The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath

Feb 08, 2019 WhiskeyintheJar rated it liked it

Shelves: historical, series

2.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

While he was responsible for so much pain, there was a time when he’d been responsible for her most ultimate joy.

Third in the Sins for All Seasons series following the Trewlove siblings, Finn falls for an Earl's daughter. As the Trewlove siblings, except for the youngest, were all born on the wrong side of the blanket and “farmed” out (in this case 2.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

While he was responsible for so much pain, there was a time when he’d been responsible for her most ultimate joy.

Third in the Sins for All Seasons series following the Trewlove siblings, Finn falls for an Earl's daughter. As the Trewlove siblings, except for the youngest, were all born on the wrong side of the blanket and “farmed” out (in this case, delivered by aristocrats or their servants, with a one time payment to Ettie Trewlove to take care of or dispose of baby as she saw fit), this proves dangerous for Finn and Lady Lavinia Kent, as she starts to fall for him, too.

The first half of the book had flashback scenes that went back and forth with the current events happening. These flashbacks did a pretty good job of delivering the how and why of Finn and Lavinia's relationship but as Lavinia starts off as fifteen to Finn's early twenties, some of their deeper emotional connection wasn't there for me. There was more of a feel of kid giddiness, especially from Lavinia, of doing something forbidden than actual deeper love. The misunderstanding that initially keeps them in tension is talked about and for the most part resolved in the first half. The second half is fully in the current time and we get Finn still expressing his feelings for Lavinia and Lavinia still working through the pain of their past.

“There’s no pleasure in taking what isn’t freely given.” He grinned wolfishly. “Doesn’t mean I won’t test you to see where the boundaries are.”

Finn was my favorite part of this story, he was sweet, sensitive, and conscientious. I did think that even though he was supposed to be the same age as his brothers, he felt much younger, he had more of a tender naivety feel; this could have been done to make his romance with a late teens heroine feel more natural. While I liked Finn, I struggled at times with Lavinia. She lives the very sheltered and confined life of an aristocrat daughter and after escaping some horrors her mother and father inflict on her, she decides to make it her mission to save farmed out babies. However, it felt like she blindly and naively, rich-woman-striding-in-thinks-she-knows-the-best-way-to-solve-the-problem by stepping in to buy the children and put them in nun run homes. She doesn't bother to really see if what she is doing is better for the children; Ettie Trewlove more than likely ended up being a far better situation for Finn to grow up in than being dumped at a very full nun orphanage. Lavinia never really lost her, what I think is best is, feel and her drawn out, felt a bit pointless at times, “we've changed so we can't be together” whole second half of book with Finn.

Their breathing was shallow, fraught with tension, as they each took a measure of the other.

While this started off intriguing with the from the different side of the tracks relationship, not a lot really happens, the second half felt like a bunch of forced overly melancholy we can't be together and when there were emotional moments, they felt rushed and didn't quite leave an impact. The elements for a good story were here but the spark and emotion to immerse you were not. Heath's writing is good but this felt like a going through the motions, there was some repetitiveness and I think this could have been better as a novella. There are still other Trewlove siblings to get their stories and as Heath has wrote an intriguing family, I'll still be on the lookout for future installments. ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-romance, second-chance

3.5 STARS

How could he be happy when all he’d ever wanted was her, and all she now wanted was the freedom to do as she pleased?

I'm a sucker for a good second chance romance, and this book definitely delivered on that front. Vivi and Finn's story spans the course of several years. They meet when Vivi is just fifteen, fall in love when she's seventeen, and fall apart in a devastating fashion only for their life to cross paths eight years later. But neither of them are the people they on 3.5 STARS

How could he be happy when all he’d ever wanted was her, and all she now wanted was the freedom to do as she pleased?

I'm a sucker for a good second chance romance, and this book definitely delivered on that front. Vivi and Finn's story spans the course of several years. They meet when Vivi is just fifteen, fall in love when she's seventeen, and fall apart in a devastating fashion only for their life to cross paths eight years later. But neither of them are the people they once were.

I loved the set up of the story. Finn, the bastard son of a nobleman meets and falls for a woman far beyond his poor reach. Vivi may be the daughter of an earl, set to marry a duke almost from birth, but titles mean nothing for her when she first lays eyes on Finn. The story unfolds in alternate flashes of past and present, allowing the reader to see how they met while they anxiously wait to see what caused them to ultimately fall apart.

Years later, Finn is no longer the starry eyed boy that fell in love with a girl beyond his standing. And Vivi is no longer the naive young woman that thought as long as she and Finn were together, nothing could harm them. Vivi has dedicated her life to hunting down of baby farmers and rescuing the young children and babies from a fate sometimes worse than death. I really loved her singleminded focus on finding these children. There's a wealth of secrets hidden beneath the eight years they spent apart, but when their paths cross again, it doesn't take long for those secrets to unravel and for the connection that was between them years ago to spark back to life. The mystery of what happens is stretched out in tiers, which I really enjoyed. You get one part of it fairly quickly, while the other part continues to unravel chapter by chapter.

I really loved the story and the characters, but ultimately I struggled to feel the chemistry between them. I just never fully bought into it. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it was a struggle from the moment they met to when they finally reconnect. I felt like I'm being told that they have this incredible connection rather than truly feeling it. And while I loved the two of them together, I couldn't help but feel like I wanted something a little...more.

