Anh Leod

3.5 Stars

Brace Howell only meant to spend his evening gambling with friends at the gentlemen's club until the portrait of a woman with a clockwork collar captures his attention so completely that he just has to have her.

Celeste has been a sex slave at the gentlemen's club ever since her father used her to pay off his debts. A clockwork device pierced into her skin not only keeps time with her customers but also ensures she can never escape without being found. When her latest customer shows up, she recognizes in him her childhood friend, but he once knew her as Liza Flaherty. Though he doesn't recognize her, he feels a connection to her that he can't explain. He notices the scars she's collected from her harsh lifestyle and vows to give her only pleasure, to replace the bad memories. Once she confides her real identity to him, he forms a plan to break her out of her prison and run away with her.

This erotic novella had a great steampunk feel to it. While I'm not sure if his rescue method was actually possible, it made the great escape a little more exciting. It amused me that Brace's inventor pal invented the vibrator and the vibrating bed. This was short and sweet, but I liked the tenderness in the love scenes.… (meer)