Sins of a Virgin by Anna Randol

When Madeline Valdan is no longer needed by her country, she is given a paltry sum of money for her years of work.  Knowing this will not be able to sustain her, she creates a daring plan...hold an auction for her virginity.  As Madeline is one of the most notorious courtesans, the question quickly becomes is she truly a virgin?  Men fall all over themselves to discover the truth.  Madeline is quite smart, though, and hires a Bow Street runner by the name of Gabriel Huntford to investigate all the men bidding on her.  After all, the men must be able to pay the price they bid and have no sickness in their backgrounds.  Gabriel is hesitant to accept such a job as his true goal in life is finding the murderer of his sister but he quickly sees that Madeline's job will prove helpful as some of the men bidding on her are also on Gabriel's suspect list and he will be able to investigate them more closely.  But this supposedly simply job slowly becomes much more as it becomes clear that someone is out to kill Madeline.  With Madeline so used to hiding everything about herself under her seductress persona, it is hard to find the truth and she has a hard time finally trusting someone and letting them in.  Can she find a way to tell Gabriel the truth and still hang on to her heart or will she finally gamble with her heart, just to have it broken?

This was another winner from the talents of Anna Randol for me!  While it does not have the exotic setting of her debut novel, it does feature a couple who is not titled which is always a nice change of pace and still has the fast paced storyline.  Madeline is quite a character--she has been undercover with the government for years and her ruse was that of a seductress and now that she can put that behind her, she finds that she can't.  As she finds herself falling for Gabriel, he makes her question he every sultry move.  He wants the real Madeline, not the showy one and we get to see Madeline slowly find her true self again.  She is also bold, sassy and confident while being a strong, capable spy that is intent on protecting herself without help from some man.  She has hesitations about marrying after the awful treatment of her mother by her father and it has shaped her into the woman she is today.  Gabriel is a wonderful balance to her, with his devoutness to finding his sister's murderer and sharpness for details.  He is the only one that can help Madeline peel away her persona and together they find that they work well together while chasing after suspects.  Overall, a delightful mix of mystery, intrigue, and romance with wit and passion that will leave you happily satisfied.  4 stars

I received this eARC from Avon via edelweiss

The Sinners Trio series
Sins of a Former Lover Exp pub March 26th, 2013
Sins of a Wicked Princess Exp pub Oct 1st, 2013