Did I enjoy this book? Absolutely! It was a page turner from beginning to finish. And while I did wish that I felt a little more of the passion, I still thoroughly enjoyed the romance.

ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review

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Sep 08, 2018 Esther rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, epilogue, emotion-grabber, heroine-rich, virgin, excellent-epilogue, some-angst, virgin-heroine, arc-edelweiss, excellent-plot

ARC provided my Edelweiss and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This love story spans about a decade and has flash backs. Not a fan of flash backs but thought this was fairly well done.

Lady Lavinia is daughter to an earl. She's been promised to the Duke of Thornley (a previous book) since she was a baby. At fifteen Viv meets Finn the bastard son of a nobleman, their meeting wasn't the most pleasant of meeting as he was sent to kill a horse (he hates wha ARC provided my Edelweiss and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This love story spans about a decade and has flash backs. Not a fan of flash backs but thought this was fairly well done.

Lady Lavinia is daughter to an earl. She's been promised to the Duke of Thornley (a previous book) since she was a baby. At fifteen Viv meets Finn the bastard son of a nobleman, their meeting wasn't the most pleasant of meeting as he was sent to kill a horse (he hates what he does for a living) by her lovely (not) father, Viv's horse but she begs him to spare her horse and he does. So the two they develop a friendship and by the time Viv is seventeen she knows she will only love Finn and no other. The two years they developed this friendship/relations is so sweet and beautiful. I loved that young love that was displayed between the two. The two decide to run away together. But they are betrayed and two are heartbroken as each believes the other betrayed them. This was so emotional.

Eight years have passed and Viv has broke her engagement and vanished into the streets of Whitechapel. She left the everything behind and made it her mission in life to save the children from the evil baby farmers. She hasn't seen Finn and never wants to again.

One night when Viv is on assignment to save some babies she runs into problems in an alley. And low and behold who comes to assist and intervene but Finn.

And so the two reconnect with a lot and I mean a lot of baggage to sort through. So much betrayal, hurt and anger the two have to uncover and work through. Both have changed and are different people but yet deep down in their hearts the same. The truth is brought too light that each was lied to and the betrayal revealed. Viv is keeping a dark and devastating secret from Finn and knows that because of this they could never really have a future. But sweet and determined Finn realizes that he loved the girl Viv but the woman she's has become he loves just as much or possibly more. He's determined to get her back. Finn decides that maybe with an opportunity of opening a children's home, which is Viv's dream, it will give him chance and time to have her fall in love with him again.

I loved this book. The emotion, angst and depth of love these two had for each other was palpable. I cried and laughed and sighed all throughout their romance. It wasn't a perfect read, I'll be honest. I was going to give it a 5 star but ended up with a 4 as I did find the flash backs interrupted the flow of the book and was somewhat a hindrance to the romance.

If you can look past that part I found this to be a beautiful and emotional love story. ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Christie«SHBBblogger» rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-romance, feb-2019, part-of-a-series, set-in-england, auto-buy-author, advanced-copy, reunited-and-it-feels-so-good

Title: The Scoundrel in Her Bed
Series: Sins for All Seasons #3
Author: Lorraine Heath
Release date: February 26, 2019
Cliffhanger: No
Genre:historical romance

No one had ever looked at her as he did—as though he would die if he couldn’t have her, as though he would die if he did.

Lady Lavinia is the runaway bride who jilted the Duke of Thornley at the alter in When a Duke Loves a Woman. It hurt his pride at first, but in the end it was for the best all around. She may have handled matters in an embar ...more

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Apr 17, 2019 Shawna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: auth-lorraine-heath-rachelhawthorne, heroine-rich-girl, heroine-destitute-poor, historical-romance, angsty-dark-heavy-lotsa-drama, hero-lived-survived-on-the-streets, trope-blackmail-revenge, hero-commoner-self-made, hero-or-heroine-illegitimate, may-december-romance

5 stars - Historical Romance

Holy Kleenex, but this book sucker-punched me right in the feels, big time. Lorraine Heath has a gift for telling emotional, affecting stories, and this wonderful second-chance romance definitely delivered in that regard. In fact, for me, this was by far the best she’s written since her Scoundrels of St. James series.

I loved everything about it, especially the extraordinary, totally dreamy hero, Finn Trewlove. *Swoon* It’s been a while since I’ve read a historica ...more

