies her brother to a horse auction, she recognizes the breeder her brother is buying from as the man who robbed her home. Isabel blackmails Sullivan Waring into agreeing to sell her brother two horses at a reasonable price and training one of the horses for her at Chalsey House. Isabella isn't certain why she does this instead of immediately revealing Sullivan's identity, but she is fascinated both by him and the idea of having control of him. As Sullivan begins his twice daily lessons with Isabel's horse, she spends the time with him and begins to truy like and understand him. The relationship between Sullivan and Isabela grows and becomes intimate, but neither believes that good could possibly come from their connection. The difference in their social class, as well as Sullivan's thievery appear to be insurmountable barriers between them. Complicating matters are Isabel's latest suitor, who happens to be Sullivan's jealous half-brother, and her peers who disapprove of her friendship with a horse breeder and start to damage her reputation. Sullivan and Isabel have to decide if there is any chance that they can be together.

This book had so many storylines that I don't normally care much for - hero as a thief, blackmail, seemingly insurmountable class differences, illegitimate hero treated poorly by family - that I was shocked to truly enjoy the story. Everything about the book seemed to fit together just right for me, and I had a great time reading the story. I liked both the hero and the heroine, and I wondered how Enoch would be able to pull off a happy ending for these two. The way in which she did so may not have been completely realistic in every aspect (Isabel's family was suprisingly accepting of her feelings for Sullivan), but it worked for me in a fiction story.
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Aug 21, 2010

Katyana rated it

Shelves: girly-books, victorian, fiction, why-am-i-reading-this

I honestly don't know why I finished this book. Though in my defense, I pretty much only skimmed from the halfway point onward. I think it was morbid curiosity - I had to know if it was really going to be as lamely predictable as it seemed.

And it was.

I knew it wasn't my kind of book from the first POV chapter of the heroine. A 19 year old who had the inner narrative of a 15 year old cast member of High School Musical. At least once per page, she either said or thoug...more

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Jul 14, 2009

Erin rated it

Shelves: romance

I think I have a whole essay brewing on why, when I pick up 1 historical romance, I have to then read 5 more. Books like this are like candy.

I think I'm a sucker for the noble criminal trope. So, meet Sullivan Waring, a horse breeder who moonlights as a cat burglar. Only, it's okay, see, because he's the unacknowledged bastard son of a nobleman, and he's in the process of stealing back paintings his father stole from him to begin with. And his trouble begins when he's caught in the ...more

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Oct 17, 2008

Gail rated it

The hero is a bastard son/war hero who returned from the war to discover that his noble father has sold all the paintings his mother left to him. So he's going to steal them all back again. He's only got a few left to go when the heroine surprises him in the act. He kisses her, to keep her from screaming, but she rips off his mask and sees his face. And when she sees him at Tattersall's the next day (he's a Very well-respected horse breeder and trainer), she decides to teach him a lesson, and bl...more

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Feb 16, 2009

Yvonn Blain rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 22, 2011

Jessi rated it

Shelves: romance, part-of-a-series

Sullivan Waring is a horse trainer who is the bastard son of a noble father. The marquess appropriated the paintings Waring's mother left and Waring is now stealing them all back, earning himself the nickname "Midnight Marauder." But this particular evening, Waring is interrupted by Isabel Chalsey. Before he leaves the house, he steals a kiss.
When she recognizes him the next day, rather than tell anybody, she hires him to teach her how to ride. See, she's afraid of horses but she ...more

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Jan 30, 2012

Rowena rated it

Shelves: for-review, historical, romance

I have been pretty anxious to read this book because I enjoyed the first two books in the series. The main reason I was looking forward to reading this book was Bramwell Johns himself. He was my favorite character in Sully's book and then again in Phin's book and I seriously could not wait until his book finally came out. I was mighty curious to see who he ended up with and how his happy ending would come about.

I'm happy to say that I quite enjoyed his story.

