I loved to see them interact, and playing with one another. Michael went back from war a broken man, not only because of the horrors he faced on the battle fields but also because of his own restlessness and the price his best friend paid. Holly had to find a way to save herself and her sisters from an outrageous future, thus she masquerades as a widow as it allows herself to roam freely and provide shelter and food.

This is my first read by Mrs Maddison Michaels, and while novellas are rarely the best way to discover an author’s work, she succeeded with this one, it has everything to keep me turning the pages. When two childhood friends rekindle, will their secrets be the reason to tear them apart.

Because everyone knows you can’t give your heart to a rake… Or can you? A man who she’s always had feelings for, which she understands are futile. Attending a ball, her clandestine work is interrupted by Lord Blackthorn, a man who is as vexing as he is sinfully handsome. Forced to masquerade as a widow to keep herself and her sisters safe, she earns a living helping those being undeservedly blackmailed by using her lock-picking skills to expose the villains behind the schemes. Previously published in the Once Upon a Christmas Wedding anthology have a dangerous habit of unravelling when one least expects it… Because everyone knows you can’t give your heart to a rake… or can you?īut Michael has his own secrets, ones serious enough that could threaten any chance they have of a future together. Notorious rake, Michael Drake, the Viscount Blackthorn accepts a Christmas wager to be the first to seduce the next lady to walk under the mistletoe, but the lady turns out to be none other than Holly Jenkins a woman from his past, whom he has sworn to protect, but whose bold antics drive him to distraction…and temptation.

The Sinful Scot by Maddison Michaels