With a mind as sharp in math as the pain in his heart from his parents' mysterious and shameful death, Lord Jarret Sharpe had turned to cards. What started as a way to stop the boys at Eton from beating him up now supports his independence and lifestyle. But his game was off and that was a problem. How could he concentrate with his grandmother's unreasonable ultimatum bothering him? It was totally unreasonable of her to insist that all five of her grandchildren marry within the year, or be cut out of their inheritance!

Jarret, concerned about the impact of this ultimatum on his beloved sister, Minerva, decided to play his hand with his grandmother and negotiate for better terms. A sharp business woman herself, Hester Plumtree, owner of Plumtree Brewery, had her own tricks to get the terms she wanted while letting the other party think they had the winning hand.

So abandoning the card tables to count casks and coin, Jarret took a desultory, but studied interest in the brewery as he expected to be only there for a year. Still hurt from the years his grandmother had kept him away from the brewery to be at school, he was determined not to get attached to it again. But, when the lovely Annabel Lake came into his life with a swish of her curls and an appealing wager, he was ready to investigate things a little deeper.

While not normally a liar, Annabel had soon spun an elaborate and tangled web of deceit as she tried her utmost to save her brother's brewery and his family from a rapid descent into poverty. Taking big risks with the cards stacked against her, Annabel was determined to save Lake Brewery by forming an alliance with Plumtree. But, would her cards and her heart's treasure be lost when the truth comes out?

Sabrina Jeffries is a highly talented romance writer and her new series, Hellions of Hallstead Hall will only add to her fame. I just love it when I can learn more about the regency period and Jeffries' meticulous research does not disappoint. She skillfully weaves in interesting facts about the brewery business both to advance the storyline and to give appropriate ambiance to the sparkling dialogue. This book, the second in the series, is enjoyable as stand alone read with its well developed principal and secondary characters and a hint of a mystery. But, be warned, it is sure to leave you wanting more! So, grab a brew and this book and get set for some high stakes reading!

Book Summary

Jarret Sharpe, the notorious gambler agrees to run the family brewery for a year if his meddling grandmother will rescind her ultimatum that he marry by year’s end or lose his inheritance. But the gambler in him can’t resist when beguiling brewster Annabel Lake proposes a wager over a card game: If she wins, he helps her save her own foundering family brewery. If he wins, he spends a night in her bed.

The outcome sets off a chain of events that threatens to destroy all of Jarret’s plans . . . and to reveal the secrets Annabel has held for so long. When Jarret discovers the darker reason behind Annabel’s bold proposition, she levies yet another wager—and this time he intends to win not just her body . . . but her heart.

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