I rarely give single stars, but this was not good. Even for a short story, even for a steam-focused one, this was disappointing. This felt like it was thrown together, from start to finish, in a single weekend and without the help of an editor. It's terribly disjointed, basically just a few ideas for sexual scenarios half-way played out, with a huge amount of unrelated fluff thrown in as filler. The main characters hardly interact with each other- like truly, barely a conversation had or even a sexual interaction that isn't part performance between them- much less any sort of involvement where they might gain an actual understanding for each other, so the idea that these two strangers should get married by the end is a bit unsettling. The whole thing is preposterous really, which I might consider forgiving if they actually had chemistry or if the steamy scenes were as intriguing or hot as I think they're hoping to be. ( )

Erotic Victorian Tale

An unusual story, set at a time when women had little freedom. An Earl needs a wife, but most suitable candidates are too vacuous.. The exotic woman he meets at his club enthralls him even as she leads him astray. Quite well done, yet it left me unsatisfied. ( )

Allow an afternoon for this definitely adult example of Victorian erotica in which BDSM forms the basis for the desire by Henry for Mademoiselle Noire. I had an ARC via Booksprout and this voluntary review is my own opinion. ( )

More of an 2.5

The writing style seemed to get in thw way. ( )

More of an 2.5

The writing style seemed to get in thw way. ( )