Sullivan Waring is the son of a nobleman. The fact that he is illegitimate weighs heavily on his mind, especially since he is treated dastardly by the ton. After coming home a hero from the wars, Sully is becoming highly prized as a horse breeder and trainer. What the ton doesn't know is that he is the Mayfair Marauder. By day he breeds horses, by night he goes into the home of some of the richest of society and steals back items that were important to him. It is when he steals from the home of Lady Isabel Chalsey that his life changes.

Isabel Chalsey can't believe that the blackguard known as the Mayfair Marauder had the audacity to kiss her while stealing from her home. Coming upon the masked man in her kitchen, she was startled and intrigued. When she comes face to face the next day with Sullivan Waring, she has no doubts as to whom her midnight thief is and she plans to milk her knowledge for everything it is worth.

Suzanne Enoch has a prize on her hands with After the Kiss. Sully's characterization made me ache for the way he was treated and then feel proud for the way he overcame society's expectations and became the man I knew he was inside. Isabel made me smile more than once at her ability to keep Sully on his toes and his lips busy. Fans of beguiling historical romances will love After the Kiss. I know I did.

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

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.

Lady Isabel Chalsey is by far one of the more interesting characters in recent romance novels. She has a belief in love and is one of those women that find easy to believe. She falls in love and stays in love in her youth. I find her extremely realistic in the portrayal of her youthful love with the dark man, or bad boy in our modern society. This is the captured time of young love. The only problem with the tale was that I did not find Sullivan Waring very appreciative of the great love he had and then damaged.

Like another reviewer, I too had been disappointed with Ms. Enoch's recent historicals (see my reviews on Sins of a Duke and Something Sinful). However, being an equestrienne with a love of Regency romances, the basic premise certainly piqued my interest.

I thought Isabel's (or Tibby's, as she's frequently called) character was well developed and the majority of her actions made sense from that perspective. So often, romance heroines are inconsistent and leave readers scratching their heads. Isabel's motivations for her actions were always in tune with her character, which can be especially difficult when writing a character who undergoes such a drastic shift in personality and beliefs during the course of a novel. Isabel shifts from a sheltered, spoiled princess to a more mature, worldly woman in the course of 384 pages. Throughout it all, she remains likable, as Enoch gives us plenty of indication as to why Isabel acts and thinks as she does. By allowing us to understand her, we are able to like her better.

Sullivan too is a character who develops over the course of the novel, going from a scorned, bitter son bent on revenge to a man who is capable of loving the very sort of girl he was determined to hate. What might have started out as a desire to see one of Society's princess fall from grace morphed into something else as he saw that she too had vulnerabilities and she too was at the mercy of Society's mercurial temperaments.

The secret, forbidden courtship of Isabel and Sullivan also made things enjoyable. Both knew what they were doing would be seen as wrong (which of course made it all the more delicious) but the attraction between them was simply too strong. This is a common device, I'll grant you, but in After the Kiss, you really believe that their attraction cannot be denied. What's more, both characters understand that what their doing is wrong and that there will be consequences, causing a realistic amount of hesitation and thought on the part of each. So often, characters leap into romance without a thought as to what their friends and family might think, which, I'm sorry to say, just isn't how real life works.

Finally, as with most of Ms. Enoch's novels, the secondary characters are not just a distraction but truly enhance the novel. Tibby's family, her friends/enemies, even the requisite 'villain' all helped to both move the plot forward as well as present obstacles which forced Isabel and Sullivan to make choices that furthered their growth. This novel is truly an exercise in character development. Sullivan and Isabel are dynamic characters whose actions ring true with whatever the current state of their personalities is, a rare thing in the modern romance novel. I highly recommend this novel, both for those who have never read Suzanne Enoch and need an introduction and for those who have been longtime fans recently disappointed by her latest historical fare.

After disappointment in some of Ms. Enoch's more recent historicals, I'm so glad to have read this book. This book is definitely a keeper for me and worth every penny!