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Mar 04, 2019 Vashti rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars!!!!
This is the 3rd book of this series about a group of illegitimate children of the nobility who were "farmed" out to the Widow Trewlove as babies.
This is Finn's ( bastard son of an Earl) and Lavinia aka Vivi (daughter of an Earl) story.And what a story it was.This book had me in tears running down my face several times as I read what happened to this young couple. My gut clenched,my heart hurt when the actions of her parents were revealed.But the biggest emotional impact was the deci 4.5 stars!!!!
This is the 3rd book of this series about a group of illegitimate children of the nobility who were "farmed" out to the Widow Trewlove as babies.
This is Finn's ( bastard son of an Earl) and Lavinia aka Vivi (daughter of an Earl) story.And what a story it was.This book had me in tears running down my face several times as I read what happened to this young couple. My gut clenched,my heart hurt when the actions of her parents were revealed.But the biggest emotional impact was the decision the heroine was forced to make.....what a heartbreak,the tears really fell then and personally,I don't know if I could have made the decision the heroine ultimately made.
This emotional story was told in flashback/present time,something I am not fond of,but to get to the gist of this couple and especially the heroine,the flashback scenes were a must.
They meet when the heroine is 15 and hero is 21.He is at her home to take away a horse that the heroine fell off of.He is a horse slaughterer come to get the horse.The hero has remorse about killing the horse so he spares the horse in secret and sneaks into the heroine' s bedroom late at night to info rm her of what he has done and to take her to visit her beloved horse.Thus begins their ritual of sneaking off on Tuesday nights to visit her horse and their bond begins.When the heroine turns 17, they finally kiss and emotional attachment deepens which in turns leads to them making love. The heroine realizes that she cannot go thru with an arranged marriage( the hero Duke of the prior novel) and makes plans to elope with the hero.
Fast forward to eight years and the heroine has left her old life behind and is living with nuns and orphans.The hero is starting his business and occasionally helps his brother who owns a gaming establishment. They meet up again one night as the heroine is being accosted.From there on the story and couple enfolds.
I have not read a book in a while that packed this much of an emotional impact on me, and the epilogue was well deserved as this couple truly deserved all the happiness and love there is.
If there is a place in Hell for evil people,the heroine's mother and father has a room booked! ...more

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Mar 26, 2019 Lover of Romance rated it really liked it

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

Lorraine Heath is such a memorable author and definitely an auto buy for me which is why when I saw this audio available in my library I was super excited because I excpected to have to buy this but I was surprised that I didn’t need to. I was a bit nervous because even though I liked book two I didn’t love it like I did book one but I can say that this book really worked for me despite the flashbacks. I know many love flashbacks, but I am ...more

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Sep 09, 2018 Scarlett rated it liked it

DRC received through Edelweiss

This book was completely unbelievable. I truly didn't buy anything that happened! I wanted to love it, since I usually enjoy historical romance although it has the same boring premise every single time. Lorraine Heath is one of the finest writers of this genre, but here, it seems like she got tired of her own ways. I had sooo many issues that I don't even know where to start.

Finn Trewlove, our male protagonist and a lowborn bastard, earns his money by killing horses ...more

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Feb 22, 2019 Angie Elle rated it really liked it

Not gonna lie - I feel like this man's nipple is judging me. I'm reading this book anyway!

ARC from Edelweiss

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Lorraine Heath book, but when I picked up The Scoundrel in Her Bed, I was more than ready. And this did not disappoint. Though this book is third in a series, I was able to follow the story and secondary characters just fine. I will say, I loved Finn’s family, and I desperately want to read every one of their stories. I also want to know more of Thornley Not gonna lie - I feel like this man's nipple is judging me. I'm reading this book anyway!

ARC from Edelweiss

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Lorraine Heath book, but when I picked up The Scoundrel in Her Bed, I was more than ready. And this did not disappoint. Though this book is third in a series, I was able to follow the story and secondary characters just fine. I will say, I loved Finn’s family, and I desperately want to read every one of their stories. I also want to know more of Thornley, who was Vivi’s betrothed until she left him at the altar. (No spoiler here - this was in the blurb.)

I have to say that this book got off to a shaky start for me. The first third of the book went back and forth between past and present, and the past was focused on too much. I did get what the author was trying to do later on - it was important to developing both characters, particularly Finn and his being so much more progressive than most people from that time period. But I think this could have been done in a more perfunctory way. But once that was over and we were firmly planted in the present, this book really took off for me. I loved Vivi and Finn’s story. I am such a sucker for a story spanning social classes, and when you pair that with another trope I love, second chance romance, it’s like it was written just for me. Finn and Vivi meet under less than stellar circumstances, but Vivi really makes an impression on Finn, and he finds he just can’t forget her.. But there are certain expectations for Vivi’s life that don’t include a commoner, and circumstances beyond their control make sure they can’t be together. But when fate steps in, Finn and Vivi’s path cross years later, and they’ve both changed. I don’t know what it is, but man, there’s a certain something about a hero that makes something of himself just to spite the heroine who left him. Finn always had ambition, but his past with Vivi added more fuel to that. And Vivi - her story was horrific; it was even worse than I could have imagined when I picked up this book. I loved the way she took the events in her life and channeled it into doing something so worthwhile and important. She definitely left an impression on Finn, but he left an impression on her, as well, and where he felt spite, she was determined. I will say that once the truth came out fairly early on the story, they moved past it quickly and forgiveness was instant. I would have liked to have seen more drama there and a bit of time to come to grips with things, but it really was indicative of who Vivi and Finn were together. This means that the pacing after this was a bit slow involving mostly inner angst, but I live for angst, so I loved it. As much as I adored both of these characters, I do feel as though there one time when Finn’s expectations of Vivi were too much. I won’t spoil it, I’ll just say Vivi had a really hard time dealing with it, and Finn wanted her to be able to do it immediately; Vivi had lived a life where everything she’d ever wanted was at her fingertips, and while she had given that up, it was still a part of her that hadn’t completely subsided, and she needed time to think things through. But even then, I loved how Finn was there for her anyway.
I won’t say I liked all the characters in this book, but I will say that I think I felt exactly the way the author wanted me to. There were an array of players here, some good, some wicked, and it made for such a wonderful read.
Returning to a world that Lorraine Heath created was exactly what I expected. She tore my heart apart only to put it back together again, and it’s something I’m so thankful for. The Scoundrel in Her Bed was a wonderful story, and I can’t wait to read more about Finn’s siblings. ...more

