After their grandmother tells her five grandchildren that they must marry before the year is up or be cut from her will, Lord Jarret Sharpe makes a deal with her. He will run her brewery for a year if she rescinds her ultimatum. But when he is approached by Annabel Lake with a wager, he can't turn her down. If she wins their card game, he must help save her family's foundering brewery. But if he wins, she must spend the night in his bed. The outcome sets off a chain of events that threatens to destroy all her plans...and unveils the secret Annabel has held for so long.

I thought this was a solid historical romance with likable characters. I liked how Jeffries handled the relationship between Annabel, her nephew, and his parents. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. My rating: 4 Stars.

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Not the typical historical romance. Sabrina Jeffries made me laugh and made me cry. I really enjoyed this story.

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I enjoyed the story. I think the tryste between hero and heroin was quite steamy. The subplot of their parents' death was interesting as well.

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Jarrett discovered he was good at gambling when he was sent away to school at 13. He was picked on and gambling helped keep that at bay and gave him a sense of purpose. He loves his grandma, but also resents her for "sending him away." He loved the brewery as a boy. Now, in exchange for dropping the marriage request, he agrees to take over the brewery for 1 year while his grandma recovers from an illness.
It is there he meets Annabel, who has come to appeal to Mrs Plumtree (the grandma) for help in selling ale to India. She helps her brother (Hugh) run his brewery. She knows her stuff and isn't afraid to speak her opinion. She and Jarrett make a bet. She wins, he helps. He wins, she spends a night in his bed.
I really liked this. Annabel was awesome and I loved how she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She also has a secret. Both Jarret and Annabel fit so well together. I also liked her brother Hugh and Sissy. Hugh has his own problems and did make headway in overcoming them. I also liked how supportive Sissy was and it was refreshing to see 2 women work together and help each other. Both families (the Lake's and the Sharp's) loved each other and supported each other.
It was also interesting to read a little on the ale trade and how India Pale Ale came to be.
Some additional information about the deaths of the Sharp siblings parents.
Oliver the eldest was 35 (his story in book 1), Jarret- 32 (this book), Minerva- 28, Gabe- 26, and Celia- 24. Minerva is next!

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I liked it enough to keep reading the series, but somehow I wasn't able to turn off the critical part of my brain during this one. Usually I'm pretty good at not questioning escapist fiction (it is, after all, supposed to be a fantasy) but I had a hard time with the hero's unblinking acceptance of the heroine's lies and 12 year old child. A good, but not great read, with some steamy scenes and a chance to see characters from the series.

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Excellent book, the storyline was excellent and did not disappoint. I really enjoy how each sibling has their own recollection of the "accident" and how it has affected their lives and how they deal with it. Wonderful series.

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