This book is about a bastard son, Sullivan Waring, who is a famous horsebreeder and also secretly a thief of paintings, or rather someone who is reclaiming paintings which originally belonged to his late mother and sold without his permission. Sullivan meets Lady Isabel Chalsey during one of his nightly painting retrievals and in order to silence her, he kisses her. That kiss begins everything...

Initially reading this synopsis, I was a bit skeptical about the believability of this story. I mean, seriously, who kisses a thief in the middle of the night in their house? There are a lot of elements in this story that another author might have made less believable and made me roll my eyes at, but Ms. Enoch unravels the story so wonderfully and realistically that the jaded historical romance reader part of myself just disappeared while I was reading this book. Not only is the story engaging, but I loved everything in-between! I absolutely loved the subtleties. The subtle humorous comments within the dialogue and narration were a delight! Nothing was over the top. I loved that the author didn't accommodate for the lowest common denominator when writing this book. Although this isn't the most complicated of books, not everything was simple, like some historicals I've read.

This book has depth and realism. I love that when Isabel is slightly shunned by the ton, the author portrays the issue a little bit more realistically than other authors have. Isabel doesn't quickly wave away the consequences and reaction of the ton. Although there have been heroines in other books which have and have been made to seem stronger for it, I like that Isabel doesn't. She's human and not infallible. She's real and multi-dimensional. She stops and considers everything. She knows she has something to lose that is significant to her because she's been raised a certain way. Which one should she sacrifice?

I also enjoyed reading about the development of Isabel and Sullivan's relationship. Of course, there was the initial attraction, but there needed to be something more between them to build and Ms. Enoch does that incredibly well...and at a good pace. And it isn't just lust! There's flirtation, trust, suspicion, and everything in between! And...in their thoughts, they admit to the attraction and there is nothing coy about it! I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate it when characters feign ignorance or avoid their feelings for each other when it is clearly there. These two know they are attracted to each other and maybe it takes one of them a little longer to figure it out, but once they do, it's openly admitted and no one is trying to pretend something's not there. It's refreshing!

I even loved the secondary characters, the villians...everyone. They all played their parts wonderfully. Also, the heroine has a very supportive, loving, and complete family! I don't know how many historicals I've read where there's always someone who's the "evil" family member or where there's only part of a family.

I cannot begin to describe how wonderful this book is. You really have to read it for yourself and see. I am very glad to know that there are still these type of historical romances around. :) With that said, I'm off to pre-order Ms. Enoch's next book to this series, Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemen!

Lady Isabel comes downstairs to catch Sullivan Waring the stealing from her family. To stop her from calling for help - he kisses her and she takes his mask. Later Lady Isabel finds out the the notorious thief is Sullivan Waring and she blackmails him... I wish I could tell you more - but there is lots of sexual tension with the character and since they are in a different 'class' there is frustration. Enjoy!

Off to find her next novel Before the Scandal - Lieutenant Colonel Phineas Bromley story.

When Lady Isabel Chalsey gets up in the middle of the night for an apple, the last thing she expects to do is to bump into a thief. The Mayfair Marauder has been robbing London's most respected families and it appears Isabel has caught him in the act of doing the same to hers.

Later when she recognizes the Mayfair Marauder as the well known and respected horse breeder, Sullivan Waring, Isabel hires him to do some horse training for her. She's not sure she wants to turn him in, but she knows she doesn't want him stealing anymore so she blackmails him and keeps him close.

This is a forbidden love story; Isabel is from a titled family and Sullivan is the bastard child of a marquis. His father doesn't acknowledge him, so to the ton he's just a horse breeder. Horse breeders and Lady's do not mix romantic company, but Sullivan and Isabel have a hard time staying away from each other.