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Feb 12, 2021 Lisa (Remarkablylisa) rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-romance-i-own, february-2021

Rating 3.5

This was such a sad book. It starts off weird because you're jumping back and forth 10 years and it's basically a Romeo and Juliet retelling where a lady falls in love with a lower class man and they can't be together. They decide to run away only to have her parents ruin everything and make their future miserable and awful. It's pretty upsetting with themes of mental illness and baby farming. So it's a depressing one with a happy ending I guess. ...more

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Mar 06, 2019 Caz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-1850-1900s, audiobook, audiogals

I've given this an A for narration and a B- for content at AudioGals

Boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy meets girl for the first time in eight years and she knees him in the nads after he defends her from some unsavoury characters. Okay, so that last bit might be a bit of a deviation from the tried-and-tested trope, but the rest is a fairly accurate description of the first part of the plot in Lorraine Heath’s The Scoundrel in Her Bed, book three in the Sins for All Seasons se ...more

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Feb 23, 2019 Joana V. rated it liked it

Shelves: edelweiss, meus, first-reads, arc, inglês, e-book

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

Review posted at my blog, Romancing Romances

Review link

I’m having a hard time rating this book.

I love Lorraine Heath, and the fact that she likes to talk about difficult issues in her books. But in this one, I think something was…maybe holding her back? I don’t know, I feel like it had something missing.

This is a lovers-reunited/second-chance lovers story. I have to admit, I didn’t feel ver ...more

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Aug 19, 2020 Niki (mustreadalltheromance) rated it liked it

Shelves: owned-on-kindle, steamy, damaged-heroine, emotional, frustrating-heroine, hero-is-illegitimate, second-chance, damaged-hero, mehh

Finn Trewlove was taken in and raised with love by a former baby farmer, but he can never forget his status as the bastard son of a notorious earl. Despite not being of her world, as he grew up Finn spent many clandestine evenings with an earl’s daughter. He fell in love with her and they promised each other forever, but of course it all ended in betrayal and a stint in prison for Finn.

Lady Lavinia Kent seeks to atone for the darkness in her past by rescuing abandoned children in some of London’ Finn Trewlove was taken in and raised with love by a former baby farmer, but he can never forget his status as the bastard son of a notorious earl. Despite not being of her world, as he grew up Finn spent many clandestine evenings with an earl’s daughter. He fell in love with her and they promised each other forever, but of course it all ended in betrayal and a stint in prison for Finn.

Lady Lavinia Kent seeks to atone for the darkness in her past by rescuing abandoned children in some of London’s worst neighborhoods. She’s inspired by the young man who once held her heart, even if he did break it by abandoning her.

When the two meet again, the attraction between them is still there, but so is a deep resentment. After they learn the truth about behind their separation eight years ago, Finn and Lavinia must both decide if trying to start again is worth the risk.

After how much I’ve enjoyed the other books in this series, I must say this one was a disappointment for me. I know she suffered terribly, but I just couldn’t bring myself to like Lavinia and every time she started to grow on me even a little, she’d do something else to turn me off all over again. I just kept thinking poor, lovestruck Finn deserved better. The “secret” here was drawn out way too long for me and was just needless. Lavinia kept things from Finn that he had every right to know. In fact, Lavinia spent most of the book coming up with reasons why she and Finn couldn’t be together, none of which even made any sense, all the while she just kept twisting the knife deeper and deeper into him and simultaneously lamenting how guilty she felt about what he’d suffered. After everything he went through, Finn deserved more from her and for most of the book Lavinia wasn’t even willing to meet him halfway. Lavinia kept harping about how she and Finn had changed too much to be together again, but there were multiple times she showed herself to be just as spoiled and selfish as she was in her life among the nobility, lashing out at Finn when he was also hurting. Beyond that, I found that I really disliked how this story was told in a series of flashbacks as it just gave me this awful sense of foreboding, knowing what terrible things were coming, that I just found depressing. The emotion here was intense, but I just wasn’t drawn into the story, although the writing and narration were good. I never felt the real connection between Finn and Lavinia, and what little I did glean came mostly from Finn. I do appreciate that Lavinia was ultimately trying to help children, but her single-minded focus meant that she failed to show that same devotion to Finn and that threw me off and made me not believe in their connection. This had good points, but I wanted more from it; even the ending felt a bit abrupt and I wanted some punishment for Lavinia’s terrible mother and more closure for Finn about his own parentage. I’m a fan of this series, but this story just didn’t quite do it for me. ...more

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Feb 20, 2019 Tracy Emro rated it it was amazing

Shelves: top-picks-2019, edelweiss

Finn Trewlove and Lady Lavinia Kent met when she was only 15, Finn was immediately smitten and spent the next two years meeting her in secret and falling even deeper in love. When she turned 17 and was preparing for her come-out, their relationship changed and Finn learned his "Vivi" loved him too. It was an impossible dream, Vivi has been betrothed to the Duke of Thornley since she was a child, but Finn is her heart's desire. Their relationship changes yet again and Vivi gives Finn more than ju Finn Trewlove and Lady Lavinia Kent met when she was only 15, Finn was immediately smitten and spent the next two years meeting her in secret and falling even deeper in love. When she turned 17 and was preparing for her come-out, their relationship changed and Finn learned his "Vivi" loved him too. It was an impossible dream, Vivi has been betrothed to the Duke of Thornley since she was a child, but Finn is her heart's desire. Their relationship changes yet again and Vivi gives Finn more than just her heart. They declare their love and plan to runaway together. But they are betrayed and torn apart - each believing the other betrayed them.