Domesticity makes...more

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Jan 18, 2012

Juana "Darkness" Duran marked it as to-read

Shelves: right-away, historcal-romance

Although Sullivan Waring was in the Peninsula War in for England's rights, he still didn't know what was going on back home. When Sullivan comes back from the war he finds out that his father Lord Dunston sold all of his inheritance. Then he hatches up a plan, the plan is to steel everything back from the people his father gave his things to. Thats when he makes the mistake of going to the Chalsey house. Sullivan gets caught while trying to make it outside by Isabel Chalsey. And to keep her quie...moreAlthough Sullivan Waring was in the Peninsula War in for England's rights, he still didn't know what was going on back home. When Sullivan comes back from the war he finds out that his father Lord Dunston sold all of his inheritance. Then he hatches up a plan, the plan is to steel everything back from the people his father gave his things to. Thats when he makes the mistake of going to the Chalsey house. Sullivan gets caught while trying to make it outside by Isabel Chalsey. And to keep her quiet he kisses her and then he escapes. Little did he know that his mask was taken off while he was kissing her. Sullivan Waring world re-nowned horse Breeder is about to know what it means to be under someone's thumb. When Isabel and Waring meet next they have a clash of wills. They meet again the next day when her brothers and her go to a horse auction, where they purchase two horses from Waring. So Isabel pays him to train the horse that she buys from him, until she finds out what he is really up to. But lines become blurred when Waring starts having feelings for her himself and then he sees who is courting her Oliver Sullivan. His half brother gets pissed when he sees who is training Isabel's horse, so he trys to get her to change instructors. And Oliver has him beaten because of all that he doing for Isabel's family. When Isabel sees this she doesn't immediately see that it was Oliver who did this to Waring. Waring then feels like he is getting in to deep, but then he decides that it's all worth it if he can stay close to the love of his life. So things go on after he ruins her as he puts it. Until Oliver finds out that they have had sex, then he calls her a whore. The next day Oliver goes to the police about Waring's extra curricular activities as the Mayfair Murader. Waring gets locked up, and Isabel trys to help him but he just says that it would be better for her if she just left him alone. But when the authorities find out that there was another painting and other stuff stolen they realize that Oliver was lying. They eventually let him go, but he leaves London, and Isabel. Waring ends up regretting leaving Isabel and goes back when his father acknowledges him. But he doesn't care about that he only cares if Isabel forgives him. Which she does after Waring explains how stupid her was. And they get married.(less)

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Apr 12, 2011

Sbuchler rated it

Shelves: read-in-2011, romance

Genre: Regency Romance

This reminds me a lot of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series – it feels like the same kind of light hearted romp with a sweet romance, and nicely steamy scenes. I’m not sure how After the Kiss actually manages this, since the hero, Sullivan Waring is not a solid member of the ton – instead as an Earl’s bastard and a horse breeder of some renown he’s decidedly on the periphery. The heroine, Lady Isabel Chalsey, is the legitimate daughter of an Earl, and a “diamond of ...more

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Jan 12, 2009

Mojca rated it

Shelves: historical-romance, part-of-a-series, suzanne-enoch, regency, georgian

Sullivan Warring, a by-blow of a nobleman without par in the Society, is intent on revenge. His mother died while he was at war against the French in Spain and upon his return his father (who never acknowledged him) has stolen his inheritance – his mother's paintings. Sullivan is adamant at getting those paintings back and embarrassing his lordly father in the process.

So, in broad daylight he's the most respected and sought-after horse breeder in England, while at night he visits his...moreSullivan Warring, a by-blow of a nobleman without par in the Society, is intent on revenge. His mother died while he was at war against the French in Spain and upon his return his father (who never acknowledged him) has stolen his inheritance – his mother's paintings. Sullivan is adamant at getting those paintings back and embarrassing his lordly father in the process.

So, in broad daylight he's the most respected and sought-after horse breeder in England, while at night he visits his father's friends' homes, stealing the paintings back. He has only four left to go, when the lady of the house he's currently robbing stumbled upon him. To prevent her from alerting the household, he silences her with a kiss...But the lady isn't idle, either, and rids him of his mask in the process.

Lady Isabel Chalsey comes face to face with the infamous Mayfair Marauder the very next day, accompanying her brother to a horse auction. Instead of turning him in, she concocts a crazy scheme. In order to learn why he is robbing the residents of Mayfair and to keep an eye on him, preventing him from further mischief, she buys a horse – despite her debilitating fear of the animals – and employs Sullivan as trainer.

It took me quite a while to get into this book. Mostly because of Isabel's character in the first few chapters. As most Society belles she was spoiled and firmly ensconced in her narrow little world, but it was her bossy manner and dramaqueenesque manner that really put me off. Only when, in the course of the story, she finally grew up and had her eyes (forcibly) open to the pettiness and fickleness of polite society, I started really enjoying the whole deal.
It's almost unheard of for a romance heroine to go through such a drastic change in personality and perspective as Isabel did in this book, but still the author never made her appear inconsistent. Whatever she did or said was always perfectly in tune with the mind frame Isabel was in at the moment.

Sullivan, like Isabel, also went through a great change in the process of the story, and his development was completely tied in with Isabel's change. It was by looking at her, processing her own change, that he realized not all members of the Society were alike, and his bitter quest for revenge against the aristocracy slowly and irrevocably morphed into desire to (at least) try to understand the aristocracy and forget his anger and betrayal for her, to make her happy and him worthy of her admiration and love.
They were both acutely aware of their differences and possible consequences of the clandestine affair, yet still persisted in their quest for happiness (kudos to Isabel in this instance).

