My first by Ms Ashton, one of the top authors from the Nexus stable, and I must admit that I selected this one largely on the strength of the cover.

The plot is structured around a quest. An academic librarian must submit to a series of ordeals in order to obtain the original manuscript of a lost story by De Sade from a secret society of wealthy libertines. Our heroine is subject to complex intrigues and manipulation, and the ordeals involve sacrilege, pleasure and pain. The structure, and the blasphemous elements in particular, are an authentic nod to Sade, but these lack the sense of guilt that might have given them a charge. The sex is unrelenting, but for me, the proceedings lacked a certain something: too many slim, perfect bodies, glamorous European locations with a lack of telling detail, no real shocks and not a trace of humor. A professionally written piece for sure, and imaginatively constructed, but for me, somehow lacking that vital spark.

That cover? The model is the voluptuous Chloe Vevrier. If you'd like to see more, I suggest a search on her name and the word "Librarian". ( )