Think this sounds like every other second-chance love story you have ever read? Think again!

Eight years later, Lavinia has jilted Thorn and has disappeared into the streets of Whitechapel. She has made it her mission to save children from baby farmers, she walked away from her society life and has no desire to go back, nor does she ever want to see Finn again. But when a meeting in an alley goes wrong, it is Finn who intercedes and helps her. Finn soon learns that his Vivi is not the sweet, sheltered, innocent miss he knew 8 years ago.

They quickly learn that they were betrayed and that neither was to blame. They both paid heavily for their doomed romance, but Finn doesn't know the true price Vivi paid. He wants to spend time with her and see if they can recapture what they lost - but Vivi has secrets that she is sure will make a future together impossible.

She tries to keep him at arm's length, but Finn still loves the girl she was and is falling for the woman she has become, despite his family still believing she is not for him, Finn's Folly is what they call her and at one time he agreed, but now he is not so sure. He won't walk away and tempts her with an opportunity to make her dream of opening a children's home come true. Vivi never stopped loving Finn, but will need to confront the demons in her past, before she can even contemplate a future.

This is an absolutely brilliant book, it is well written, flows nicely (even with the insertion several flashbacks), yes, the trope has been done before, but never like this. Finn and Lavinia are amazing leads, what they each endured during their time apart is heart breaking, but seeing them support and defend one another, makes you believe that their young love was in fact true, soul-mate love. I laughed, I cried, I sighed - the book is filled with emotion, gut-wrenching choices, a hero who loves with every fiber of his being and a heroine who against all odds has survived and grown from a spoiled girl into an amazingly strong and generous woman. I loved this book - I thought that Ms. Heath couldn't surpass the first book in the series and while I think I might still consider that my favorite, this book is definitely going on my To Read Again list. This is the third book in the series, but you can absolutely read it as a stand alone - if you do, you are missing out on two fantastic reads, but it can be done. I highly recommend this story and can't wait for the next one!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to my by Edelweiss and the publisher.* ...more

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Mar 09, 2019 Aly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Lady Lavinia Kent and Finn Trewlove met under unusual circumstances when she was 15 and he was a few years older. It was not a case of love at first sight, but the beginning of a friendship that would naturally grow into the beautiful but tragic romance we could see arise from the start. As sweet and captivating these clandestine meetings could be every Tuesday, we knew that something terrible would happen to separate two young hearts who come from different world. As is often the case, other pe ...more

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May 25, 2019 Jacqueline's Reads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: v-card, historical

4 Listenable stars

I liked listening to this book via audio. I really liked the narrator and I love listening to accents so it worked for me.

I wouldn’t call this a great book, but it was nice to have something in the background while I worked.

This series is very serious and this one was pretty sad, but I love a second chance novel.

I don’t remember much in the series since it’s been some time since I’ve read the previous books but this is Finn’s story. We know he had a fling with a rich girl and ...more

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Mar 11, 2019 Keri rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-read, romance-historical

Man this one hit the feels HARD, pages 355 through 360..something like that, I cried through that entire scene. You knew what was coming and you thought you knew the outcome...but boy it was tough. Well done LH, well done. I can't wait for the next one. ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Stacee rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2019, edelweiss

3.5 stars

I had read and enjoyed the previous book in this series, so I was all in on this one.

I really liked Vivi and Finn. I loved their connection and their loyalty. I especially liked the past and present chapters so we were able to see their relationship grow and shift. In the present, Vivi’s grown tougher and Finn’s always been a partial marshmallow. It was interesting to see how their dynamic shifted after the years apart. And of course I loved seeing Gillie and Thorne.

Plot wise, it was a ...more

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Feb 17, 2019 Barbara Rogers rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss, xx-2019-read

Series: Sins For All Seasons #3
Publication Date: 2/26/19

I totally surrendered to this book from the first word on the first page and still remain its prisoner days after the last page. The Prologue alone will rip your heart from your chest and run it through a shredder. It was a touching, passionate and compassionate story and a great addition to the Sins For All Seasons series. It deals with some dark subject matter but handles it in such a way that you are left feeling good in the end. After a Series: Sins For All Seasons #3
Publication Date: 2/26/19

I totally surrendered to this book from the first word on the first page and still remain its prisoner days after the last page. The Prologue alone will rip your heart from your chest and run it through a shredder. It was a touching, passionate and compassionate story and a great addition to the Sins For All Seasons series. It deals with some dark subject matter but handles it in such a way that you are left feeling good in the end. After all of that, you must be wondering why I didn’t give it five stars. The answer to that is that I would have given it five stars, but I really don’t like flashbacks as a way of telling the story and the first 45% of the book had a current time chapter, then a flashback chapter or two, then a current time, etc. I was very tempted to flip through and read all of the flashback chapters and then go back and read all of the ‘current time’ chapters, but I didn’t.