I loved the entire premise of the book. Ms. Enoch paired two characters from completely different backgrounds. While Isabel was the darling of the Society, Sullivan, thanks to his lucrative business merely brushed against its outskirts. The pairing of a haughty, aristocratic woman with an aristocratic by-blow was this story lifesaver, if you ask me.
And the development of their romance (which was again an organic in growing affair) and their secret courtship was a real joy to read. It slowly built from initial attraction between "enemies", to a grudging trust, to friendship, and finally to passion and love.

Unlike many of her fellow author, Ms. Enoch didn't forget about the secondary characters. They weren't just figures creating a backdrop for the leading couple, but had a life of their own. Some bad, some good, some shady and in between, but still real and believable, making the reader want to read their stories as well.

So if you like your romance to have a pinch of realism, wonderfully developed and multidimensional characters, and some great depths, this is the book for you.(less)

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May 20, 2010

Danette rated it

Shelves: enoch-suzanne

3.5. The first 1/2 of the book DRAGGED for me. The author just seemed to want to beat it into my head that Sullivan Waring (horse breeder) was from the wrong side of the tracks...I got it....a "bastard"....not acknowledged by his father. Just get on with the romance!!!! Finally, Lady Isabel got seduced and the climax of the story was if Sullivan would decide to marry her and ruin her in society's eyes. Of course, everything turned out like it was supposed to......(yawn).

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Dec 28, 2010

Ms. Darcie rated it

Recommends it for: romance lovers

Recommended to Ms. Darcie by: Notorious Gentlemen #2

Shelves: historical-romance

Sullivan Waring is one interesting person. Born as the bastered son of a noble man Sully had to make it in the world alone and when he returns from war to learn that his mothers thing have been sold to the people he hates the most he will stop at nothing to get them back...even if that means being a slave to the one person who saw him...Lady Isabel Chalsey.
When Isabel happens upon a robbery in her house she for sure thought that it wouldn't change her life very much but that was until the ...more

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Aug 26, 2010

Ruth rated it

Shelves: regency-victorian, series, historical-romance, bad-boy-badass-s-o-b-rake-hero

I started this one thinking "not another dreary HR with a blonde, beautiful Society darling as heroine", but I have to say I really enjoyed it. It developed nicely, and ended up being a lovely romantic story. The hero is fabulous the whole way through, knows how to handle horses ( sigh<\i>) and the heroine really improves, thankfully redeeming herself by realizing that what she wants is not what Society wants, and showing a bit of backbone along the way. But it is the secondary c...more

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Jul 26, 2008

Cherise rated it

Shelves: historical-romance

This is a forbidden love story; Isabel is from a titled family and Sullivan is the bastard child of a marquis. His father doesn’t acknowledge him, so to the ton he’s just a horse breeder. Horse breeders and Lady’s do not mix romantic company, but Sullivan and Isabel have a hard time staying away from each other.

I am a fan of Ms. Enoch’s Samantha Jellicoe series and have not read any of her historical romances, this was my first. I thought this was a great read. I found it while v...more

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Jan 03, 2011

ATron rated it

Shelves: kindle-books-to-loan

I really enjoyed it. I liked Sullivan and I thought it was great the way Ms. Enoch integrated his love of horses and their training into the book. Personally, Sully's gentle, respectful nature with the horses made me adore him all the more. I did kinda feel like we went from 3-4 stolen, hawt kisses to "meet me in the stables at midnight" pretty quickly, though I was ready for them to get there... All I can say, is that I'm notorious for being an "easy" 4-star review because m...more

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Sep 05, 2009

Jen rated it

Shelves: owned, historical-romance, read-in-2009

A unique premise in which bastard war hero, Sullivan Waring, sells and breeds horses by day; by night he masquerades as a thief, stealing back his mother's paintings from aristocrats after they'd been wrongfully taken from him by his father. A father who refuses to acknowledge his son, at that. It just so happens during one raid Sullivan is caught unawares by Lady Isabel, but he quickly hushes her up with a kiss and so this epic romance begins.

I thought the tension between Isabel and...more

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Dec 26, 2008

Dancer rated it

Sullivan Waring and Isabel are attracting opposites. From the day he breaks into her home to steal back his mother's paintings to the day she steals back all the paintings to protect him from Oliver Sullivan, the reader knows these two will go to great lengths to be together.

