I dove eagerly into this one after first reading its sequel, A Man and a Woman. The novella's hero is a eunuch called Muhammed and his story of redemption and love was very powerful. I was absolutely riveted by that story and read it through three times in a row before I felt satisfied that I had absorbed all of it. So I was incredibly let down by this book when it didn't come close to living up to its successor.

A Man and a Woman is an emotionally complex story. It was compelling and intense because it had been whittled down to only its vital parts. Nothing extraneous had been left to muck up the plot. Not so here in The Lady's Tutor. While this is an emotionally complex story, it was bogged down with a complicated, unpleasant subplot that beggared belief in an effort to make our heroine's position in life untenable and also inescapable.

In just 100 pages, the sequel novella plumbed the depths of its characters' loneliness and the pain of their pasts. At nearly four times that length, this book left dramatic reveals of the hero's complicated past until the last few pages and delivered them dryly in the middle of a climactic sex scene. We never experience the hero's real emotional struggles, even though it's obvious from early in the book that he has fallen in love while the heroine is still just lusting. On that note, it's not really clear why the hero falls in love with our heroine. She's passionate and she wants him physically, but she's fearful and often cruel to him and never properly apologizes for her behavior, which continues until the very last scene of the book.

While I admire the author's incredible work developing the heroine's character, I couldn't like the woman. I like shy, inexperienced, eager heroines. On the surface, Elizabeth was all those things, but she was also scornful, repressed, and extremely self-righteous. In the book's opening scene, the hero's thoughts make it very clear that he wants a woman that will give, not just take her pleasure from him; he's been mistreated by women who see him as an exotic sex object. Sadly, that's never explored in the plot and the unlikeable heroine doesn't decide to put all he had taught her about pleasuring a man into practice until the very last scene. Poor Ramiel gave and gave and gave; he offered her first his knowledge, then his protection, the run of his home and fortune, sexual gratification on a very grand scale, and the f--ing heroine didn't even trust the man not to poison her children. She continues calling him and thinking of him as "The Bastard Sheikh" until nearly the end of the book. The man was so touched when she finally used his first name that he was moved to tears. It was awful to read.

This story also includes some truly bizarre sexual depravity from supporting characters. All of which I could overlook (the author's note even points out that some of what took place was historically founded). But I could not get past the incredibly intimate behavior between Ramiel and his mother. Perhaps it could be explained by their lives spent in a harem, but it was uncomfortable to read about a mother grooming a woman to seduce her son.

I find myself in a quandary. I've read two of this author's works. One was an absolute hands-down 5-star read and this one made me ill. Hard to decide whether to try again.

On a, admittedly tedious, editing note, there are some very odd sentences in this book that an editor should have caught. Words used incorrectly and two sentences were antonyms were mistakenly used for the words that were intended. For example:

"Perhaps her actions warranted some sort of reprieve, but her sons were only children."

To deserve a reprieve is to deserve a relief or postponement of punishment. The sentence then makes no sense. Elizabeth's actions did not deserve a reprieve, they deserved a reproof or a rebuke or retribution. Later, the word "perpetrate" is used instead of "perpetuate," again rendering the sentence nonsensical. I can't be the only reader who finds this kind of thing infuriating.


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*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Petre is the perfect politician’s wife. She supports her husband’s climbing career to Prime Minister, she helps her mother with her father’s job as Prime Minister and she loves her two sons more than anything. However, she’s lonely. Her husband hasn’t touched her since she became pregnant with her youngest son and she’s determined to seduce her husband. But how to go about it when you’re a properly brought up Victorian wife? By arranging secret lessons with the Bastard Sheikh, Ramiel Devington, that’s how. She refuses to cheat on her husband, so Ramiel gives her a book to read and demands that she return each morning for discussion of each chapter. However, during these intimate sessions, they become close until it’s nearly impossible to refrain from acting on their attraction. But when Elizabeth’s life takes a sinister turn, all the things she thought she knew are torn away from her and she’s left with the raw painful truth. Will their budding relationship survive a condemning and ruthless ton?

I derive a secret giddy pleasure from historical erotica. It’s just so very naughty! While this historical romance has erotic subject matter it’s all just discussion and the reading of the book until much later when Elizabeth and Ramiel finally give into their attraction. The buildup is delicious! I really like the characters, even the secondary ones. It’s a tad wordy for me, but the twists are wonderful even if the drama toward the end is a bit overdone. Still, this is a book that will tug at your heart as well as other *ahem* places. ( )

What the everloving fuck did I just read? ( )

WARNING: If you want to enjoy the surprises that this book cleverly reveals, don't read the more critical reviews here on Goodreads. There are many which should have spoiler labels but don't.

Elizabeth, a proper Victorian lady, wife of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and daughter of the Prime Minister, hopes to repair her loveless marriage, so she seeks out Ramiel, the infamous Bastard Sheik, to give her instruction on how to please a man. He is the son of an English noblewoman and an Arab sheik and reputed to be a consummate lover. Her lessons are centered around discussing The Perfumed Garden For The Soul's Recreation, a four hundred year old book on the art of lovemaking. There is to be no touching, just talking.

From this improbable beginning, Robin Schone creates a believable romantic story, as we come to understand how terribly lonely and unloved Elizabeth feels. She is convinced that her husband has a mistress and longs to feel attractive, even at the "advanced" age of 33 and after giving birth to two sons. She is committed to her marriage, however, and not looking to have an affair with Ramiel.

Gradually, Ramiel falls in love with her, and after rejection by her husband and a shocking series of events, Elizabeth seeks his protection and they become lovers. From this point, the plot is full of surprises that I won't reveal here.

The book is full of graphic discussions and depictions of sex, but Ramiel and Elizabeth don't come together until about two-thirds of the way into the book. Once you realize how utterly loveless Elizabeth's experiences with her husband have been, you can't help but root for her to cut loose and enjoy herself.

Ramiel's mother, Elizabeth's parents, and even the servants are strong secondary characters who play integral roles in the plot, which keeps you guessing until the very end. ( )

This old school romance/erotic novel didn't work for me. The characters never stepped out of their stereotypes, the sexual by-play between the hero and heroine seemed overly academic, and the villains were so over the top I couldn't stop the eye rolls. ( )