Each book in this outstanding series has a different hero and heroine, but, to me, the real hero for all of the books is Ettie Trewlove. No matter how many books you read over your lifetime, you’ll never find a more loving, compassionate and giving person than Ettie. She was widowed young and lost her own children to disease. In order to support herself, she took in the unwanted by-blows of rich aristocrats. They would drop them on her doorstep with a one-time payment of maybe £15. Most of the people who dropped off these children expected them to be allowed to die and they certainly never wanted to hear from them again. Ettie, however, was an exception. She took those children in and loved them, taught them, and made a family of them – all SIX of them! So! Hats off to Ettie, the true hero.

Finn Trewlove is basically the same age as his ‘siblings’, but to me, he seemed much younger, more impulsive, and more naïve. To me, that explains why Finn, at twenty-one, would be so instantly attracted to a fifteen-year-old girl. Finn is also the soft-hearted, loving one of the siblings. I absolutely LOVED Finn and my heart hurt for him as I gradually learned all of the things that had happened to him.

Lady Lavinia Kent’s parents are the parents from hell – literally. No matter how pacifist you might be, you’ll want to take her parents – especially her mother – and devise a horrible torture for them. You absolutely will not believe some of the things they do to their own daughter! That said, Lavinia is still spoiled, and totally convinced that she is always right. That continues to come through even toward the end of the book. I don’t think I really liked Lavinia as much as I felt compassionate and sorry for all that happened to her.

Lavinia has been promised to the Duke of Thornly (the hero in the last book) her entire life and while he is a nice man, she has no real interest in him. They spend very little time together and when they do, they don’t really get to know each other. He is eleven years her senior but is still not ready to marry. But, well, if she’s to marry him, she’d at least like a little attention from him – darn it! So, in a fit of pique, when she, her brother and Thornly were out riding she thought to get his attention by spurring her horse, Sophie, and ‘seemingly’ be on a runaway horse. Just right for rescue and attention. However, the mare didn’t bolt, she reared up and Lavinia hit the ground and broke her arm. Lavinia’s father was livid and ordered that the slaughterer be sent for immediately to put Sophie down.

Slaughterers were a real profession in Regency London and they really were a necessity. There were tens of thousands of horses in London and there had to be a way to deal with the aging, diseased, etc. animals. That was the job of the slaughterer – they picked up the animal, put it to death and then dealt with what needed to be one with the remains. Not a pretty job, but a necessary one.

Finn Trewlove was a slaughterer. He didn’t enjoy putting down the magnificent animals, but he did take pride in seeing that they were comfortable, calm and not panicked when it happened. He loved horses and dreamed of one day having a horse farm.

Finn was dispatched to Lavinia’s home to pick up Sophie. Lavinia was wailing and begged and begged and begged him not to destroy her beloved Sophie. She even struck Finn when he told her that he had no choice because if he didn’t his boss would lose his license. It really troubled Finn – Lavinia was a lovely girl and the horse was beautiful and not sick or aging. However, he had to take her.

Finn and Lavinia’s tale really begins when Finn (a former thief), sneaks into Lavinia’s room and then takes her to see Sophie. Yes, he couldn’t do it – he couldn’t destroy Sophie. Lavinia (Vivi) was delighted and they made plans for her to sneak out and he’d take her to see Sophie once per week.

Their tale is one filled with sweet romance, a love for the ages, tragedy, betrayal, separation, and reconnection. Once you start reading, you won’t want to put the book down.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Dec 21, 2020 Missy rated it liked it

Shelves: 1-overdrive-audio, 1-overdrive-ebook, secret-baby-pregnant-at-one-point, friends-to-lovers, 2020-series-challenge, class-difference, estranged-reunited

2.5

I like that we get flashbacks to when the hero and heroine were young lovers. Since this is the fourth book that I've read from the series (I read out of order), I saw the plot twist coming. ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Brian Johnson rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, m-f-romance

This was nearly a DNF for me. I really did not enjoy it, but kept reading out of pure bloodymindedness. I generally don’t like giving bad reviews, but this novel has several striking weaknesses. An awkward series of flashback chapters in the first quarter seriously impedes the development of the present action, something that would be forgivable in a better novel, but this one boasts only thin characterization, clunky plotting, and inelegant prose. Most egregious of all is its failure to develop This was nearly a DNF for me. I really did not enjoy it, but kept reading out of pure bloodymindedness. I generally don’t like giving bad reviews, but this novel has several striking weaknesses. An awkward series of flashback chapters in the first quarter seriously impedes the development of the present action, something that would be forgivable in a better novel, but this one boasts only thin characterization, clunky plotting, and inelegant prose. Most egregious of all is its failure to develop a compelling romance between the two main characters. Ironically, the flashback chapters, in spite of their narrative awkwardness, are the best chapters of the novel. In them, Lavinia (Vivie) Kent and Finn Trewlove first meet and fall in love as young people across the usual class lines: Lavinia is from an aristocratic family; Finn is a horse slaughterer who saves her favorite horse from the blade. These chapters feel transgressive and sweet. In a word: romantic. The rest of the novel, set ten years later in 1871, is tedious in the extreme.

Briefly (and SPOILERS): the young lovers were supposed to meet at midnight to run away together, defying society’s rules and liberating Vivie from an unwanted arranged marriage, but Vivie’s father discovers the elopement and intervenes, trumping up false criminal charges against Finn and getting him sent down. There is no real suspense about what has actually happened, since the reader will easily intuit that smitten Finn did not simply blow off the midnight meeting as Vivie believes. Vivie, meanwhile, and for undisclosed reasons (revealed later), breaks off her arranged marriage to the unwanted fiancee and is sent to an insane asylum by her inexplicably malicious mother. It turns out (MAJOR SPOILERS) that Vivie was pregnant with Finn’s child and her mother, allergic to scandal, disposed of it. The method of baby-disposal practiced by the heroine’s evil mother provides the novel with its main historical curiosity: Victorian baby farming, the practice by which unwanted infants could in effect be sold into the custody of care providers.

