The plot couldn't be thicker in Book One of The Blackwater Brides. Jasper St. John Sullivan, fifth Earl of Blackwater is in an awkward situation. The family fortune is gone except for the vast sums of money held by his reprobate uncle. The elderly, ailing uncle is willing to bequeath his estate to Jasper and his two brothers under one condition. Each of them must marry a fallen woman. In this way, the old lecher will get his vengeance on the relatives who had spurned him for decades. Clarissa Astley is a young woman in dire straits. Her beloved father has died, leaving her and her 10-year-old brother in the guardianship of his younger brother. Evil Uncle Luke would like to get his hands on that inheritance but first he must dispose of his wards. He takes Francis to London and refuses to allow Clarissa to communicate with the boy. Clarissa is worried about Francis and decides to leave home and find out for herself what is going on. She ends up in a brothel (did you know that they were called nunneries - I sure didn't). And all of this happens in the first two chapters. I lost a lot of sleep because I simply had to find out what would happen next. This book was a fast, fun read and I can't wait to see what happens with the next brother and his quest to redeem a fallen woman by marriage.