This was a quick one sitting read. It reads well and I felt like I've known the characters longer than the short time I spent with them. But I felt this needed to be a tad bit longer so we can watch the relationship grow. It's great to for something to kill time but this author has better stories than this one. I know she is a better story teller than what we got in this story.

Sabrina Jeffries does it again! Although this is a novella, and a quite short novella at that, A Talent for Temptation succeeds in satisfying the reader while we wait for the next full length novel in this series. As a novella, the characters were left fairly underdeveloped, of course, and yet the story hooks you immediately from the first couple of sentences. Within the first page you find the hero has gotten himself into a tricky situation, and it is hilarious. The heroine was a less strong character, as her "conflict," which kept her from accepting the hero at first, was pretty flimsy. And the way the characters overcome their barrier is rather sudden, but of course these issues are inherent in the length of the story. Nevertheless, this novella offers a fun glimpse back into this world, and assists in readying the reader for the next story, by introducing us to that story's main character. Consider me ready and waiting for the next in the series!

This was a very short novella. The premise of a fake abduction and its aftermath were on the cute side of romance but still enjoyable.

I did not read the details of this book and realize it was a novella. I dived in expecting a full length novel and thought I had pushed the wrong button on my reader when I reached the end 😁 So, I definitely enjoyed and didn't want the story to end. I really like the series, so the title and the cover reflect that brand perfectly. I am a big fan of historical romances and I look forward to Sabrina's new releases.
In this story, Meriel Vyse is a widow who has turned into a spy for her brother in law. She keeps doing what he asks because she feels that she owes him a lot. She doesn't really think she can get remarried because of her work, but she is definitely sweet on Quinn Raines. Meriel has not been truthful about what she does for her brother in law. Humor abounds in this novella. The dialogue and banter is fun and witty. Quinn thought he would try to win Meriel's love by staging a fake abduction. Unfortunately, he did not know about Meriel's spy background to know that she normally travelled armed. But at least she got to nurse him back to health!
I like the female character because she is doing a non-traditional job and getting remarried at the ripe-old age of 27. She bucks the conventions of the time period. Secrets always lead to some sort of miscommunication and it was fun to see how this couple figured out their new relationship bumps. The story has a good mix of humor, action, mystery and romance to keep you entertained for a few hours. I recommend this if you are a fan of the series or if you want to get into a new historical romance series.

I am a Ms. Jeffries fan, I enjoy historical's, and this was one of them, but it was too short, I wish it were longer. This story is that of a widow Meriel Vyse and Quinn Raines. Meeredith and Quinn have been dancing around each other, and Quinn decides to take action and sets up a fake kidnapping. They both keep secrets, and eventualky have to open up . Now what? I can't tell you.

A fun, witty, engaging and exciting romantic journey. This story may be a quick read, however it is extremely entertaining.

Meriel and Quinn are a interesting couple and I enjoyed this emotionally thrilling adventure so much I am now looking to read the rest of the series. Meriel is hiding a secret life from Quinn and he is determined to get her to stop pulling away from him and maker her his. Very well written, entertaining short story.

Meriel Vyse owes much to her brother-in-law, Gregory. Before Meriel married Gregory’s now deceased brother, John, she worked in service, and Gregory rescued her from an unfortunate situation. He then offered her the opportunity to work for him as a secretary and part time spy. Eventually she paired up with John on assignments, and they entered into a marriage of convenience. Even after John’s death, she continues to work for Gregory, but now she wants to be free of spying and just live a normal, uneventful life. It seems there is a gentleman who has captured Meriel’s affections and has turned her thoughts to romance.

Quinn Raines is a member of a prominent banking family. He is quite smitten with Meriel, but she seems to treat him just as a friend. Quinn wants more – he wants to marry her. In desperation, Quinn concocts a fake kidnapping, in which he will rescue Meriel, hopefully causing her to see him in the light of a hero. What could possibly go wrong?

Quinn and Meriel are both in love, but feeling unworthy and insecure. Meriel feels her prior life as a servant makes her ineligible, while Quinn wonders if his Spanish heritage is a detriment. When the kidnapping attempt goes awry, it’s chaos for this couple, who must work through the obstacles that keep them from finding happiness together. A TALENT FOR TEMPTATION may well be the shortest novella I’ve ever read, but it’s long on smileworthy moments, sweet romance, and Sabrina Jeffries’ trademark steam.

