As much as I enjoyed book 1 in this series (Sin), I think I enjoyed this one more! It was a real page turner for me, and every time I put it down, I kept wanting to go back and pick it up!

Black Silk is about the middle Hamilton sister, Maryanne. Like her sister Venetia, Maryanne also has a secret life that delves into the world of erotica. But where her sister paints risque scenes, Maryanne has teamed with a known courtesan and together they edit and publish books of erotica. Now that her sister has married and become part of the ton, though, Maryanne must be very careful about not being discovered. But when her partner sends a letter requesting help, Maryanne rushes to the rescue...only to find herself smack dab in the middle of an orgy and then alone with the debauched Lord Swansborough, Dashiel Blackmore,...the one man of the ton who she has secretly yearned for. Before the night is over, her innocence is lost and she finds herself mired in the mystery where the man she's just slept with is either an evil murderer or the victim of someone even more evil.

It's kind of funny because even though this is an erotic romance, I think I enjoyed all the other parts of the story the most! Actually, compared to book 1, this one is rather tame. There's still enough yummy hot sex, but this book doesn't have that all-out sexual playground feel that book 1 did. Which is a smidge disappointing, but the sex was still hot, and I enjoyed the rest of the book so much I didn't really care.

From a romance perspective, I thought the romance in this book was a lot stronger than in book 1. Stronger emotions, stronger communication between the H/H, a little more sweetness. The story just came across more loving and romantic. Which I enjoyed quite a bit. I really liked Dash (and Maryanne). They worked well together. I wasn't sure about Dash coming into this book because of the way he was portrayed in book 1, but I think author Sharon Page wrote his character well and turns him into a nice borderline tragic hero.

Storyline wise...well, I have to give kudos to Page for surprising me at the end. The revelation of the antagonist...well, I hadn't even considered that character! But it actually fit perfectly. So kudos to Page for sneaking one by me. That doesn't happen often! Aside from that, interesting storyline all around. Someone has it in for poor Dash and Page did a great job weaving in suspects and making you curious about who is actually the bad guy (and then surprising everyone!). The story had me hooked and I read this one straight through.

And honestly, I have no major complaints for this book. Everything worked for me...okay, I still find the use of ballocks, quim, etc a bit annoying, but oh well. The only other thing was that in this one, book 2, Dash and Marcus (from book 1) are referred to as being longtime close friends, but I didn't remember that from book 1. It seemed like a new thing in book 2. And also, I would have liked it if we'd gotten a small scene where Dash thought back to the orgy from book 1, where Marcus and Venetia were in attendance (and he hit on her). There were references to that orgy from both Venetia and Maryanne, but not from Dash. It's a little thing, but I would have liked him to reference that. But all the above are just little minor points. I liked everything else about the book.

So I'd definitely add this one to my recommended reading list. Especially for those of you who read book 1, Sin, or who like erotic historical romance.

Warning, this book contains: explicit m/f sex, anal sex, toys, light bondage, exhibitionism, voyeurism, threesomes not involving the H/H, and references to other stuff...plus some violence involving whipping and hot wax