Here is another winner from Christi (I don’t know how she does it again and again) from the Sinful Brides series. In this book, we meet Calum, who under his gruff exterior hides a heart made of gold and Eve, his childhood friend who needs a place to disappear until she reaches her majority. I adored their characters and I am so sad that this is the last book from the series, Sinful Brides. I cannot wait for Adair’s story and for him to finally get his HEA.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Flight and fight!

When your despicable brother, the Duke of Bedford, uses all the underhanded methods in his repertoire to lay his hands on your dowry, the only alternatives are to acquiesce to his demands and become a victim, or take charge and run.
That's just what Lady Eve Pruitt did. She ran! Right into the life of Calum Dabney, the man she'd thought had hanged as a thief because that same dreaded brother had had him thrown into Newgate when she was only a young child and had taunted her with Calum's death.
Callum will not do anything to harm his 'family', those he'd grown up with on the streets, but when a new bookkeeper comes looking for a position at the group's gambling establishment, the Hell and Sin Club, things are turned upside down.
Quite a riveting addition to Caldwell's Sinful Brides series.

A NetGalley ARC

The newest entry to the Sinful Brides series doesn’t disappointment. This time, its Colum’s turn to fall in love. And to find his beloved, he has to reach into the most painful time of his past and forgive the girl who he believes wronged him. For her part, Eve, Colum’s “Little Lina Duchess”, needs a bolthole while she waits for her birthday and her inheritance. All she dreams of is independence, and it is only months away.

Caldwell doesn’t bring back the characters from earlier entries in the series, and I find myself missing them! On the other hand, Adair is still left to fall and I can’t wait for his story!

The Heiress’s Deception by Christi Caldwell is the fourth book in the Sinful Brides series, centred on the loves of a ‘family’ of former street urchins, who grew up to become proprietors of the Hell and Sin Club, a notorious gambling den located in the mean streets of St. Giles.

If you haven’t read the previous books in this series, you may find yourself a little confused, as I was, about how five street orphans managed to bridge the impossible gap between near-starvation and homelessness, and being the owners of a club raking in huge profits and holding the debts of dukes. It may be explained in the earlier books in the series, but it certainly wasn’t in this one. Therefore, if you haven’t read the earlier books, you’re probably not going to get the most out of this one.

That said, this is a really good Regency romance. Lady Eve Pruitt may be the sister of a duke, but she’s certainly no spoilt Society miss. Her brother is an absolute cad, and an inveterate gambler desperately in need of funds he can only access by getting his hands on Eve’s dowry. Shocked when he sends another lord to her room to compromise her, Eve flees her home with little more than the clothes on her back and no real place to go. Fortunately, she has a marketable skill in her bookkeeping abilities, honed by helping her father, and a friend recommends her to a position at the Hell and Sin Club.

Calum is in charge of the club, with two of his ‘brothers’ away on their wedding trips. He and Eve met once before, though he doesn’t recognise her now; she was just nine on the night when her brother stabbed Calum and tried to get him hanged. Desperate, Eve conceals her knowledge of their prior acquaintance, and of course you just know that’s going to come back to bite her.

It’s the mark of a great storyteller when the reader just can’t quite figure out how things are going to turn out all right, and yet somehow the author manages to tie up a bunch of loose plot threads and make it all work out happily ever after. I thoroughly enjoyed the read, but I know for sure I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d read the earlier books in the series. Because of this issue with the book as a standalone novel, I have to deduct one star and give it four.

Enthralling
Calum and Eve first met as children, he a pickpocket urchin of fourteen and she a lonely Duke’s daughter of nine. Their friendship is brutally sundered, Calum feels betrayed whilst Eve believes he is dead. Fast forward seventeen years and Eve is desperate to escape the clutches of her brother who will do anything to obtain her dowry. She disguises herself and seeks employment as a bookkeeper in a gambling hell, where she is overcome to discover that Calum is not only alive but the proprietor of said gambling hell. She dare not come clean with her true identity and her troubles, when she is the cause of his near death experience. His intuition tells him to be wary of Eve but in the end he can’t help ignoring his misgivings, first allowing her to stay, then helping her with her charity work and then falling for her (all without knowing who she is). Highly recommended book.
I haven’t read any of the other stories in this series but didn’t find this any hindrance in appreciating the underlying thread of shared childhood trauma.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

The Heiress’s Deception by Christi Caldwell
Sinful Brides #4

This beautifully written story of childhood friends from disparate levels of society befriending one another only to be ruthlessly separated then reunited under extenuating circumstances captured me on page one and kept my interest till the end. Calum, orphaned street urchin, and Lady Evelina Pruitt had tough childhoods. They were wonderful people with strength of character and love for their fellowman when they met again as adults.