3.5 Stars

Mrs. Muriel Vyse a widow is a spy for her brother-in-law, Muriel has to attend a ball to watch a foreign princess for him. Unfortunately all this spying cuts into her social life and spending time with Quinn Raines whom Muriel is attracted to. Muriel had planned on spending time with Quinn instead and again she must cancel her plans with him. As Muriel is getting ready to go a man tries to kidnap her but Quinn gallantly comes to her rescue and saves her. As Muriel cares for Quinn who was slightly injured in his attempt to save her both will learn more about each other. Will they end up being able to accept what they learn about each other or is their love doomed in the end?
I have read several of Ms. Sabrina Jeffries stories and enjoyed her wonderful way she crafts her stories filled with intrigue, deception, great characters major or minor and of course love. Despite this being a novella and me craving a longer story I still enjoyed this read. The story is still complete and the characters are pretty nicely developed.
Muriel is a great heroine smart savvy older and wiser she still has that charm even with her age making her likable and relatable. Sure she might be a spy but I still would have tea with her because I would want to hear her stories. On the other hand Quinn was a little laughable quirky but adorable. I loved his attempts to be Muriel’s knight in shining armor by trying to save her when in actuality she didn’t need him saving her. Still it was so sweet that he would cook up something like that all because of love what’s not to like about that? I do hope Ms. Jeffries writes about Gregory finding his happily ever after someday though because I definitely would read his story if he had one.

Meriel Vyse is a widow and also helps her brother-in-law, Gregory Vyse, the Baron Fulkham by being an undercover spy. Meriel owes him her life, so she has been helping him for years. Meriel longs to be in a real relationship with Quinn Raines, her secret love, but she thinks she can't because of being a spy.

Quinn is tired of being the nice guy and waiting for Meriel to return his feelings and decides to take matters into his own hand. Quinn decides he is going to stage an attempted abduction of Meriel where he will come to her rescue. Maybe then she will be so grateful, she will profess her undying love.

Of course, things don't go as planned and in typical Sabrina Jeffries style, this is where the fun really begins. I really adored Meriel. She is a fun and feisty lady and I loved that she finally got her happy ending. Great, fun, short story!

Enjoyed this novella as the bridge between the most recent Sinful Suitors book and the next. As with most novellas, it did its exact job and left me wanting for more. Which I absolutely cannot wait for Lord Fulkham's story, He is the character that fans of this series are excited to see his staid veneer shatter.

Happy reading!!

Another delightful story from Sabrina Jeffries. This is a quick and fun read. Quinn Raines gets more that he expected when he masterminds a fake abduction of Meriel Vyse. He just hopes to save her from the servant he sent to try to kidnap her. Instead he gets knifed as she tries to protect herself.
This is a lovely story of two people who are falling in love and yet feel that their backgrounds are enough to keep them apart. Once they open up and share their thoughts and doubts, there is nothing to stop them from finding their Happily Ever After.
I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

4 Stars! A Talent for Temptation is book #4.5, a novella, in Sabrina Jeffries' Sinful Suitors series.

The Heroine & Hero:
Meriel Vyse is a widow with a past. Quinn Raines is director & heir to a banking empire.


The Story:
Meriel & Quinn have been seeing each other in secret for a few months. Stealing moments at balls & arranging secret rendezvous. Quinn has admitted to himself that he is in love with Meriel, but has been hesitant in admitting his feelings to her because he is worried that her feelings may be engaged with another. Every time Quinn brings up marriage Meriel changes the subject & she is constantly cancelling their meet ups to do something for her brother-in-law. In order to compete with said brother-in-law & put himself in a different light, he sets up a fake abduction of Meriel so he can be her daring rescuer. And as you can imagine, things don't go as planned & he is accidentally stabbed by Meriel!

Meriel can't believe she has stabbed her secret beau while trying to escape an abduction attempt! She brings him inside her home in order to patch him. She has recently been having an internal struggle over her secret relationship with Quinn. She would love nothing more than to be able to have a normal relationship & marriage with Quinn but secrets from her past make her unsuitable to be the respectable wife of a bank director & she feels like she still owes a debt to her brother-in-law who saved her once.

While getting patched up, both Quinn & Meriel confess to truths from their pasts. Quinn doesn't care about her past & Meriel starts to feel like there is a real chance she could have her happily ever after with Quinn. Unfortunately just as they are making progress, Quinn's deception comes to light. Will Meriel be able to forgive Quinn? Has Quinn just lost the love of his life because of a moment of stupidity?


The Verdict:
This novella was a great read! I love these shorter stories for when you want to escape reality for only an hour or so, but you still want to get a complete story within that short time. Meriel & Quinn's Story was short & sweet. I loved how Quinn loved Meriel so much that nothing of her past made him even hesitate in his feelings & want of her as his wife. Meriel was a victim of circumstance and she gave so much of herself for others, she really deserved her happily ever after. I would definitely recommend this book!

