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crystabrittany's review
5.0
Heroine is the author of scandalous erotic stories; hero is third son country vicar longing for a little more excitement and freedom in his life. Both seem very real and clear even before they meet. Fun event at sensual secret masquerade ball!
lizabethstucker's review
4.0
The Wicked Quills of London 3
Jeremy Cleland, vicar and third son of the Earl of Hutton, has been directed by his father and uncle to discover who the Lady of Dubious Quality, a writer of erotic romance, could be. The Earl believes that once her identity is revealed, the scandal will put an end to her lewd books.
The erotic fires are really turned up in this installment. Jeremy's search leads him to places, physical and emotional, he never expected. It also brings him to Lady Sarah Frampton, a woman he comes to love, but can never have. Their separate paths lead to each other, not smoothly, but ultimately where they need to be.
This installment is chock full of emotions, very intense. As they used to say, "I laughed, I cried". And I really did. 4 out of 5.
Jeremy Cleland, vicar and third son of the Earl of Hutton, has been directed by his father and uncle to discover who the Lady of Dubious Quality, a writer of erotic romance, could be. The Earl believes that once her identity is revealed, the scandal will put an end to her lewd books.
The erotic fires are really turned up in this installment. Jeremy's search leads him to places, physical and emotional, he never expected. It also brings him to Lady Sarah Frampton, a woman he comes to love, but can never have. Their separate paths lead to each other, not smoothly, but ultimately where they need to be.
This installment is chock full of emotions, very intense. As they used to say, "I laughed, I cried". And I really did. 4 out of 5.
merrinish's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this. I've never seen a romance novel with a vicar before? So that was awesome straight off the bat. I liked the story and the characters. The emotional payoff felt real to me, including that he didn't accept her secrets straight off.
Things I liked:
I really liked that the hero is a vicar, which is literally nothing I've ever read in a romance novel before. The heroine writes erotic novels, and a lot of what she said felt like a defense of romance novels in general, which felt pretty meta but was also really cool. The added tension that his father was forcing our hero to unmask the anonymous author of the erotic novels added a really nice tension through the whole book.
I really, really liked that their first time was so awkward and terrible at first. Like, he's been with one lady. He's a vicar. She's a virgin. It was so believable that it would actually be kind of terrible and painful, and I like that it felt so real. And then I liked that what actually brought him around to figuring out what she would like was ACTING OUT WHAT HE'D READ IN HER EROTIC NOVELS. Y'all this was so perfect.
I really liked that Jeremy wasn't accepting of her secret at first. That he struggled with it. I liked that after she came to the conclusion that she just wouldn't write, he accepted it as compromise at first, because I liked that he didn't take her choices away from her again. And I really liked that after she said she wanted all of it, him and the writing, that he recognized THAT as the real way to happiness, and was really happy with what she'd chosen. Most of all, I like that even though it hurt him a lot, he gave her agency in her choices while acknowledging his own pain.
Things that were meh:
Like. His dad was only okay? I get that it's a romance novel but his character was so one dimensional that it was kind of . . . meh. Like I get it. He's sooooooo moral and he wants the author unmasked but is also soooooo unwilling to let go of this that he stops talking to his son because of it? Really? Okay.
Things I liked:
I really liked that the hero is a vicar, which is literally nothing I've ever read in a romance novel before. The heroine writes erotic novels, and a lot of what she said felt like a defense of romance novels in general, which felt pretty meta but was also really cool. The added tension that his father was forcing our hero to unmask the anonymous author of the erotic novels added a really nice tension through the whole book.
I really, really liked that their first time was so awkward and terrible at first. Like, he's been with one lady. He's a vicar. She's a virgin. It was so believable that it would actually be kind of terrible and painful, and I like that it felt so real. And then I liked that what actually brought him around to figuring out what she would like was ACTING OUT WHAT HE'D READ IN HER EROTIC NOVELS. Y'all this was so perfect.
I really liked that Jeremy wasn't accepting of her secret at first. That he struggled with it. I liked that after she came to the conclusion that she just wouldn't write, he accepted it as compromise at first, because I liked that he didn't take her choices away from her again. And I really liked that after she said she wanted all of it, him and the writing, that he recognized THAT as the real way to happiness, and was really happy with what she'd chosen. Most of all, I like that even though it hurt him a lot, he gave her agency in her choices while acknowledging his own pain.
Things that were meh:
Like. His dad was only okay? I get that it's a romance novel but his character was so one dimensional that it was kind of . . . meh. Like I get it. He's sooooooo moral and he wants the author unmasked but is also soooooo unwilling to let go of this that he stops talking to his son because of it? Really? Okay.
jcmbank's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cheermio's review
2.0
I liked the feminist sensibility expressed in her writing about sex for the edification of women to know they could like it and not feel ashamed. I liked the self confidence it gave her to write and know that what she was writing mattered and consequently made her matter in turn.
I didn't like a lot of the rest of it. the dialogue. the dreary funk of her giving up writing for a measly 15 pages before choosing it again. like, really? this is the central conflict of the story? and it is over in less than 30 pages? the sudden romance syndrome that over took them upon meeting. the way the writing so often TOLD us that they were communing on a deep and intimate level but didn't always show that to us. it did once where we learned she hated coconut and he loved satin. that was nice. but brief.
I didn't love the 2nd in this series or this one and I'll prob never read the 1st one.
I didn't like a lot of the rest of it. the dialogue. the dreary funk of her giving up writing for a measly 15 pages before choosing it again. like, really? this is the central conflict of the story? and it is over in less than 30 pages? the sudden romance syndrome that over took them upon meeting. the way the writing so often TOLD us that they were communing on a deep and intimate level but didn't always show that to us. it did once where we learned she hated coconut and he loved satin. that was nice. but brief.
I didn't love the 2nd in this series or this one and I'll prob never read the 1st one.
sungmemoonstruck's review
4.0
I really liked the main characters in this one--a wallflower who secretly writes bestselling erotic novels and a vicar with hidden depths--and Leigh very successfully conveys how quickly they form an emotional connection as well as being deeply attracted to each other. I also enjoyed the exploration of why writing is so important to Sarah, how Sarah and Jeremy are able to resolve their conflicts maturely and thoughtfully, and how Leigh both presents a realistic view of the challenges for women trying to make their own way and lets her heroine ultimately be triumphant.
serenityfire's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really sexy book with an interesting hero.
kellym_16829's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and the second one I’ve not responded to positively. I’m almost reluctant to review it because I am having a hard time pinpointing what it was about the book that struck me the wrong way. The writing was good, but I just could not like the characters or the story. As I read it, I felt like it was a book that thought itself feminist and progressive, but was still deeply entrenched in patriarchy and classicism - where only the right kind of women who “transcend” their sex are worthy of notice of sympathy and one may help the “lower” classes but may only truly become close with one’s “equals.” The heroine in particular seemed to see herself as above and apart from all the women in the book until she met fellow writers. It just sat wrong with me.
That said, I’d still rate the book as above average due to the quality of the writing.
Heat level: high
That said, I’d still rate the book as above average due to the quality of the writing.
Heat level: high
turophile's review
3.0
Read it, forgot to review it. I enjoyed it but can't remember why. Maybe reread at some point.