The Virtues of Vice

The epic conclusion to Ground Sweet as Sugar, the unforgettable coming-of-age saga of one girl's fight for her freedom, her country, and her heart...


1801: After two years, Charlotte Dillon returns enchained to James Blair. Once again, she's condemned and he's entangled with another. Yet the longing that has always persisted between them remains. While his sailors demand blood, James is faced with an agonizing test: How to exact a just punishment on the one woman he can't bear to hurt?


Bound in an impossible love, James and Charlotte confront cunning threats, endure a devastating storm, and face the tenderest of reckonings.


Meanwhile in Ireland, Charlotte's aunt chases down the mystery that tore a family and a country apart. A young lord comes of age still dreaming of justice for his brother. And when menacing shadows surround them, James and Charlotte must fight to save every piece of sweetness they've earned.


Sweeping from a roiling Caribbean to a conspiring Ireland, The Virtues of Vice is Book II in an epic saga of power, punishment, and undying love.


Compulsive conclusion to 'Ground Sweet as Sugar'. Vivid characters will remain with you after you close the pages. Fabulous fiction threaded through history, which has completely captured my curiosity. So richly written, feels like I've watched a movie rather than read a book. - Review


A page-turning conclusion to a grand saga! - For the Love of a Book


The characters were in depth and complex... there wasn't a moment I was not in awe of their humanity and flaws. I kept ending up in research rabbit holes with each historical reference. This book was fascinating. Highly recommend! - Review


The Virtues of Vice is exactly the kind of conclusion I wanted for the Ground Sweet as Sugar duet. Catherine C. Heywood took all the puzzle pieces, jagged and otherwise that were laid out before us, and meticulously found their place... Wow. What a story. - MJ Loves to Read


I read this book in less than a day, I didn't want to put it down. - Review


Heywood, as always, provides a story that drags the reader into some wonderful escapism, romance and high drama.
A book of consuming love, justice, power and revenge, where the end to all virtue is finally happiness. - Books, Tea, and Me