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ezichinny's review
3.0
This novella was a very short synopsis of the "Secret Passion" harbored by Lady Cecilia Stanton. I enjoyed the short story, though it did not provide much character building.
Lady Cecelia married very young, and thus, had to learn how to pleasure her husband,Earl William Stanton, from her handmaid Bess. Under Bess' tutelage, Cecelia also grew to enjoy and crave the soft & feminine touch which was vastly different from her older husband. But make no mistake, Cecelia also enjoyed bedroom play with her lusty husband. They both seem to have quite an insatiable sexual appetite but during her time of pregnancy, her husband would completely leave their home to avoid touching her.
Back in the early 1800's, the London ton believed ladies should abstain from sexual pleasures in order not to harm the unborn child in the woman's womb. Instead, the lady should undergo a period of confinement until birth, and then a physician can release the lady to resume intimacies with the husband.
During Cecelia's period of confinement, Bess would see to all her needs as her husband wasn't in town. Cecelia and Bess kept their dalliance a closely guarded secret as this sexual craving was considered perverse by the ton.
When their secret became known to a person in the ton, Bess and Cecilia feared what would happen? If you want to know what ensued, then you have to read the book!
The writing flowed well and was very reminiscent of the time period. I loved the boldness of Cecelia, and I would like to believe it is a result of her youth because she seemed a tad impetuous. It wasn't that steamy or erotic, but it was properly scandalous for that time period.
The only thing is that I wished the book was longer because i would have liked more background on both Cecilia, Bess and William. But for what it was, a short novella, it was an enjoyable read. I would read this author again, although I would choose a longer story.
A Special Thank You to Harlequin Enterprises Australia via Netgalley for the e-ARC, which was given in exchange for an honest review
Lady Cecelia married very young, and thus, had to learn how to pleasure her husband,Earl William Stanton, from her handmaid Bess. Under Bess' tutelage, Cecelia also grew to enjoy and crave the soft & feminine touch which was vastly different from her older husband. But make no mistake, Cecelia also enjoyed bedroom play with her lusty husband. They both seem to have quite an insatiable sexual appetite but during her time of pregnancy, her husband would completely leave their home to avoid touching her.
Back in the early 1800's, the London ton believed ladies should abstain from sexual pleasures in order not to harm the unborn child in the woman's womb. Instead, the lady should undergo a period of confinement until birth, and then a physician can release the lady to resume intimacies with the husband.
During Cecelia's period of confinement, Bess would see to all her needs as her husband wasn't in town. Cecelia and Bess kept their dalliance a closely guarded secret as this sexual craving was considered perverse by the ton.
When their secret became known to a person in the ton, Bess and Cecilia feared what would happen? If you want to know what ensued, then you have to read the book!
The writing flowed well and was very reminiscent of the time period. I loved the boldness of Cecelia, and I would like to believe it is a result of her youth because she seemed a tad impetuous. It wasn't that steamy or erotic, but it was properly scandalous for that time period.
The only thing is that I wished the book was longer because i would have liked more background on both Cecilia, Bess and William. But for what it was, a short novella, it was an enjoyable read. I would read this author again, although I would choose a longer story.
A Special Thank You to Harlequin Enterprises Australia via Netgalley for the e-ARC, which was given in exchange for an honest review
sarah1984's review
2.0
I received a free Adobe Digital Editions copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, this has not compromised my ability to write an honest and critical review of the book.
28/1 - 1.5 to 2 stars (2 stars for GR because it wasn't completely full of grammatical, punctuational and spelling errors). While it wasn't full of errors they weren't completely absent. This sentence is a perfect example: "It has always rankled me that what is best for the gentleman is not always best for the lady yet society seems bent on keeping it these inconvenient methods." Missing comma and what does "bent on keeping it these inconvenient methods." mean? Obviously, Portman is trying to convey something along the lines of 'what's good for the goose should be good for the gander', but those last seven words make absolutely no sense (especially 'inconvenient' as it has nothing to do with the gender differences in those days in this context).
The opening lines state "I am with child, again. In the unfortunate event I do not recover from this birth, I write my confessions in this diary." Reading those lines I assumed that Cecelia had experienced previous difficult pregnancies, been warned not to become pregnant again or was in such an abusive relationship that she feared for her life. But, other than some bad morning sickness with each pregnancy (the possibly deadly pregnancy she's talking about will be her fifth successful birth of five pregnancies - she hasn't lost any children through miscarriage), she suffered no more than any other pregnant woman of the day would have been expected to. Other than this opening paragraph her fears for her life aren't mentioned again - if she had actually had reasons to fear for her life that might have made the book more interesting.