I came into this series on book four and loved it. I found Calum to be wonderful at fourteen and even better as an adult. Eve had a horrible brother to contend with and my hope as I read was that he would get his comeuppance at some point in time…but he just seemed to get away with so much…evil to the core.

This is the first book I have read by this author but it will not be my last. I hope to find the previous books in the series and am hoping Adair, the last “brother” mentioned will find his true love in an upcoming book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Knowing that Christi Caldwell wrote this story and it is the final installment in the sinful bride series, you probably do not even need to read a review!! Calum Dabney has grown up on the streets just as his brothers and although tough, deep down he has always had a good heart. Now managing the Hell and Sin Club, he comes in contact with Lady Eve Pruitt. Of course he does not know it is Eve because she is in disguise, hiding out as the bookkeeper of the club. Doing her best to avoid her brother who is trying to take her inheritance, Eve does her best to keep up her pretense. She has a lot of spunk to attempt to hide in plain sight and as Calum is around her, he is intrigued by this beautiful girl. You see, there is a history of friendship between the two that goes back to when they were younger. Unfortunately that friendship did not end well and they have not seen each other since. But the spark is there and as fate would have it, here they were together again. As always with this author, the characters come alive and the descriptions make you feel as if you were there. This book is one you will read again, as all the books in this wonderful series. Thank you Christi for giving your readers another great story!!

I received an ARC from NettGalley and the publisher, food a honest review. I just love this author's books and this one is no different. I love the way she writes about the story about Eve and Calum their strength of character and their hope of the future. The complicated history,betrayal, and dangerous liaisons.Don't forget the tissues because you will for sure need some.

Second chance at a loving family is what I would call this storyline. I enjoyed this book a lot but I do have to say that it was a little slow at keeping my attention. When it did grab it I could not put it down. I also have not cried this much while reading in a while.
Calum Dabney new a loving family life until both of his parents died when he was five. His life changed so drastically when he found himself on the streets and everyday it was the survival of the quickest, fittest and smartest. Blood does not make a family but friends can form a bond that will trump all. He had a brief secret friendship with a young girl who treated him as a equal and then it came to a terrible end. Now he and his family own and run one of London’s finest gambling hells, The Hell and Sin.
Evelina Pruitt was a lonely little girl with her horses as her only friends until the day she finds a solum and rough boy in the mews. For a short time she had someone who treated her as a normal girl and the day he needed her help the most she betrayed him. Years later Eve finds herself on the run from her dreadful brother who wants her money and will do anything to get it. Three months until her 26th birthday Eve must hideout, so disguising herself she applies for the bookkeeping for The Hell and Sin. Her brother should never find her in the place she detest the most. When she sees Calum again her world tilts for she’s believed all this time that her
Was dead. Secrets, mistakes and lies and family may forever keep these two apart.
I highly recommend this book and the entire series which should be read in order. The witty banter between Calum and Eve is great. Eve is a very strong and fierce character and I fell in love with her way before Calum. The sexual tension is high and the emotions , well make sure you have tissues at hand.

If you are like me and love an heiress in disguise book, then The Heiress's Deception is for you. If you don't typically like these, I guarantee Christi Caldwell will change your mind with this book. Caldwell is so masterful with her writing that she has you hooked from page one. I fell in love with Calum and Eve, and I felt like I was experiencing their story right along with them. Caldwell has me laughing, crying and smiling throughout the book...sometimes in the same sentence.

I love a female character that can hold her own, and a man that will allow her to be herself. Eve and Calum do not disappoint.

This was my first introduction to Eve. If she were a real person, she would be a fabulous friend to have. I love how she didn't let life and any fears turn her into a bitter person. She was courageous and tough when she needed to be, and Ms. Caldwell also allows us to see her compassionate and passionate side.