From the opening pages of the novel’s narrative present, an independent adult Vivie swashbuckles her way through the back alleys of Whitechapel on a one-woman crusade to save the children thus “farmed.” We only learn much later that her moral crusade has a secret personal motivation: her hope to one day catch a glimpse of her own child, ripped from her arms before she could even know its sex. Further motivating her mission is the fact that Finn, literally her one “Trewlove,” was himself a bastard child dispensed with by his callous aristocrat father through the mechanism of the baby farm (my favorite touch in the novel is the identity of Finn’s mother, which we learn in the final pages).

This is all the stuff of great melodrama, but none of it ever congeals into a satisfying whole. In large part, the novel’s difficulties reflect problems at the level of plotting. Nominally, this is a “second chance” romance, but in order to preserve the goodness of its protagonists, their initial crack-up is all just a big misunderstanding: she didn’t know that her father had him arrested, and he didn’t know that she ended up in the asylum thanks to her mother. When they meet again ten years later during Lavinia’s Scarlet Pimpernel phase, there is no real reason for them not to pick up where they left off, beyond the genre exigencies of suspense. So, rather than allow the characters to take the reigns, the novel simply throws up a lot of business to delay the full reunion: Finn runs a casino for no very compelling reason, Vivie becomes his business partner--but no funny business! (why not? just because that’s why), Vivie discovers her missing child (now no longer a baby, creating new moral quandaries for the birth parents), etc. The last quarter of the book is given over to various revelations and clarifications about what happened in the past; meanwhile the characterization of the adult characters themselves falls through the cracks: neither as individuals nor as a couple do Vivie and Finn ever achieve the transcendence of the page that is the hallmark of truly transporting romance. Sorry, but this one left me cold. ...more

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Mar 07, 2019 Amanda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, heroines-of-my-heart, second-chance-romance, sexual-awakenings, read-in-2019, reviewed-books, bedroom-window-rendezvouses, rebel-heroines, clashes-of-class, covergasm

There were many positives to recommend The Scoundrel in Her Bed. The first one being that the obligatory big misunderstanding that always seems to plague the second chance trope was resolved rather quickly and, blessedly, through the leads’ own communication. Have I mentioned how much I love when couples actually TALK to each other? Ah, so good. The other standout for me was Lavinia herself. She was an earl’s daughter who willingly fell from grace all in the name of love, and it cost her dearly. There were many positives to recommend The Scoundrel in Her Bed. The first one being that the obligatory big misunderstanding that always seems to plague the second chance trope was resolved rather quickly and, blessedly, through the leads’ own communication. Have I mentioned how much I love when couples actually TALK to each other? Ah, so good. The other standout for me was Lavinia herself. She was an earl’s daughter who willingly fell from grace all in the name of love, and it cost her dearly. But she didn’t let the cruelty of others or her own mistakes keep her down for long. Lavinia went from a naive, privileged teenager, to a jaded but determined young woman who carried a rapier and punched the hero in the face and balls at their first reunion. It was kind of epic. In all seriousness though, Livi’s strength was something to behold and her character’s revolution was awe inspiring. I love that Lorraine Heath’s heroines are always complex, yet still relatable. It bears mentioning that the author’s lushly beautiful prose made the at times hard to read story worth seeing through to the end.

Despite all the praise I just heaped, this book also ended up being a heavy, angst fueled slogfest. Even with all the buildup from the previous book and the welcome addition of flashbacks to Finn and Livi’s youth, my attention began to wane almost immediately. I just couldn’t connect emotionally with the romance, not fully anyway. I’m not even sure why to be quite honest. Maybe because I found Finn, though he was undoubtedly kind with a fierce protective streak, to be rather bland, much like Thorne was in When a Duke Loves a Woman. Both Gillie and Livi’s awesomeness overshadowed their heroes, which isn’t really a bad thing, and I’ll obviously always prefer dull over douchebag, but my inability to warm to Finn completely hindered my ability to fully embrace the romance. However I did like and appreciate that Finn wanted to fall in love with the woman Livi had become, knowing that full well neither he, nor Livi were the same besotted young lovers they once had been, that life had irrevocably changed them forever and all they could do was try and move on the from the past and become stronger from it. I just wished I had been able to feel more strongly about their hard fought road to HEA.

Fair warning, there is A LOT to unpack in this book. So much so that I wasn’t entirely satisfied by the way it ultimately ended. That also seems to be a hallmark of Heath’s books: intriguing starts with somewhat lackluster finishes. I can’t say I disliked Scoundrel at any point though and that’s a mark of good writing, period. I am hoping and praying to the romance gods that Aiden’s book will be more to my liking than the last two books in the series have been. Aiden is the broody, dangerous type with a humongous chip on his shoulder and, what I believe is, a secret heart of gold. That should make things very interesting…*crosses fingers* ...more

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Mar 03, 2019 AlwaysV rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

When a highly anticipated love story met all of my expectations and beyond, rated it five amazing stars didn't seem enough. But that's all I had to give to Finn and his Lady Lavinia's love story. The obstacles and trials they had to overcome to be together just broke my heart. When the happily-ever-after ending happened, I had no words left to express how satisfying I felt.

