SIMPLY INSATIABLE by Kate Pearce

PUBLISHER: Aphrodisia May 2010
GENRE: Historical Erotic Romance
SETTING: England, 1800s
SERIES: House of Pleasure, book 5
MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: No fantasy is too wild for Madame Helene's Pleasure House -- a brothel in Regency England where forbidden desires are more than welcome...

Lord Blaize Minshom is known throughout London for embracing every illicit longing -- the more scandalous, the better. When his estranged wife, Lady Jane, returns with an ultimatum to give her a baby, he flatly refuses -- even if it means she will turn to other men. Forced to watch Jane flirt shamelessly at the House of Pleasure, Minshom is enraged...and excited. The innocent girl he wed at seventeen has transformed into a voluptuous woman who still ignites a scorching hunger within him...

After seven years apart from her husband, Jane is now ready to settle their differences and start a family. But when she is reunited with Minshom, his attitude infuriates her -- and she is determined to teach him a lesson. Yet even as Jane accepts the attentions of other men, it is Minshom she truly wants. For she alone knows how to satisfy all of his wicked needs...

MY THOUGHTS: Well, this novel was certainly up my alley. I really enjoy m/m erotica and wasn't let down at all by this. Lord Blaize Minshom is a very dark, hard, angry and scarred man due to his terrible teen years and horrible father. He's a bit hard to like but I understand his anger and need to dominate his sex partners. I didn't really like or dislike the heroine, Jane. To be honest, I wish she hadn't been in the story. I have a hard time believing she could love her husband and not care that he's out having sex with lots of other people. I didn't think Blaize's feelings for her were believable at all. He says that he doesn't prefer men but I don't believe it.

My favorite characters are Robert Brown and Captain David Gray. Now there's a couple I could read about all day. Robert is very submissive and I feel sorry for him. To me, he seems really beatten down and I'd really like to know more about him. I would so love for them to be the stars of a spin-off series.

One of the best threesome sex scenes I'd ever read about took place in this novel and I won't soon forget it. Two thumbs up to you Kate Pearce! I do look forward to reading more from you. I'll be getting this entire series because I must know about all the characters in this novel who were introduced in the previous novels. I really want to know about Blaize Minshome and Lord Anthony Sokorvsky.

I don't like this cover at all because it looks contemporary.

Other books in this series are:

• Simply Sexual
• Simply Sinful
• Simply Shameless
• Simply Wicked
• Simply Insatiable
• Simply Forbidden
• Simply Carnal
• 
  

I won this in an online giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

SIMPLY FORBIDDEN by Kate Pearce

PUB INFO.: Brava, 1/25/2011
GENRE: Historical Erotic Romance
SETTING: England, 1822
SERIES: House of Pleasure, Book 6
MY GRADE: A

From Publisher:

Nothing’s More Satisfying Than. . .

With an unconventional upbringing and a reputation as a shameless flirt, Lisette Delornay-Ross is not your typical young lady of the ton. Unlike her peers, she is not afraid to follow her desires. And what she desires is Major Lord Gabriel Swanfield.

Fulfilling Forbidden Passions. . .

Returned to England after his harrowing ordeal as a war prisoner, Gabriel has shunned society. When Lisette brazenly confronts him, he feels an overwhelming stirring of lust. He’s sure she would never entertain the illicit desires he indulges at Madame Helene’s. But when he kisses her, he discovers her thirst for pleasure–and adventure–matches his. . .

MY THOUGHTS: This story takes place in England in 1822. The hero is thirty year old Gabriel Swanfield. He has dark hair and blue eyes and is bisexual. The heroine is twenty-one year old Lisette Delornay-Ross. She has light brown hair and hazel eyes. She’s got a twin brother named Christian.

I’m a big fan of this series, having read the two previous ones. I now consider Kate Pearce a favorite author. I enjoyed the sexual chemistry between hero and heroine and wasn’t let down by any of the intimate scenes. Gabriel is the kind of hero I like; slightly tortured. He has physical and emotional scars and was a war prisoner in Spain. He’s also the product of rape. He really has no family and is on bad terms with his two cousins.

The heroine is experienced sexually, which isn’t that common for historical romances. I like her personality but found her to be a bit childish at times. My favorite part of the whole novel is when she played a couple of sexual pranks on the hero. I thought that was genius of the author and original. It had me grinning from ear to ear. Lisette is a character I envy! You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out what I’m talking about. I doubt you’ll have any complaints.

