Ratings30
Average rating3.4
There comes a time in a womanrsquo;s life when she must do the unthinkable - and find employment. For the widowed Anna Wren, that means taking a job as female secretary for the Earl of Swartingham. Secretaries are always male - never female - as Anna well knows but the real downfall of her career is the realisation that she is falling in love with Edward de Raaf - the Earl. But when she realises that he is going to visit a brothel in London to take care of his 'manly' desires, Anna sees red - and decides to take advantage of the opportunity to also take care of her 'womanly' desires - with the Earl as her unknowing lover. But the Earl has another reason for going to London. He is formalising his betrothal and trying (with little success) to forget about a secretary that has no right being female. Unhandsome, he knows that no woman wants him. Except for the mysterious lady with whom he spent two unforgettable nights at Aphroditersquo;s Grotto, the most scandalous brothel in London. But when Annarsquo;s plan is revealed, a bit of blackmail is thrown into the mix, a proposal is rejected and even the Earl himself will be unprepared for the intrigues that ensnare them.
Featured Series
3 primary books4 released booksPrinces is a 4-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2002 with contributions by Elizabeth Hoyt.
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This book is quite light-hearted, but definitely heavy on the sex. I started this book expecting a simple story with the main obstacles being the Earl's obnoxious behavior and Anna's widow-status, but what we got instead was a story revolving more around brothels and the inability to have children. So, I did feel a bit confused, but I thought it gave the story more depth and is one of those times when I'm glad the synopsis did not ruin the entire story.This is not a complex story, so the characters were not super complex, but they were still enjoyable. We have the stereotypes of the village ‘slut' if you will, the smart heroine who has been wrong, the brutish hero who is more than he seems, and some other side characters with a little life to them. These aren't new characters, but the way they were written, kept the story from seeming ‘done-before'.Unfortunately, I did find the plot to be a bit unbelievable, especially for that time period, but if the reader can overlook that, then I think they will enjoy the book. But, a proper lady ‘stepping out of her role' and having sex in a brothel, even though she picked and knew the man she had sex with, seems so out of character for the time.I do want to talk about the fairy tale told in snippets at the start to each chapter, The Raven Prince. I did not understand why the fairy tale was being told or how it related to the story. The last chapter, did somewhat bring it around, but the way it was told made it seem like the story was supposed to relate to this fairy tale. I did not see the connect, so perhaps someone else could help me out with that...All in all, it was an enjoyable book and I will be continuing the series.–[b:Three Weeks With Lady X 18052956 Three Weeks With Lady X (Desperate Duchesses by the Numbers, #1; Desperate Duchesses, #7) Eloisa James https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382507520s/18052956.jpg 25337638]These books feature women who fall in love with their exasperating, but wealthy, employers in the Georgian era.–[b:And Then He Kissed Her 97781 And Then He Kissed Her (Girl Bachelors, #1) Laura Lee Guhrke https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349735799s/97781.jpg 94261]Beautiful women in historical settings who end up with exasperating employers.–[b:Some Enchanted Evening 490431 Some Enchanted Evening (Lost Princesses, #1) Christina Dodd https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1175191198s/490431.jpg 633010]Historical settings with women who fall in love with stubborn men.–[b:My Lady Notorious 1022794 My Lady Notorious (Malloren, #1) Jo Beverley https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1324866492s/1022794.jpg 1008977]This is for the reader who wants a bit more action, but still a Georgian romance.
This was a really cute story. I love the classic Disney princess films (the animated ones, not the live-action ones), and I'm a big fan of Disney Dreamlight Valley, so I picked this up and gave it a try. It's not a super deep story, not the greatest writing, and this could've probably been better off being a light middle grade novel, but it was a fun read.
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