Cecelia says she's writing this 'diary/confessional' to distract herself from her growing (unfounded) fear and because she wants to explain to 'those she loves' the reasons for the rumours surrounding her marriage to William. If she's writing to her family members why does she feel the need to 'state that her husband was known to be something of a rake'? Wouldn't they already know all about his reputation? To be continued after dinner...
After dinner - Now to the erotica genre this has been placed into. What the hell? How can anyone call the sex scenes in this book erotic? The sex is peppered with sentences like this catastrophe: "Without warning his hand came around and gripped my buttock, he squeezed it hard and the pain flashed through my entire body. I gasped out aloud. Despite the grinding weight and heaviness in my womb, a sure indicator of my body's interest in him, I was growing increasingly fearful.
'To the bed with you, good woman,' William cried with gregarious chivalry."I know this because Cecelia herself states earlier that her marriage was arranged very shortly after the start of her first season. How is "To bed with you, good woman," chivalrous? I would be more inclined to say it's imperious and domineering.
I think I could safely diagnose Portman with acyrologia (from afar, even), specifically cacozelia - a kind of acyrologia in which one uses newfangled speech or Latinate diction in order to appear learned. I think learning of this condition is going to be unbelievably useful in writing reviews of this kind - you know, where the book is bad. I would not recommend this to anyone looking for good erotica, or even erotica at all as not one line of this is erotic.
28/1 - 1.5 to 2 stars (2 stars for GR because it wasn't completely full of grammatical, punctuational and spelling errors). While it wasn't full of errors they weren't completely absent. This sentence is a perfect example: "It has always rankled me that what is best for the gentleman is not always best for the lady yet society seems bent on keeping it these inconvenient methods." Missing comma and what does "bent on keeping it these inconvenient methods." mean? Obviously, Portman is trying to convey something along the lines of 'what's good for the goose should be good for the gander', but those last seven words make absolutely no sense (especially 'inconvenient' as it has nothing to do with the gender differences in those days in this context).
The opening lines state "I am with child, again. In the unfortunate event I do not recover from this birth, I write my confessions in this diary." Reading those lines I assumed that Cecelia had experienced previous difficult pregnancies, been warned not to become pregnant again or was in such an abusive relationship that she feared for her life. But, other than some bad morning sickness with each pregnancy (the possibly deadly pregnancy she's talking about will be her fifth successful birth of five pregnancies - she hasn't lost any children through miscarriage), she suffered no more than any other pregnant woman of the day would have been expected to. Other than this opening paragraph her fears for her life aren't mentioned again - if she had actually had reasons to fear for her life that might have made the book more interesting.
Cecelia says she's writing this 'diary/confessional' to distract herself from her growing (unfounded) fear and because she wants to explain to 'those she loves' the reasons for the rumours surrounding her marriage to William. If she's writing to her family members why does she feel the need to 'state that her husband was known to be something of a rake'? Wouldn't they already know all about his reputation? To be continued after dinner...
After dinner - Now to the erotica genre this has been placed into. What the hell? How can anyone call the sex scenes in this book erotic? The sex is peppered with sentences like this catastrophe: "Without warning his hand came around and gripped my buttock, he squeezed it hard and the pain flashed through my entire body. I gasped out aloud. Despite the grinding weight and heaviness in my womb, a sure indicator of my body's interest in him, I was growing increasingly fearful.
'To the bed with you, good woman,' William cried with gregarious chivalry."I know this because Cecelia herself states earlier that her marriage was arranged very shortly after the start of her first season. How is "To bed with you, good woman," chivalrous? I would be more inclined to say it's imperious and domineering.
I think I could safely diagnose Portman with acyrologia (from afar, even), specifically cacozelia - a kind of acyrologia in which one uses newfangled speech or Latinate diction in order to appear learned. I think learning of this condition is going to be unbelievably useful in writing reviews of this kind - you know, where the book is bad. I would not recommend this to anyone looking for good erotica, or even erotica at all as not one line of this is erotic.
claudiap's review
1.0
# I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review#
The Wicked Confessions of Lady Cecelia Stanton is a short story that falls more into the erotic genre, than into the historical romance genre. A book with such erotic component is not my cup of tea.
The diary/letter format could be interesting, but it makes the narrative difficult to follow. Personally, it frustrated me that the story always focused on the sexual aspects of the couple and the maid Bess. I found myself unable to care for any of the characters.