I liked the secondary characters, especially the friends of Gabriel. The heroine’s brother Christian, I suspect he might get his own story and I wouldn’t mind if he did. At first I detected a bit of jealousy from him when it came to Lisette and Gabriel but I’m not sure if that’s true.

I enjoyed all the sex in the book, all nine or more scenes and was impressed by the explicitness of them. It’s just what I like and Kate knows how to deliver them. I did enjoy the first 2/3 of the story more than the last 1/3. It dragged a slight bit for me. Also, I didn’t find their love to be that believable. I was a bit uncomfortable with Lisette and her family being so open with one another with their sex lives. It made me cringe a little.

I couldn’t have been more pleased with this novel. I recommend it to any and all who like explicit romances. I rate it 4.5/5 stars.

Other books in this series are:

•Simply Sexual 2-2008
•Simply Sinful 11-2008
•Simply Shameless 4-2009
•Simply Wicked 9-2009
•Simply Insatiable 4-2010
•Simply Forbidden 1-2011

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

LORDS OF PASSION by Virginia Henley, Kate Pearce, Maggie Robinson (Anthology)

PUBLISHER: Brava, 12/2010
GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance Anthology
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: B

FROM PUBLISHER: This dazzling new historical collection delivers a trio of heroes who are bold, dashing, and unforgettable in every way. . .

Beauty and the Brute by Virginia Henley

It's been three years since Lady Sarah Caversham set eyes on arrogant Charles Lennox--the husband her father chose for her to settle a gambling debt. Now Charles has returned, unaware that the innocent ingénue he wed is determined to turn their marriage of convenience into a blissfully passionate affair. . .

MY THOUGHTS: Story takes place in England in 1719. I'm not sure about the timespan. The heroine is Sarah, sixteen, blond and blue eyed. The hero is Charles, twenty-one, dark haired and brown eyed. They are forced to marry three years before, at the ages of thirteen and eighteen, and have been estranged for three years. Charles returns after being gone and is instantly attracted to his wife, who, apparently, looks much different than she did when last he saw her.

I didn't care for this story at all. I was bored the whole time. Charles and Sarah got along pretty well. I didn't feel much attraction on Sarah's part. She wants to get revenge on her husband for being rude to her when they first met by getting him to fall in love with her. When he does, she then tells him she wants to be a wife in name only, like before. They're estranged for a short while then get back together. Boring! The heroes sister, Anne, is featured throughout and ends up getting married. I couldn't have cared less about her. This is a short story and should have been about hero and heroine only. I wouldn't be interested in reading more about this couple or any of the secondary characters if they ever got their own books in the future. 

I grade this story a C/3 stars.

How to Seduce a Wife by Kate Pearce

Louisa March's new husband, Nicholas, is a perfect gentleman in bed--much to her disappointment. She longs for the kind of fevered passion found in her beloved romance novels. But when she dares him to seduce her properly, she discovers that Nicholas is more than ready to meet her challenge, over and over again. . .

MY THOUGHTS: This was my favorite of the three stories and was the most sexually graphic. It too was the shortest story. It takes place in England in 1816. It ties in to her Simply series. Unfortunately because it was so short it never really could get going. The couples ages weren't given but Nicholas is six years older than his wife. The hero and heroine aren't that compatable sexually. The hero, Nicholas March, sets out to seduce his wife, Louisa. They end up at the House of Pleasure, as featured in the Simply series, and reenact an abduction scene from a romance novel the heroine had been reading. The sex is very explicit and it loved it.  

I grade this story an A/5 stars.

Not Quite a Courtesan by Maggie Robinson

Sensible bluestocking Prudence Thorn has been too busy keeping her cousin Sophy out of trouble to experience any adventures of her own. But when Sophy begs Prudence's help in saving her marriage, Pru encounters handsome, worldly Darius Shaw. And under Darius's skilled tutelage, Pru learns just how delightful a little scandal can be. . .

MY THOUGHTS: This story was pretty enjoyable and explicit. I liked the hero and heroine and thought they made a good pair. At the end, I didn't like that after knowing each other only four days they decided to marry in six months. 

I grade this an A-/4.75 stars.