Ellice Traylor has endured a lot in her young life. She's lost her father, brother, sister and her home. She now resides with her former sister-in-law, Virginia, who has remarried. Also living there is Ellice's mother, Enid, one of the most horrible examples of motherhood you'll ever encounter. Ellice has been relatively content here -- you see, she has a secret. She is writing a scandalous, racy, explicit novel. Here is where you need to suspend disbelief. Yes, Ellice IS a virgin, yet she writes about passion with authority and expertise, supposedly all based on books she has read, and observing the animal life around her. Ellice's contentment is about to end, as mama has decided that it's time she marries. Horrified at the thought, she needs a plan. When a visitor arrives in a large carriage, Ellice decides to stow away and take her novel and sell it, and live on the proceeds.

The plan unravels, when the visitor, Ross Forster, the Earl of Gadsden, stays overnight due to bad weather. He goes to his coach to retrieve his belongings, and finds Ellice hiding there. In her haste to escape him, she leaves her novel, which he picks up, and takes back to his room with him. Later, as he's reading, (and finding it very stimulating) he decides that Ellice must be an experienced woman. Ross is a widower, and was betrayed in his marriage in the worst way. He also had a scandalous father with a notorious reputation. He has political aspirations, and wants not even a hint of scandal to touch him. So, he finds his attraction to this scandalous lady who has intentions of publishing her racy novel unacceptable.

Still, they can't seem to resist stolen kisses. When mama catches them, and creates a scene, he does the honorable thing and says they'll marry. They each have conditions, though, and draw up a humorous marriage contract between them. After the marriage, Ross is determined to stay out of her bed until he's sure she's not already pregnant with another man's child. Ellice is having none of this, telling him she IS a virgin, and seducing him, and proving it. They have an explosive chemistry, and share a passionate week together, and begin to share emotional intimacy too. Time for happy ever after? Not quite.

As Ross becomes besotted with Ellice, thoughts of how he was betrayed intrude, and he pulls back, leaving Ellice hurt and confused. Normally, this is a trope that I really dislike, but there was some serious wrong done to this man, so I found that I understood his thinking. I liked him very much, and my heart broke for what he endured in his first marriage. Ellice was a bundle of contradictions. She was a vamp, yet she was naïve in some ways, even childish at times. Still, I liked her too, despite her being the most knowledgeable, uninhibited virgin around.

THE VIRGIN OF CLAN SINCLAIR is the third book of the Clan Sinclair trilogy, but can be read as a stand alone. It's not a typical journey to happy ever after, but it gets there, and I totally enjoyed the trip, and smiled along the way. Recommended!