I am a fan of Ms. Enoch's Samantha Jellicoe series and have not read any of her historical romances, this was my first. I thought this was a great read. I found it while vacationing in the north woods and it kept me occupied and entertained while I maintained a lazy slug like status. Isabel and Sullivan were fantastic main characters and the book is filled with equally wonderful side characters and I am anxious to hear more about them. I laughed, I cried and I am dying to read the next book.

Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemen
Cherise Everhard, July 2008

Suzanne Enoch has a long history of writing highly entertaining and sensual Regency romances. The first book in her new Notorious Gentlemen Series is off to a great start. Sullivan Waring is the notorious gentleman in this fascinating debut. He is a handsome and self-assured man who is well sought out by every gentleman of the ton for the highly prized horses he breeds. But other than his horses, he is kept at arm's length out of the social circles of the aristocracy because he is the known, but unspoken of illegitimate son of the Marquis of Dunston, a well-respected member of the ton who never recognized Sullivan.

Sullivan discovers further insult to injury upon his return from fighting in Spain. His mother, a talented artist, passed away while he was at war. Knowing that her paintings were to be left to her son, his illegitimate family had sold them to highly placed members of the ton, knowing as an outsider in this social circle he would never get the opportunity to enter the homes of the ton and discover where the paintings are located, nor would he have the power to purchase them back. Sullivan embarks on a plan of revenge on his father. While building his successful breeding business, he becomes the famous thief, The Mayfair Marauder, thus becoming a further embarrassment to his father and enjoying the blackmail knowing that his father would not reveal him as the thief and add further scandal to the family. With his horse business and a well-placed aristocrat friend Phineas Bromley his perfectly developed plan to re-obtain the paintings is nearly finished. Until the night he robs the home of the Marquis of Darshear. Just as he is to make his usual perfect exit, he instead finds a perfectly lovely lady in his path. To throw her off he kisses her senseless and suddenly discovers he is not only spellbound, but discovered. The lovely Isabel at first frightened, becomes enthralled and a bit devious by removing Sullivan's mask during the kiss. Sullivan comes to realize "After the Kiss" that the lovely and intelligent lady now has reversed his plans of revenge and blackmail back on to him. Isabel has been bored with the men in her social circles and immediately taken with this handsome and kiss stealing thief, creates a blackmail plan so that she can continue seeing him and find out more about the man behind the kiss as well as the mask. Sullivan knows now that he has met his match when he falls into Isabel's blackmail scheme. She promises to not to turn him in if he will allow her father to purchase one of his best horses and teach her to ride every day. Each day Sullivan jumps to Isabel's commands due to that special kiss that caught him in Isabel's blackmail net. A kiss that seems to draw Isabel and Sullivan to each other more than they both expected with a desire and passion that builds and becomes more sensual with each new encounter. Now that Sullivan has been uncovered and discovered by the beautiful Isabel and his revenge and blackmail have taken a reverse in this highly charged, sensual relationship, will Sullivan's identity be discovered? But most of all will the Marquis of Dunston ever legally recognize Sullivan as his son?

The characters are interesting, enchanting and the verbal banter highly entertaining. "After the Kiss" is a well-written story containing many mysteries, secrets and highly charged sensuality. Each page is a delight making it difficult to put this book down. Ms. Enoch, already a favorite with many romance fans, is getting better and better with each book. This series is destined as a definite keeper. This reviewer is looking forward to the next book in The Notorious Gentleman Series about Sullivan's friend Phineas Bromley!

I've been disappointed with a few of Ms. Enoch's recent books, but this one was back up to snuff! The main characters are engaging, her dialouge/banter is wonderful, and the story wasn't run-of-the-mill. There were a few times I was like "how is she going to tie that up?"

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait for the remainder of the series. Just sad Bram's book isn't next... Oh, well!