So crazy in love with all the three titles in the series I've read so far. Looking forward to reading all the future releas ...more

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Jan 03, 2019 Dana rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance

This could have been edited down quite a bit- it was entirely too wordy for my taste. I know Lorraine Heath is a huge name in romance, but I found her writing here to be surprisingly amateurish. The plot was slow moving because the characters continually indulged in long paragraphs of introspection that would have been better played out through actions and dialogue. The dialogue itself often had a stilted, unnatural quality to it. The relationship between Finn and Vivi was so flat, everything fr ...more

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Feb 25, 2019 Sissy's Romance Book Review rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star, series, second-chance-at-love, 2019-read, trt, avon, arc-edelweiss

The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath is book Three in the A Sin for All Seasons Series. This is the story of Lady Lavinia Kent and Finn Trewlove. I have read the previous books, but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Lavinia and Finn had a early love affair at a very early age but then both thought the other betrayed them, setting in motion a separation. Finn who is a bastard raised felt joy with Lavinia but that was taken away when he thought she betrayed him. ...more

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Mar 09, 2019 Maida rated it it was amazing

Shelves: virgin, ebooks, angst, arc, edelweiss, series, historical, second-chance, class-difference

This story was by no means perfect. Lavinia’s secret-keeping went on a tad long for my taste.

BUT.

But, Flynn was a darling, a caring hero.

But, their misunderstanding was addressed quickly.

But, Lavinia went through unimaginable hardships.
And when she revealed everything, wow! I was fully emotionally engaged. Stories that do that always, always get the highest rating I could give them.

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Nov 01, 2020 NinaReader rated it really liked it

4.25 Stars!

This is the 3rd book in this series and it was a doozy!
This book was packed with so much heartbreaking things that happens and not only for one of them but for both of them and when you think it couldn't get worse it does! You would have no heart if you didn't tear up at least once! I just felt terrible for this couple. Did it end in a HEA? Yes thank goodness! But you're still left heart sore.
It did make me want to keep reading and reading fast. Good story but a bit much on the heart ...more

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Mar 09, 2019 Jen Davis rated it it was amazing

This latest installment in Lorraine Heath’s Sins for All Seasons series was such a hit for me. It was full of angst and heartbreak and I could not help but root for this couple to reconcile, from the beginning of the book to the end.

This is a second chance at love story, centering on Finn Trewlove and Lady Lavinia Kent. Lavinia was the woman who was supposed to marry the hero of the last book, but ran away before they could tie the knot. She bailed because she saw Finn at his brother’s wedding, This latest installment in Lorraine Heath’s Sins for All Seasons series was such a hit for me. It was full of angst and heartbreak and I could not help but root for this couple to reconcile, from the beginning of the book to the end.

This is a second chance at love story, centering on Finn Trewlove and Lady Lavinia Kent. Lavinia was the woman who was supposed to marry the hero of the last book, but ran away before they could tie the knot. She bailed because she saw Finn at his brother’s wedding, and it reminded her of how it felt to have a relationship based on love rather than duty.

The first half of this book was told in alternating timelines, between the present day and the past where Livinia and Finn first fell in love. Back then, Lavinia was just a teenager and Finn a 21-year-old horse slaughterer who she met when her father called him to dispose of her horse. She begged Finn to spare the animal, and from there an unlikely, very secret, friendship formed. One which, over the years, ended up becoming something more. Until something drove them apart.

There are so many secrets and lies between these two. But honestly, they were both victims of Lavinia’s powerful parents who put them both through hell rather than let them have a life together. It takes them a while to come to this truth, but after the midway point, they each understand where the other is coming from. There is just still so much sadness and heartbreak, it’s hard for them to get past it.

There’s more, obviously, but I don’t want to spoil everything. Suffice it to say I felt like the author put me through the wringer along with these characters. It was more than just a forced break up. Finn and Lavinia both suffered greatly over her parents’ choices, and it’s just so sad because they clearly loved each other then and even now.

I’ll admit, in one scene I cried.

Finn’s backstory of being a bastard sold to a baby farmer by his father plays prominently in his character development. But baby farming is also a big issue for Lavinia and it really becomes her cause. There’s a great juxtaposition of the innocent young lady she was in her past versus the woman she is today. And poor Finn, despite everything, the first chance he gets to allow himself to love her again, he jumps on it and grabs it with both hands.

There is one thread that was resolved differently than my heart wanted. I understood it, but I was sad too. Well, two threads–although the second one hurt me a little less than the first.

I enjoyed revisiting the Trewlove clan. Finn seemed a bit younger, maybe more innocent than his siblings. But he was a solid hero and this was a couple I really rooted hard for. Looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Rating: A

*ARC provided by publisher ...more

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Jan 15, 2021 Christy W rated it it was amazing

What can I say? I adore this series like no other. Stories that can show the human ability to turn a traumatic experience into something beautiful are my favorite. So is life. Bad things happen. Life is hard. The bad things make the good things that much better.
We have a choice on how we want to respond. Sometimes it’s easier said than done, and it can take practice and persistence, but there is always a choice.
Combine that with excellent writing and a relationship build that is always beautif ...more

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