I was a little familiar with Calum from the other Sinful Brides books, but really loved getting to delve deeper into his character. In this book, we learn why he was able to hold onto his humanity a little better than the other heroes. He may be rough on the outside, but deep down he is a caring and compassionate man. And oh what a man he is!

This book can be read as a standalone book, but if you are like me, you'll want to read it as part of the Sinful Brides series. This series is also connected to the Scandalous Season series.

I would suggest reading ASAP! This is definitely a book you don't want to miss!

I was gifted this title as an ARC. This review represents my honest opinion.

Strength of character, faith in the impossible and hope for the future are put to the test. Calum and Eve's friendship is as unique as their reunion is surprising. Beyond the boundaries of social class and despite the hands of time, the lonely girl with a title and the pick pocket, had a love that although interrupted, withstood the hands of time. Now the lonely girl has become a lady haunted by her past and in danger of losing her future and the penniless boy has become a fearless man. Their's is a complicated history of unwitting betrayals and dangerous liaisons, but even with no memory of the past that haunts Eve, Calum's heart is drawn to hers. He taught her what it meant to love, she shows him how it feels to care and together they discover what it means to be brave. Ms. Caldwell speaks the language of the heart, like no other.

The fourth book in the Sinful Brides series, follows the story of Calum Dabney, the second-in-command of the gaming hell that he and his family own.

Calum Dabney was forced out onto the streets of London as a young boy when he lost both of his parents suddenly, there is no indication as to how this actually occurred or much back story on how he met his “family” on the streets. However we are given a glimpse into some memories of the past, most notably the year he spends visiting Lady Evelina Pruitt in her family’s stable. Calum was one of the best pickpockets in London and would hide out in the Duke of Bedford’s stables every now and then – this is how he met Eve when he was 14 and she 9, and they became fast friends. This relationship ended when Calum got hurt and Eve went to her brother for help who called the police on Calum instead.

Fast forward a number of years and Calum now owns a gaming hell with his street family, and Eve is trying to find a way to escape from her brother until her 26th birthday when she gains control of her dowry. Eve manages to find work in the gaming hell as a bookkeeper and works with Calum to manage the finances while trying to keep her identity hidden.

Overall, this book was very good – it was an enjoyable addition to the Sinful Brides series, I did not like it as much as I enjoyed the previous three but it was a solid read. I enjoyed the chemistry and word-play between Calum and Eve, the slow development of attraction seemed very natural and was believable. Too many historical romances have instant-love which is just not realistic. All of the scenes with Calum and Eve together were very fun to read, especially since Eve knew about their past and could share little insights with the reader about what things meant. Calum did not recognize Eve from the start, but knew that he was attracted to her as a person and that she reminded him of his old friend.

I think the ending was a little bit too rushed and convenient for my liking, I don’t want to give anything away but the problems that were at the forefront throughout the book just seemed to disappear without any real explanation. Also, Eve’s brother was a terrible person and he did not get what he deserved in the end, in fact there was no real mention of him at the very end at all.

Another minor issue I have with this book and this series in general, is that Caldwell mentions that the street gang member are all “family” and “brothers/sisters” a little bit too much. It is like she is trying to convince the reader that although they aren’t blood relations they are all family. Which is fine – but she never elaborates on how exactly they became so close and why they consider each other family still.

All in all, I highly recommend this book. It was a great read and once I got started I finished it in less than two days. The storyline keeps you drawn in the whole time.

~ Harshita

4.5 stars
Lady Eve Pruitt has never forgotten her childhood friend, the young pickpocket Calum, who she believed had been hung. Now, years later, Eve is the one in danger. Her brother Gerald, the Duke of Bedford has ruined the dukedom by gambling he threatens to steal her inheritance, and Eve has no choice but to run.
Under an assumed name Mrs Swindell, she becomes the bookkeeper at the notorious Hell and Sin Club. Nothing in this bawdy den shocks her more than discovering that her employer is none other than Calum.
This is the fourth book in the series but could be read as a stand alone book, however if like me you love series then I’d recommend reading the series in order. As always with the authors books the time flew by & the pages rapidly turned, she’s so good at drawing you in. The characters are very well developed, with the good guys being lovely & the villains vile. The plot is well paced & I read the book in under a day. Calum & Eve are attracted to each other not just physically but they also like each other & become friends just as they did seventeen years earlier, definitely a second chance but there is Eve’s deception to overcome & Calum has to forgive. My only quibble is that I’d have liked Adair to have had his HEA.

