From the comforts of posh New York City to the streets called the bowery to the Wild West and back, Sebastian Turner’s life moves from one extreme to another. As a child, he watches helpless as his mother slowly dies, and runs to the last home he remembered for help, Michael Winslow. Yet, when he arrived, Sebastian is all but physically thrown from the house. Winslow married a society bride and has a new baby, and hardly recalled the boy. As a result, his mother dies only a short time later, and Sebastian knows who is to blame. Winslow.

Raised in high society, Sarah Winslow finds herself at wits end as her father falls ill, their name and fortune gone. For months, she nursed him, slowly selling everything, even the clothes on her back. When he dies, a friend of the family comes to the rescue, selling the house and offering a small loan for her to survive if she was careful. Now, the loan is due and the only thing left she has left to sell is herself! Deceived by the family friend, she is left with no choice and moves into a house of ill repute.

Sebastian orchestrated Sarah’s downfall from the very start. With Michael’s death, he still had the compulsive need to punish anyone with the Winslow name. After observing her in her new environment, his obsession deepens and he refuses to share her with anyone else. An impulse makes him trading half the ownership of the brothel for sole ownership of her. Revenge has left a hole inside him, one that can only be filled with Sarah!

This dark seductive romance is well plotted out but might not be for everyone. Sarah was raised as a lady, yet for more then half the book, I found it hard to sympathize with her character. Sarah ignored the teaching she spent a lifetime observing all but overnight and without a qualm. Sebastian is a very strong character, one confused about how to reconcile his past to the present. The love scenes are scorching, but if you are not prepared for the darker edges of desire, this book is not for you. I am a sucker for a ‘happy ever after’ and found the ending very satisfying.

Reviewed by Stacey Brutger for The Road to Romance

October 20, 2005