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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Also a minor point but very annoying, it's rather stupid about the French Revolution. There were no prisoners held in the Bastille during the Reign of Terror! France has a whole holiday about tearing the fortress down, at least *try*.
I enjoyed some of the supporting cast so I might give the series another shot but I am pretty annoyed with this one.
This was by far the best book so far in the series! It wrapped everything into a nice tidy package by the end.
Simply Scandalous should not be read as a standalone. If you really wanted to, you could figure everything out as you go but, as I discovered, it isn’t terribly easy. I spent the first 30% of this book thinking, ‘Huh?’ and ‘Who?’ and ‘What?’ Which made it difficult to simply immerse myself in. But, eventually, it all began to make sense and I was able to really sink into the House of Pleasure world.
The first character we meet is Richard Ross, a former spy now enjoying the retired life. So much so that his family thinks him... dull. And in a family where his father is married to the former proprietress of London's most exclusive house of pleasure—which his half brother now runs—being called boring rubs him the wrong way. He itches to prove to them he isn’t the dullard they think. And when he gets dragged into a new assignment, his life becomes more exciting than he bargained for. And brings him face to face with a ghost from his past.
Violet LeNy, in hiding and now known to the ton as Vincent Lennox, was also a spy. Knowing that Richard won’t forgive her for faking her death, she also knows he’s the only one that can help her and her twin brother, Jack. Desperate to save her and her brother’s life, Violet will do anything to get Richard to trust her again.
And I do mean anything. And by anything, I’m talking anything sexual. Richard Ross is quite creative in that regard, let me tell you. Wow. Watching those two get reacquainted was seriously steamy and creatively kinky.
Though Richard and Violet may be the main hero and heroine, I think they are outshined by Emily Ross and Ambrose.
Emily, Richard’s younger sister, is sheltered and protected. And, when most of her family spends their days in a house of ill repute, that probably isn’t a bad thing. But no matter their best intentions, Emily finds herself in love with the pleasure palace’s manager—a freed slave named Ambrose. And she spends her days trying to convince (and tease and torment) him to risk it all for her.
Ambrose has had a rough life and doesn’t ever want to be homeless or at anyone else’s mercy. And even though he pines for Emily, he doesn’t feel worthy of her. He also doesn’t want to risk his relationship with Emily’s half brother, Christian. But all his protests prove fruitless when Emily begins her one woman campaign to seduce him. And seduce him she does.
Simply Scandalous is not your run of the mill historical romance, that is for sure. These characters are like... hedonists. Pleasure for one and all, with no reservations. And the sex—it is sinfully erotic and kinky. We're talking back door play, male on male, and even some creative use of antique sex toys... And, not gonna lie, I loved it all. So much so that I wish there was more of it and less of the espionage aspect. I just couldn't get into it at all. I guess spy games aren’t my thing.
But my thing is definitely heroes and heroines who behave badly—the more lascivious and bawdy, the better! I can’t wait to go back and read Christian’s book, Simply Carnal. And I’m really hoping Jack Lennox’s book is next because it will be wild. Miz Pearce has truly created something special here with her House of Pleasure series.
Favorite Quote:
With a groan, he kissed his way down to her taut nipple and drew it deep into his mouth, sucking and licking it until she was panting. His hand covered her mound, his middle finger sliding easily into the thick wetness to find the swell of her bud. He circled her there until she met every demand with a roll of her hips, until she was clutching at his shoulders, demanding her due, seeking her pleasure from his fingers.
-- A Romantic Book Affairs Review.
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I miei problemi con questo libro sono stati essenzialmente due: all'inizio c'erano troppe persone e storie per ricordarle tutte e mi sentivo parzialmente tagliata fuori da quello che stava succedendo. Secondo poi la totale e assoluta ricerca del piacere fine a se stesso da parte dei personaggi coinvolti, staccato dall'amore, è stata un po' problematica perchè mi considero una vecchia romanticona. Infine quindi mi sento di dire che non ero la persona giusta per questo libro, ma cio' non significa che sia da scartare, perchè la trama non era male così come i personaggi.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP. FOR THE PREVIEW
Kate Pearce
December 2012 reissue of 2013 release, Erotic Romance (1827 England)
Aphrodisia, $14.00, 320 pages, Amazon ASIN 0758269471
Grade: C
Sensuality: Burning
I remember the first time that I read Dune by Frank Herbert. It took me 150 pages to figure out who was who and what was going on. There were so many characters and intrigues and Hebert just dropped the reader right into the middle of the action to figure it out for ourselves. I sort of felt this way with Kate Pearce’s Simply Scandalous, except for the fact I ended up loving Dune.
This was the ninth book in Pearce’s House of Pleasure series and this book suffered in my hands for not having read the previous books. If I had read some of the other books, this one may have received a higher grade, but I still blame that somewhat on the author. Hook me at the beginning with something! I started this book four times before I finally settled down to read it in its entirety. If I had not promised to review the book, it would have been a DNF for me. However, having said all of that, I did begin to enjoy the story about half way through.
Richard Ross has a very unconventional family. His father is a peer and married to a woman (Richard’s stepmother) who owns a pleasure house/brothel. Her son, Christian Delorney, runs the house. His sister Emily, who is a lady of the ton, visits the house frequently and is in love with a former African slave who also works at the pleasure house. If that is not confusing enough, Richard was a spy during the Napoleonic War and is haunted by the death of fellow spy and his one true love Violet LeNy. Only it turns out that Violet did not really die in France. She faked her own death and has now turned up in England posing as the male twin of her real brother Jack Lennox.
Violet (posing as Vincent Lennox) is in England on a mission to clean up the threads of her spy career for the Royalist cause. Richard’s War Office superior Lord Keyes arranges a meeting with Richard and Jack Lennox and instructs Richard to assist Jack. When he discovers that Vincent Lennox is really Violet, he is disinclined to help. But he has his orders and grits his teeth as he prepares to do his duty...
To read the rest of this review, please visit All About Romance:
http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=9493
For mystery/history buffs, however, Violet's sense of paranoia and seemingly sinister machinations is a compelling plot point. Add Ambrose's relationships and back story, and these intricacies evoke interwoven worlds of gentry and squalor, immersing you into the proprieties of historical London. KP's seasoned writing paints the day-to-day nature of this charming era which, more often than not, reads like a historical fiction novel with erotic intermissions rather than the intimate period romance it wants to be.
***ARC by courtesy of Kensington Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.***
