Very short story. Good read as per usual with this author

Sassy sexy novella

I've been a fan of Sabrina Jeffries for years. A go to author when I'm looking for that special historical romance. In this novella she provides a wonderful insight into Meriel and Quinn's growing romance.
While the time frame is mere hours there is a richness of detail and plot. Highly recommended.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC I received from NetGalley

A super quick read. Quinn has been trying to ask Meriel to marry him. Everytime she changes the subject, so he finds a way to get her alone and show her how brave he is. Meriel is sure that if Quinn ever found out the truth about her that he would never want to marry her. This story is about the one night when all the truths come out.

Anyone who's been reading the Sinful Suitors series will recognize Meriel Vyse and Quinn Raines from their short appearances in The Pleasures of Passion.

Interest in Meriel was strongly hinted at by Quinn in the aforementioned book, and it was those minute innuendos that made me really hope they would be the next ones to get a book in the series.

Well, with A Talent for Temptation, Meriel and Quinn have earned themselves a novella. While I was a bit disappointed at first that they didn't warrant a longer story, by the end, I was completely on board with this choice.

Widow Meriel Vyse has been acting as a spy for her brother-in-law for a number of years now. She feels indebted to him for a kindness he did for her. But she's also been alone far too long after losing her husband. When she met Quinn, the relationship they formed is one that she cherishes, for all that it's kept secret from everyone.

Quinn thinks it's time to ask Meriel to marry him. But he's equally tired of all the times she throws him over for something she has to do for her brother-in-law. Determined to show Meriel that he too can be gallant and brave, Quinn sets up a fake abduction in which he'll swoop in and save Meriel and, of course, she'll then agree to marry him. Well, she ends up stabbing him instead.

I think it speaks a lot about Sabrina Jeffries's writing that these two extremely secondary (possibly even going so far as to call them tertiary) characters jumped off the page so much for me in The Pleasures of Passion (without even having any scenes together) that I wanted them to get their own story told.

A Talent for Temptation was a quick read that was satisfying in the fact that it gave two standout background characters a chance to shine and pretty much enrich the world Sabrina Jeffries has already built up with the previous four books (plus an additional novella) in the series. I would have loved the story to be a bit longer, but I think for what we got, we learned a lot about both Meriel and Quinn's pasts, and their affections for one another were thoroughly felt.

Another purpose of the novella, and something that it did quite nicely as well, was bridge the gap between The Pleasures of Passion and the upcoming (and possibly last book in the series) The Secret of Flirting which will feature Meriel's brother-in-law the spymaster Baron Fulkham.

With that in mind, I enjoyed reading this novella, and I'm very excited to see where the story takes us next.

This short novella is a very quick read on the relationship between Meriel, who is a widow, and Quinn who wants desperately to marry the reluctant Meriel. I think it's supposed to be a historical romance but it wasn't entirely realistic. The premise has Quinn setting up a fake abduction while Meriel is on the way to a so that he can play hero. This is a bit of a spoiler but Meriel has come up in the world from quite a low position and I don't think she would have even ever been invited to a ball or accepted by society. Characters didn't act quite appropriate to the time. The story also moved along pretty quickly but without having me fully invested in the characters. It was a cute premise and story though.

I received a copy of this novella from the publisher via NetGalley.

The opening scene was slightly off-putting, revealing as it did that the characters were neither going to speak nor act in anything approaching a period-appropriate way. However, having made the necessary adjustment, I settled down to the fake abduction: I requested this galley because the plot sounded hilarious, reminiscent of Georgette Heyer. In the event, the abduction (staged by the hero, Quinn, so he can rescue the heroine, Meriel, except that she ends up stabbing him by mistake) is over almost before it has begun, which was a little disappointing. I'm not sure the author got all the humour out of the scenario that she could have done either. There wasn't much humour to speak of at all until Meriel's brother-in-law made an appearance towards the end.

Having said all that, I did enjoy the story: it was sweet and romantic and I believed in Meriel and Quinn's happily ever after. The fact that they had known each other for months before the novella began meant that their romance didn't seem rushed. There was rather a lot of back story for Meriel to unload on Quinn - I don't know if this was already covered in previous instalments - but Quinn managed to take a series of fairly astonishing revelations in his stride - definitely a keeper.

Sabrina Jeffries writes delightful, witty romances. We always buy her for our library and recommend for readers' advisory.

This is a cute novella, which avoids the usual exposition dump for established characters and offers a scorching hot love scene.

Lovely quick story! Very cute, wanted to know more about the characters.

This was Quinn and Meriel's story. She was a spy for her brother in law because she felt she had a debt to pay because he saved her. He was the director of his family's bank. They fell in love. Neither of them would say it. He stages an abduction but it goes awry. I loved the book. My only complaint was that it was too short.