If you like historical romances, this is not for you. But if you like erotic novels in an historical setting I think you will like this one.
The Wicked Confessions of Lady Cecelia Stanton is a short story that falls more into the erotic genre, than into the historical romance genre. A book with such erotic component is not my cup of tea.
The diary/letter format could be interesting, but it makes the narrative difficult to follow. Personally, it frustrated me that the story always focused on the sexual aspects of the couple and the maid Bess. I found myself unable to care for any of the characters.
If you like historical romances, this is not for you. But if you like erotic novels in an historical setting I think you will like this one.
booksuperpower's review
4.0
The Wicked Confessions of Lady Cecelia Stanton by Viveka Portman is a 2013 Escape publishing release. I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Lady Cecelia Stanton is forced into an arranged marriage to William, a notorious rake. Cecelia is gently bred young woman and not accustomed to the bawdy speech her husband employs towards her. He introduction to lovemaking is so unpleasant she confessed all to her maid, Bess. Bess feel for her and wants her to know that pleasure can be derived from sexual intercourse. So, she proceeds to show Cecelia how to experience sexual pleasure.
This short story/novella is the story of a woman that wants to please her husband and does love him, but is slow to learn how to enjoy relations with him. Her pleasure comes easily however with Bess. So, in my opinion, the experiences with Bess are mainly experimental, although she does love Bess, it's more of a friendship. After putting up with her husband's infidelities and learning to make do in her own way, Cecelia opens her mind up to other types of sexual experimentation.
This story is more erotica than romance, especially for me since I really never liked William. Also, for the most part erotica is not my cup of tea. But, this was a new author and a new publisher, a believe an Australian division of Harlequin, so I thought I would give it a try. The author does a great job of telling a complete story is a very limited space.
If you enjoy erotica I would recommend this one. Over all I give this on a B.
Lady Cecelia Stanton is forced into an arranged marriage to William, a notorious rake. Cecelia is gently bred young woman and not accustomed to the bawdy speech her husband employs towards her. He introduction to lovemaking is so unpleasant she confessed all to her maid, Bess. Bess feel for her and wants her to know that pleasure can be derived from sexual intercourse. So, she proceeds to show Cecelia how to experience sexual pleasure.
This short story/novella is the story of a woman that wants to please her husband and does love him, but is slow to learn how to enjoy relations with him. Her pleasure comes easily however with Bess. So, in my opinion, the experiences with Bess are mainly experimental, although she does love Bess, it's more of a friendship. After putting up with her husband's infidelities and learning to make do in her own way, Cecelia opens her mind up to other types of sexual experimentation.
This story is more erotica than romance, especially for me since I really never liked William. Also, for the most part erotica is not my cup of tea. But, this was a new author and a new publisher, a believe an Australian division of Harlequin, so I thought I would give it a try. The author does a great job of telling a complete story is a very limited space.
If you enjoy erotica I would recommend this one. Over all I give this on a B.
theladyinreds's review
2.0
**Arc provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
This story is a short erotic historical in which Lady Cecelia Stanton chronicles her erotic adventures.
Unfortunately, I like plot that makes sense, characters I'm interested in, and sex that's erotic in my erotic fiction and I didn't feel like I got that here.
The whole thing was pretty bare bones and felt more like an outline for a story rather than a complete story in itself. I thought the husband was an extreme douche. I also thought the language was silly ("You shall become used to my manner, I hope, and if I do say your rump looks ripe for a rogering…"). There's cheating galore. And the lesbian sex scenes were perfunctory as hell.
This did not work for me.
This story is a short erotic historical in which Lady Cecelia Stanton chronicles her erotic adventures.
Unfortunately, I like plot that makes sense, characters I'm interested in, and sex that's erotic in my erotic fiction and I didn't feel like I got that here.
The whole thing was pretty bare bones and felt more like an outline for a story rather than a complete story in itself. I thought the husband was an extreme douche. I also thought the language was silly ("You shall become used to my manner, I hope, and if I do say your rump looks ripe for a rogering…"). There's cheating galore. And the lesbian sex scenes were perfunctory as hell.
This did not work for me.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
3.0
*I received a free ARC of The Wicked Confessions of Lady Cecelia Stanton from Escape Publishing via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
This is a hot little number with scandalous behaviors both on the part of the lady and the lord of the house.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
This is a hot little number with scandalous behaviors both on the part of the lady and the lord of the house.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
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