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Apr 04, 2011

Amanda G rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 02, 2012

Ilze rated it

Shelves: suzanne-enoch, 5-star-keepers, dog-or-pet-as-character

Really enjoyable story - fabulous hero, lovely heroine, amazing chemistry between them. The whole thread of Sullivan training Isabel's horse Zephyr and teaching Isabel how to ride is fascinating and nicely done - I have a weakness for animals, both in life and in stories, so this subject will always get to me if it is well handled. The scenes with the hero and his best buddy Bram are so funny but also heartfelt - Bram actually saves Sullivan's bacon after Sullivan is arrested, even though the co...more

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Feb 19, 2010

Kristen rated it

Great book!! Sullivan is an English Cowboy that has a secret side...he is a thief. I couldn't put this book down. I stayed up late even though I had to work late the next day.

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Jul 12, 2008

Ron rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, romance

Sullivan Waring is a well-respected (albeit, given his illegitimate birth, socially shunned) horse breeder by day, and a cat burglar by night -- but only because he's stealing back his mother's paintings. He's in the midst of liberating one such when he's discovered by Lady Isabel, who soon realizes who he is and blackmails him into teaching her how to ride a horse in exchange for her silence.

There's actually much more intricate social drama than that, and Enoch keeps all the threads...more

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Jun 21, 2009

Michelle rated it

Shelves: romance

This series was recommended to me by a friend and I am truly enjoying it. Great characters and storyline. Thanks Melissa!!

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Oct 03, 2011

Carla rated it

Shelves: romance

I liked this book, which tells the story of a young, spirited woman who falls in love with a horse breeder, the natural son of a duke. There is added interst as she first understands the hypocrisy of her world. A fun escape read.

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Jan 25, 2011

Heather rated it

This one was slow... and totally unrealistic. Although I guess they are all like that, aren't they?

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Dec 14, 2009

AnneOK rated it

Delightful to read and such wonderful characters. I've read Enoch's contemps and enjoy them, as well.

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Oct 14, 2009

Katie rated it

Shelves: historical-romance

I really like Sullivan and Tibby was a cute heroine. This story was interesting and wasn't slow. Good read.

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Mar 23, 2009

Jessie rated it

Good mixture of romance and laughter, adventure and intrigue.

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About Suzanne Enoch

Suzanne was born in Southern California. She has wanted to write practically since she learned to read. Early dreams of becoming a zoologist and writing books about her adventures in Africa were crushed after she viewed a National Geographic special on the world's most poisonous snakes -- of which 99% seemed to be native to Africa. After that, and in conjunction with her first viewing of the movie...moreSuzanne was born in Southern California. She has wanted to write practically since she learned to read. Early dreams of becoming a zoologist and writing books about her adventures in Africa were crushed after she viewed a National Geographic special on the world's most poisonous snakes -- of which 99% seemed to be native to Africa. After that, and in conjunction with her first viewing of the movie Star Wars, her interest turned to the much less dangerous activity of writing fiction.
She dabbled unsuccessfully in romantic fantasy for a year or two after graduating with a degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, until a delight in Regency Romances led her to write one for fun. After several encouraging rejections, she snared the interest of the world's best and most patient literary agent, who helped her re-work the manuscript. This ultimately led to the publication of her first novel, The Black Duke's Prize, from Avon Books in the Spring of 1995. It was later translated into German and published as Lady Meines Herzens in the My Lady series of historical romances in 1998. Another Regency, Angel's Devil followed in the Fall. Angel's Devil was nominated in the Regency of the Year category of the "Romantic Times" Reviewers Choice Award.

Contrary to opinion, she was not the reason Avon Books ceased its Regency division, but when that happened she was encouraged to try her hand at historical romance. Still being infatuated with the humor and wit of the Regency period, she decided to attempt another manuscript set in that time. Lady Rogue, a March 1997 release from Avon, was the result. A second Historical, Stolen Kisses, set in 1820, at the tale end of the Regency period, was released in September 1997. By Love Undone another Regency historical was released in July 1998. By Love Undone's sequel, Taming Rafe, was released in April 1999. Her two latest books, Reforming A Rake and Meet Me At Midnight were released in 2000.

Suzanne is known for her humorous characters and witty dialogue. Still single, she resides in Anaheim, California with her Cairn terrier, Katie (named by her sisters after the heroine of The Black Duke's Prize), and her steadily growing collection of Star Wars action figures and space ships.
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Books by Suzanne Enoch

London's Perfect Scoundrel (Lessons in Love, #2)

England's Perfect Hero (Lessons in Love, #3)

Sin and Sensibility (Griffin Family, #1)

Always a Scoundrel (Notorious Gentlemen, #3)

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