A kiss. Who would have thought that so much trouble started from just one stolen kiss? Sullivan Waring didn't. He was simply out for revenge against a man who stole what was rightfully his. By day Sullivan is a respected horse breeder but by night he becomes the Mayfair Marauder stealing back his mother's paintings. Only this time during one of his forays he just didn't steal some art, he stole a kiss from a beautiful innocent young Lady. And Isabel Chalsey isn't about to forget that one kiss from the masked thief. Sullivan is an exciting mystery to be solved and she loves a good puzzle. Isabel is used to getting her own way and she won't stop until all of Sullivan's secrets are exposed. But once they spend time together and everything is uncovered both realize that they have made a huge mistake -with their hearts. Because a man who sells horses has no future with the daughter of a Marquis.

A good start to a new series. But I did find some annoying points. Isabel to be a bit irritating with her shabby aristocratic nose-in-the-air treatment of Sullivan. And he has a chip on his shoulder the size of Alaska -thus the revenge. Then again that didn't bother me as much since they do have great chemistry. The sparks really fly between these two. I think thats Enoch strong point here. And the loves scenes where steamy too. The mystery wasn't so mysterious and very predictable but seemed carry some momentum. And the ending is believable.

My favorite part of the book and thus the four instead of three stars is Sullivan's friend Bram. He stole the scenes he was in. I loved his devil-may-care rakish attitude. Enoch spent a fair amount of time developing his character but his book is not the next in the series. Huh? What a teaser! Instead Phin's is. Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemen And he is barely in the book! *Shakes head* why do authors do that?

I recommend this book to those historical romance readers who are fans of aristocrat and commoner pairings. If you like this type of scenario then you might want to check out The Leopard Prince.

A year after being shot as an officer serving in the Peninsular War; highly regarded horse breeder Sullivan Waring lives a secret life. During the day the Ton admires his work with horses; at night they treat him with contempt. He does not care how they feel; instead he wants what was stolen from him; so in the evening he sneaks into the homes of the affluent to take back his late mother's paintings.

However Lady Isabel Chalsey catches the notorious Mayfair Marauder in the act of thieving. He is stunned by her beauty and cannot stop himself from taking a kiss; he is further shocked when she demands he train a horse for her use or she will expose him. As he falls in love, he prepares a mare for Isabel while helping her overcome her fear of horses; but may not be able to overcome his own dark secrets that eat at his soul.

The first Notorious Gentlemen tale (Sully's Peninsular War buddies to follow) is a terrific Regency romantic mystery that hooks readers when the heroine going for a late snack catches the notorious gentleman removing a portrait from the wall. The story line never slows down as Lady Isabel "blackmails" the thief after a witty exchange. Readers will enjoy their antics AFTER THE KISS as Suzanne Enoch provides a superb opening act.

Harriet Klausner

I've always enjoyed reading Suzanne Enoch, both her historical and contemporary fiction. I've eagerly anticipated reading this first book of her new trilogy. Sadly it was not what I expected. I did not really like the hero or heroine and never felt a strong emotional connection between them. I thought their attraction was superficial. She's spoiled and strong willed, he's angry and resentful, each is forbidden the other so why not have a fling?

This story did leave me curious about Bram. I'm interested in reading his story. Unfortunately the second book is not about him but about the third brother-in-arms that we've hardly met in book one. Hopefully books 2 and 3 will have better character development and a deeper story line. I think the most provocative thing about book one is the cover!

This was a very enjoyable book to read. It isn't the same old storyline ("does he really love me?...I can't be happy and know he really loves me until I hear those three words."...none of that, thank goodness!) and the hero and heroine aren't typical. I initially thought they would be and that the heroine was going to get on my nerves, but she didn't. I finished this book also hoping for and looking forward to more stories of the secondary characters. I don't know how to describe it but this book just had a different "feel" to it that really made me like it. Great read!! I realize this is the first review and some might be looking for a synopsis but I hate writing those because I'm always afraid of giving away a spoiler and I don't want to take away any part of the story for anyone. I'll just say it really shows what people feel and go through with forbidden love, and it's worth reading!