Connect the dots.
https://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/book-series/macallisters/
I used to read Kinley MacGregor aka Sherrilyn Kenyon, but then I lost track of all the
character connections. Kinley MacGregor is one of those authors who has an AKA and has written so many books it boggles the mind. I’m always amazed at the amount of stories which come out of these prolific writers. Her stories have so many characters connecting from book to book I finally gave up on her. I also found myself getting lost when I visited her website trying to connect the characters. It was all too much for my little brain to handle.Anyway, Born in Sin (2003) is a real departure for me because I traveled back to the court of Henry II instead of the Regency. We are introduced to Lord Sin, the hated illegitimate son of a MacAllister. He was born in sin from a one night stand. His English mother shipped him to his father in Scotland. This meant his father’s wife hated his guts because he was a constant reminder of her husband’s infidelity. If not for his half-brothers, his life would have been beyond miserable. During one of the Crusades he is eventually sold to the Saracens, who in turn educate him in the art of a top-notch assassin. One of the people he is told to assassinate is Henry II. Well, Sin sees this as his chance and instead of killing the King becomes Henry’s trusted you-got-a-problem-I-can-take-care-of-it lethal friend. Henry is having problems with Scotland, but he comes up with a solution. He will marry his bestest friend/assassin to the handy Scottish hostage Caledonia MacNeely.
Caledonia, aka Callie, is one of those heroines who is sweet and innocent, but amazingly spouts out wisdom beyond her years. She also isn’t afraid of Sin – everyone else is. Once she agrees to marry Sin, she is determined to teach him how to love. She has a tough job ahead – sort of. Sin is a very angst-filled hero. How do we know Sin is a troubled person? Because everyone who knows him tells us. The secondary best friend of our hero and other heroes from other books, Simon, informs us over and over and over of Sins woes. Sin’s brothers show up to let us know of Sin’s boo-hoo past. Sin’s horrible mother is there to shout at him in front of everyone. Sin’s step-mother is there to ignore him. All of this led to an angst over-load.
Innocents. Born to Sin gives us an interesting look into innocence. Both Sin and Caledonia are innocent – on a number of different levels. First of all they are both virgins. One would think with Sin’s rough years and angst-filled persona, somewhere along the way he would have partaken in a barmaid or two. But he hasn’t because he doesn’t want to leave an unwanted child behind. Sin was such an interesting character, all that angst, coldness, wisdom, and innocence in one body. There is a pretty funny scene in which he needs to leave evidence behind that his marriage has been consummated. He does this because he wants to save Callie from a humiliating examination by Henry. Anyway, Sin opens up one of his recent wounds and smears the blood all over the bed. Needless to say, the entire castle is abuzz with gossip about the amount of blood and all kind of rumors fly concerning the size of Sin’s Mr. Toad. If the people in the castle were not afraid of him before, they are after news of his consummation makes the rounds. Callie is more of a typical Romanceland wise/innocent character. She is an 18 year old wide-eyed innocent who somehow knows how to overcome the bad things which have happened to Sin over the years. She eventually succeeds in changing his world to butterflies and birds chirping - like all good heroines.
Secondary characters. There are numerous supporting characters, scene stealers and soon to be heroes. There’s Callie’s adorable six year-old brother Jamie. He’s there to steal scenes and make sure we know that anyone who likes children can't be all bad. There’s Simon, Sin’s best friend. He’s there for comic relief and to fill us in on Sin’s angst-filled life. There are the handsome half-brothers, who are there to parade their handsomeness around and entice us to buy more books in the series. There’s Callie’s belligerent teenage brother. He’s there for Callie and Sin to sacrifice themselves for. And, don’t forget Henry II, he’s there so we can see if Peter O’Toole got it right.
Now you might think I didn’t like this book, you'd be wrong. I did like it. While it’s not an eye-opening fantastic read, it was a pleasant read and a nice change from all my Regency books. I found Sin a fascinating study of an innocent who by all rights should not be. I did lower my grade a little because of the last few chapters in which a number of problems are solved. I thought the whole Sin, Callie, and Callie’s brother riding out to confront Henry was silly and not how any real historical characters with brains would have acted. This let-me-sacrifice-myself-no-let-me moment struck me as pretty old school writing or maybe even just lazy. So, I’m giving this story a fair to middling recommendation.
Time/Place: Middle Age England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
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