*ARC was provided via NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Mrs. Meriel Vyse, age 27, lives at the Fulkham townhouse owned by her brother-in-law, Gregory Vyse, the Baron Fulkham. Merkel is the widow of John, Gregory’s brother. Sometimes, Meriel carries out spy work of sorts for Gregory.

Quinn Raines, age 29, is a friend of Meriel’s, but some might say he is more than a friend. He is the son of a wealthy banking family.

Tonight, Meriel is awaiting her carriage to take her to a ball when she is grabbed by a man. At the same time, another man comes running demanding she be let go. Scared and confused, she accidentally stabs her rescuer instead of the man who first grabbed her. Meriel always keeps herself armed. Unfortunately, her rescuer turns out to be none other than Quinn. He had planned the fake abduction hoping to win Meriel’s love. It seems he thinks she loves Gregory.

As Meriel insists on tending to Quinn’s wound, they open up more and share their lives and thoughts with each other. But is Meriel hiding more about her past and what she really does? If Quinn knew the truth, would he still want her?

This is a short novella but a compact and sweet story. I enjoyed it and hope others will as well.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In this light nouvella from one of my favourite authors Sabrina Jeffries, our hero Quinn sets up a fake abduction so he could play a hero and win the lady's hand in marriage.

I liked the concept. It was well written. But because we got both main characters POV readers knew more of less both of the characters feelings, and that they just need to overcome objections and talk it out. In fact most of the action happened in the first few pages and the rest is really dialogue. SJ did give our heroine a really good backstory and I really got to understand her within a few chapters.

The scenes that really shine for me though, were the last pages when Meriel's brother-in-law shows up. Their dialogue, his characterization, werr excellent and I am really excited to read his book, next in the Sinful Suitors series, [book:The Secret of Flirting|35297466]. Now I just have to patiently wait until March 2018.

Rated 3.5!

Meriel Vyse has been working as a spy for her brother-in-law for years. Unfortunately, it is fast losing its appeal. Meriel had planned on meeting her paramour, Quinn Raines, but has to cancel when her brother-in-law sends her a missive asking her to do a job for him. Meriel has just left her home when she is nearly kidnapped right off the street.

Quinn had set up the fake kidnap attempt in order to come to Meriel's rescue. Unfortunately for him, in all the shuffle, Meriel accidentally stabs him. That is how he finds himself sprawled on Meriel's couch explaining the whole situation. Will she forgive him or is their relationship finally coming to an end?

A TALENT FOR TEMPTATION is a fun little novella by author Sabrina Jeffries. It is a continuation of her SINFUL SUITORS series and focuses on the beautiful widow Meriel Vyse and her lover Quinn Raines. Although it is fast and furious, it is a captivating story... one I was sorry had to end. I am now anxiously awaiting the next novel in Ms. Jeffries' SINFUL SUITORS series!

Short, sweet, witty and lovely - a perfect disctraction from the real world. 2017 needs Sabrina Jeffries' writing more than ever. I loved it and can't wait for the next full lenght novel, is it March 2018 yet?

Book 4.5 (a novella) in the Sinful Suitors series. Having read all the books so far in this series of course I had to read this one too. Since this is a short novella the romance is short, sweet, and to the point. This is helped by the fact that couple is already have a romance with one another but Meriel believes that she would be an unsuitable wife so she thinks that is all it can be. Quinn totally disagrees with her and sets up a fake kidnapping so he can play the hero which leads to the chain of events that was really needed for these two to get together forever. While short the story is still great on details and the romance follows a nice progression. Emotions run high and it is easy to get lost in the story until you find yourself on the last page wishing there were more. This is a really good historical romance novella that I recommend to fans of the series or genre itself. I really enjoyed it so it gets 4/5 stars.

This is a fast-paced fun and entertaining read with great characters and plenty of steam. Quinn’s plan for winning Meriel goes horribly wrong; is there still a chance they will find a way to move forward together? I really liked it.

This was such a wonderful quick read, with witty and entertaining banter. I loved Meriel’s spunk and loyalty she felt to her dead husbands brother. Not wanting to disappoint she still does some spying for him but her heart is breaking because she’s in love with Quinn Raines and knows that a woman of her background can not be the respectful woman the prosperous banker needs.
Quinn tired of Meriel’s canceling their tryst takes matters in his own hands...stage an abduction and save the woman he wants for his wife. She can’t refuse the man who saves her and becomes her hero or can she?
Never in his dreams did he expect to be stabbed by Meriel!

An enjoyable afternoon read. The story is well done although short the reader does make a connection with the very likable characters. Secrets are revealed but not before we’re treated to some steamy fireworks and a very happy ending.
I received a complimentary copy from the author and publisher through NetGalley for my honest unbiased opinion.