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I loved this series and have waited for Calum to finally have his HEA. There is one more Hell & Sin club owner, Adair, to get a HEA but that is the start of a new series, hopefully soon. Calum Dabney was a child of the streets after the death of his parents. Sometimes he’d visit or hide in a Lord’s stable and met Lady Eve Pruitt who he called Little Lena Duchess. She was a few years younger and loved him. She’d bring him food and they talked as friends do. But one night he was injured, and she ran to her house to get help. Her brother dragged Calum off to Newgate and she believed him to be dead.

Years go by, her father has died, one brother is missing, and her other brother, Gerald, (the one who took her friend to Newgate) wants the inheritance she will get in a few months. Gerald needs her money and sends a friend to “assault” her. She gets away from him and runs to the foundling home she helps with their bookkeeping. One of the nurses at the home tells her she must hide from her brother until she can receive her inheritance. The nurse had found her bookkeeping work at a gaming hell.

So, Eve starts working at Calum’s club and life gets so interesting I can not spoil it for you. This is a complex, wonderful story and I loved it! I can easily recommend this book. Thanks to Christi Caldwell for allowing me to read an ARC.

The Heiress's Deception. Part of Ms, Caldwell's Sinful Brides Series. Ms. Caldwell is my favorite, go to for comfort read in Regency romance. I honestly don't know how she does it, just when I think I can't love her most recent hero (and heroine) as much as I did the previous, she proves me wrong every time. I loved Calum Dabney, one of the proprietors of The Hell and Sin Club, and Evelina Pruitt aka/ Mrs. Swindell/Little Lena Duchess. I fell in love with their story. With the boy and girl they once were. To the man and woman they'd become. I cried more than once. Not an unusual occurance with a Christi Caldwell story. This is going to be one my top favorites. Such a wonderful story.
I received an Netgalley ARC for an honest review

I am a huge fan of Christi’s books but this has been my favourite series.. The Sinful Brides has been darker and grittier, the men have had a hard life but worked to make the Hell & Sin club the best there is. Of all the owners Callum has always been my favourite, he has never been quite as dark as Ryker and Niall. He was the one that comforted Helena when she had nightmares, so I couldn’t wait for his story and Christi didn’t disappoint. We found out what made him the man he is, he is brought together unexpectedly with his friend from long ago. Eve while trying to hide from her evil brother meets the boy who she thought because of her actions as a girl got him hung. Callum big heart comes through and his love for her stands out. The only sad thing is this is the last in the series. I can’t recommend it enough it is a great read and Callum is my favourite hero.

Lovely fourth book in the Sinful Brides series. Calum has always been my favorite of the ‘brothers’ and I was really looking forward to his book and his HEA. As it turns out, it is my least favorite book in the series. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first three. The end just felt rushed and the solution with the missing brother just felt too fortuitous and then there was nothing else about him. I’d like to explain, but I don’t want to put spoilers in this review.

The story is solidly written, stays on-point and makes you like the main characters and dislike this villain. I always enjoy this author’s writing.

I have a complaint, but I don’t know whether to point it toward this book or the series. I am left feeling ‘unfinished’. According to the burb on the Goodreads page, this is the last book in the series: “In the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell’s Sinful Brides series, a runaway heiress entrusts her fate to the man she betrayed.” So, we are now left with several things that should have been wrapped up – in my humble opinion. Adair is the fifth ‘sibling’, yet he didn’t get a book – say what? There is no settling of what happens to the Hell and Sin Club. Does it shut down? Does it recover and thrive? Do the ‘siblings’ come back there to live in and run the club? I am hoping that the blurb on Goodreads is incorrect and that there will be a final book that will feature Adair and wrap-up all of the loose ends with the club, etc. Maybe with a lovely epilogue three or four years down the road showing all of the families happily gathered for a celebration of some sort.

