After the Kiss: The Notorious Gentlemen

Uh-oh, this is the second Suzanne Enoch book in a row I've read and not loved (following on the heels of the disappointing Sins of a Duke). I got hooked on Enoch because of her engaging characters, interesting subplots, and surprising resolutions to the hero/heroine conflict. This book had the first two ... but the resolution was fairly dull. I guess I was expecting her usual exciting plot twists there, but the hero/heroine just come together in a rather predictable way. Still it held my interest for most of the book, so I'm hoping for better things from the next two books in the series!

I liked that the book 's plot is different from the typical historical romance. The minor characters are also extremely well done, making me curious about future books on those characters.

Why I gave it only 3 stars:
I prefer more dialogue and less explanation.
Spoiler ahead:
I also think the book has a major plot flaw. The main conflict in the book was iniated when the hero's father sells/gives away the hero's inheritance when his mother died, which didn't make any sense, because the father doesn't want to 'recognize' the hero as his son and wants to keep everything quiet. Since he didn't need the money from the paintings, it didn't make any sense why he sold/gave away those paintings to anger the son! If he had just given the hero those paintings, there wouldn't have been a conflict.

"After the Kiss" is the first of a series of books about 'The Notorious Gentlemen'. The hero of this book, Sullivan Waring, isn't exactly notorious - instead he's overlooked. A renowned horse breeder and trainer, despite the rumours that he has an aristocratic natural father he is ignored except for his expertise with horses. Lady Isabel Chalsey can't overlook him though - not when she catches him red-handed burgling her family's house. But Isabel doesn't want to see him hung or transported, not when he gave her a kiss, so instead she decides to keep an eye on him by employing him to teach her to ride a horse. It's the only reason she can think to spend time with him and find out more about him but unfortunately Isabel is almost phobic about horses.

Sullivan Waring is on a mission to revenge himself against his father who sold all his mother's possessions when Sullivan was fighting the Peninsular war. Each time he steals one of his mother's paintings he knows that it irritates his father. But now there is someone else involved, someone who knows that he is the secret thief known as the Mayfair Marauder, and someone who is getting closer to him. But there's absolutely no future between the daughter of a Marquis and a horse breeder, especially when Sullivan's legitimate half-brother is after Isabel as well. Can they find happiness? Can Sullivan get away with his thefts without being caught? Can he ever find a place in society?

It took me a while to get into this book, despite an exciting first chapter during the Peninsular War. I didn't find myself warming to Isabel Chalsey and her dictatorial and bossy manner and was too perturbed by yet another random man's name in an American-authored Regency (although there was an explanation for why he was called Sullivan). There were lots of errors in dialogue, for example using the American word 'burglarize' rather than the English 'burgle' and other similar mistakes. However the underlying story was actually quite good, even if I wasn't convinced of the probable reality of the events that led to the happy ending. It was, however, a reasonable read with an enigmatic hero, a varied cast of supporting characters and some interesting vignettes into horse training.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

As stated by many other reviewers, I have been disappointed in a number of Suzanne Enoch's recent books. I accidently read this series out of order starting with Before the Scandal, having bought them together on Amazon and assuming a book title beginning with "Before" would precede a book beginning with "After." While I enjoyed Before the Scandal, I LOVED After the Kiss.

It pairs two unlikely central characters, an unacknowledged bastard son of aristocracy, Sullivan, with an aristocratic and haughty young woman. Isabel catches Sullivan stealing from her home and he gives her a kiss to try to distract her. Though she is disconcerted over her first kiss, she steals his mask during the kiss and can therefore identify him. Sullivan, unbeknown to her, is trying to retrieve paintings that are his inheritance, paintings by his mother that were illegally taken by his unacknowledged father after her death.

Isabel sees Sullivan again the next day, while with her brother on a trip to purchase a horse. Sullivan is a recognized horse breeder. She insists on buying a second horse for herself and having the horse breeder train the horse for her to ride. She hopes to blackmail him into explaining why a man with obvious livelihood would steal from the same aristocrats who are his purchasers.

As they get to know and admire each other, they are caught in an impossible situation - they cannot legitimately express fondness for one another because he is a nobody. As the story weaves and unfolds, she is shunned by society and has to come to grips with the cattiness of gossip. He must come to grips with not being able to love her freely.

Each character has obvious flaws, but sensitivity to each others issues. As they come to know each other, their initial attraction becomes more than that, and they each have to deal with their inherent biases. His bias is against aristocracy, hers is that of a spoiled rich girl who can usually get whatever she wants.

Even today, many families object to sons or daughters pursuing a relationship with a person of the wrong color, religion or social set. For this reason, the story rang true to me. Both main characters have to overcome natural biases to realize that the other person is right for him/her.

On a petty note, I wish editors would correct little grammatical errors. Enoch often says "like" instead of "as," "different than" rather than the correct "different from." She also writes either with a plural verb. It should take a singular. Sometimes, I have to throw a book away mid-read because the grammar so detracts from the writing. Fortunately, that was not the case with this. There are some distractions, but they are minor.

This is the beginning of a new series by Suzanne Enoch. I really love how the title fits into the book. After the kiss is exactly when the book takes place. Lady Isabel encounters Sullivan as he is robbing her home and the only way he thinks of to distract her is by kissing her. Lady Isabel comes across a little spoiled and bratty in the beginning of the book, but changes throughout the book as she falls in love and comes to realize what is important. Sullivan is living his life for revenge, but he too comes to realize what is important. This is a story of overcoming your past and learning who you really are. I really liked this book, and can't wait to read the next in the series.