ANY WICKED THING by Margaret Rowe

PUBLISHER: Berkley, May 201
SETTING: England, 1818
HEROINE: Fredericka Wells, 28
HERO: Sebastian Goddard, 31
VIRGIN HEROINE? Yes
PURCHASE: link
GRADE: B

FROM PUBLISHER: Ten years ago Sebastian Goddard, heir to the duke of Roxbury, had a night of reckless passion and was betrayed by his oldest friend Fredericka Wells. Devastated, he embarked on a new life of debauchery that earned him the nickname Lord of Sin.

Now Sebastian has returned to find his estate in ruins, and Freddie more seductive than ever. He’s determined to pay her back in spades. But Freddie makes him an offer…she’ll be his mistress for a month if he’ll consent to sell her Goddard Castle.

Sebastian plans to scandalize Freddie-to tease her every desire and leave her wanting. But his fiery-willed lover soon teaches him the past may not be what it seemed.

MY THOUGHTS: This is another spicy historical. I liked that the hero and heroine grew up together, though as adults didn’t seem to get along too well. The hero was once imprisoned for eight months and had developed an opium addiction and, fortunately for him, overcame it. He wasn’t the nicest hero. He was always a bit rude toward the heroine and I didn’t feel any emotion for her coming from him. He only lusted after her.

Freddie was her own woman, not a wimpy heroine in any way. She was content to be single and didn’t want to marry. She had her own money, which her father left her when he died. She fancied herself in love with Sebastian for most of her life but I never felt it.

The two made a deal to have sex with each other for a month and boy, did they have fun and so did I reading it! There was plenty of graphic sex and if you’re reading it for that reason alone, you shouldn’t be disappointed. They were childhood friends, and housemates, that happened to fall in lust but I, as the reader, was left feeling disappointed by their lack of affection for each other.

I must say I LOVE the cover. It’s very pretty!

Margaret Rowe also writes under the name Maggie Robinson.

I received this from the publisher or author in 2011 in exchange for an honest review.

TEMPTING EDEN by Margaret Rowe

PUBLISHER: Berkley, June 2010
SETTING: England, 1818
GENRE: Fiction/Erotic Historical Romance
PURCHASE: link
VIRGIN HEROINE? No   
MY GRADE: A-

FROM PUBLISHER: Eden Emery is no stranger to sin. To keep her sister safe from harm, she’s paid a steep price with her body-and very nearly lost her soul. But when Baron Ivor Hartford, the man who has dishonored her, finally dies, her troubles are far from over.

Major Stuart Hartford, the late baron’s nephew, is in the market for an honorable wife, but first he has to take care of the matter of his Uncle Ivor’s ward, Eden-a young woman who makes him question the virtue of being proper. For the passion she incites burns away his inhibitions and inflames his heart.

But Eden has vowed to never again cede her destiny to a man. And Hart is left with no choice but to tempt the temptress herself…

MY THOUGHTS: Boy, was this one dark story with a heroine who had an unusual past. We got to hear about it through book excerpts what were written by her sex partner, Ivor. They were graphic and a bit disturbing. Eden really had no choice in the matter when she began a sexual relationship with him four years earlier, at the age of eighteen. Even though she had to do it, she loved every minute of it.

I didn’t really sense a love connection between Eden and Stuart even though we were told they loved each other. I never understood why Stuart wanted to marry her so soon. I never understood why she turned him down so many times. She did feel she was unworthy but that too didn’t seem true. Both characters were very likeable but I wish Stuart had been a little more alpha.

All of the sex scenes were very graphic and I enjoyed them. There was even one with the heroine using a dildo anally. I preferred the scenes that were between Eden and Ivor to those between her and Stuart, the hero. I think the ones with Ivor were more graphic and detailed.

I found it interesting that the author created a young heroine, twenty-two, who was very skilled/experienced at sex and actually liked it. That’s not the usual type of historical heroine we’re given and I found it a refreshing change.

Ms. Rowe also writes under the name Maggie Robinson. You can check out her website here.

Books by Margaret Rowe:
-Tempting Eden June 2010
-Any Wicked Thing Mar 2011

Books by Maggie Robinson:
-Mistress by Mistake May 2011
-Not Quite a Courtesan (short story in Lords Of Passion) Dec 2010
-Mistress by Midnight Jan 2011
-To Match a Thief (short story in Improper Gentlemen) August 2011
-Mistress by Marriage Sept 2011

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.