Lady Eve Pruitt has always been a very lonely, forgotten and overlooked motherless daughter of a Duke. Her father did love her but ignored her after his wife died. Her next oldest brother, Kit, is away most of the time but spends time with her on the very rare occasions when he is home. Her oldest brother, Graham, is cruel and sadistic and does some gosh-awful things to Eve. Eve has survived it all, but when Graham sets Eve up to be raped, she knows she has to escape. She only has to be in hiding for three months because when she turns twenty-six, she comes into her inheritance and can make a life for herself. It is amazing that Eve has remained as sweet, considerate and caring as she has given all of the things her brother has done to her.

Calum was born in a loving home. His father was a merchant and both parents doted on Calum. However, when he was five, both parents died within just a couple of months of each other. Calum ended up in a foundling hospital where he was beaten regularly – until he decided that living on the streets was preferable. So, he escaped and became a very adept pickpocket. If you read the earlier books you know the story of how the ‘siblings’ came together and what they’ve been through up to this point. Calum was the one in the group who kept his love and kindness. Oh, he could be hard and mean, but underneath, he cared for others.

Calum and Eve had a history. She blamed herself for his death and he blamed her for her betrayal. When Calum was fourteen and Eve was nine they met in the stables on her father’s townhouse property. They spent a year meeting off-and-on and became fast friends. Eve was so thrilled to have a friend – someone who actually saw her and spoke with her as an equal. Calum liked spending time with the little girl, reading books and learning the constellations, etc. When Calum was stabbed, he sought refuge in those stables. Eve was terrified and sought help from the one person she should not have trusted. Calum ended up in Newgate, bound for the hangman’s noose.

Another issue I have is that Eve’s brother isn’t dealt with at all. There isn’t even any public censure must less punishment of any kind. I would have been satisfied if he’d just fallen off his horse and broken his neck. Maybe something along the lines of Calum calling in all of his debts and then he and Eve living in one of the estates. I don’t know – just something.

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence

The owners of the Hell & Sin Club have seen their lives change over the last few years. These men and woman who did what was needed to survive the streets. They built an empire that took from the same society that would see them starve. These characters have quickly become some of my favorites and have loved their journey of growth and healing.

These characters have been forced to set away there true dreams and desires to just live a life off the streets. In each book, these characters circumstances are stripped away and we see what they truly want in a life and for the first time it not a unattainable but something they can grasp and live out.

Calum story was no different. I always felt he was different then the rest of his family. I also called him the gentle giant and his book gutted me. He was a boy that had it all. A living family and a good home and he lost it all and was forced to live a life on the streets. Calum was a boy who always wanted more but life ripped it away from him.

It wasn’t until Calum meet Eve when he was just 14 that he allowed himself to hope again. To believe that life wasn’t completely cruel and he didn’t feel alone anymore. However, life proves fickle and he saw his world upended once again and he finally stopped believing in anything other than survival.

Eve’s story had me in tears. A girl born of privilege and station, given everything money could buy but all she wanted was love and acceptance. She had none of that until she meet Calum, but one mistake saw her only friend and confident ripped from her and Eve’s life grew only more curl and lonely

Calum and Eve are some of the strongest characters Christi has ever written. The pain and suffering they both went through would have destroyed most people. However, Eve and Calum thrived when they should have failed and built a life out of the misery.

The story surprised me at every turn and did not go the way I thought it would. Calum proved to be a true hero at every turn. Even with his own inner turmoil and demons he still never treated Eve with anything less then the respect and concern she needed and deserved.

This is a beautiful story of survival and healing. It’s a story that will give you hope and have your believing that love does concur all.

*******was provide a review copy from the publisher via netgalley*******

I promised a fair and honest review in return for this ARC. This is another story in this series. They are such stirring reads. Always a bit of a laugh, intrigue and certainly some tears. Great series.

Another beautifully written tale by Ms. Caldwell. There is a lot going on in the story from deception to lost love to second chances to villains. The conversations between Calum and Eve are poignant and touching. Even though they knew each other 17+ years ago their romance is slow to develop and seeing their relationship evolve to a deep love is magical. I have enjoyed this series and the their little “family”. I wish more of the other brothers and sister were included. Their interactions in the previous books was wonderfully written. Two little things, the villain, Gerald, is not dealt with. What happened to him? And the brother, Kit, just appears and disappears. What happened? Is Kit ready for his own book? There are other questions also…but that is another story.