SIMPLY SHAMELESS by Kate Pearce

PUBLISHER: Aphrodisia, 2009
GENRE: Historical Erotic Romance
SETTING: England, 1819
SERIES: House of Pleasure, #3
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: D

SYNOPSIS: One forbidden weekend years ago, Helene Delornay found herself stranded with a total stranger. Bold, virile, and well-schooled in the erotic arts, Philip Ross opened Helene's eyes to a world of sexual delight she never knew existed. Now proprietress of London's most exclusive house of pleasure, Helene never forgot the carnal bliss she shared with Philip—and she never found another man who could satisfy the insatiable cravings he awakened within her...

When Philip suddenly returns to Helene's life, the physical attraction they share is far too strong for either to deny. Now as they explore their fantasies and take them beyond the limit, Helene discovers that her feelings for Philip run far deeper than that of just a lover...

MY THOUGHTS: This was awful. Nothing at all made sense to me. Helene is French and blonde with blue eyes. When she was a teen her family was captured during the French Revolution. In order for her life to be spared, she had to become a prostitute and service the soldiers. She was not quite fourteen and had a daughter, Marguerite, the following year.

Eighteen years after the prologue she's thirty-six and co-owns a 'pleasure house' with two male ex-prisoners of war that she helped escape when she was a teen. Members pay a yearly fee to have sex there with other members.

She's the mother of a twenty-one year old daughter and mother of eighteen-year old twins, Lisette and Christian. She's a terrible mother. When the twins were one, all the children were sent away to school in Normandy. She lied to them about her occupation and never even gave them her address! I don't think they ever visited her. She seems uncaring and doesn't understand why the twins don't seem to like her, especially Christian.

Philip is someone she'd met eighteen years before, right before she became involved with the pleasure house. They'd only known each other for one sex-filled weekend. He's around forty now, has blond hair and brown-hazel eyes. He's got a nasty attitude and is uptight. Coincidentally he came back into her life. They both said, at different times, that she 'left him' eighteen years before, as if they'd been in a relationship with each other. That comment is so puzzling to me.

There was an unbelievably outrageous sexual incident that happened between Philip, his wife, and her lover years before that had me rolling my eyes, is was that ridiculous. She died after years of declining health but we were never told what was ailing her. Their marriage was a sham and the story behind it was ridiculous and not at all believable.

One thing I didn't understand and found annoying was when her oldest daughter got married without telling her, Helene hired people to track her down. I don't know why the daughter was even brought into the story or why what went down with her husband happened at all. Both were useless characters that didn't do anything for the story.

George, one of Helene's business partners, is obsessed with marrying her, even though he's already married. It was discovered by Philip, who now co-owns the place too, that George has been stealing money from the business. When Helene finds out about it she's not mad and offers to help him out financially!

I really don't have anything positive to say about this book other than the sex scenes were explicit, just how I like them, and there were at least six of them, two of which involved Philip and a man named Adam, which I liked best. The characters were emotionless, except for Christian, and the whole novel just didn't make sense.

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

PAUL BERNARDO AND KARLA HOMOLKA: The True Story of the Ken and Barbie Killers (Crimes Canada: True Crimes That Shocked the Nation #3) by Peter Vronsky

PUBLISHING INFO: VP Publication, 5/2015
GENRE: Nonfiction/true crime/serial killers
PURCHASE: link
PAUL WIKI: link
KARLA WIKI: link
MY GRADE: B

FROM PUBLISHER: Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka were so perfectly iconic as a newlywed couple that they were dubbed "Ken and Barbie". But their marriage had a dark side involving sex, death, and videotape. The 'perfect couple' first raped and murdered Karla's little sister and then kidnapped teenage schoolgirls whom they enslaved, raped, tortured and killed while gleefully recording themselves on video doing it. Vronsky will take you on the journey from the Scarborough Rapist (Bernardo) to Bordelais (Homolka's current last name) and her return to Canada in October, 2014 from the island of Gaudeloupe where she lived for several years with her husband and three children.

MY THOUGHTS: Though this book is condensed, just 161 pages, I feel like all the pertinent information was given and I don't really feel like I missed out on much. Though I know what Karla's been up to since her release from prison in July 2005, I think a bit more information should have been given about it. It wasn't even mentioned that she'd had an online children's clothing line until 2012/13.

The author is very unprofessional in his language. He used the word 'shit' to describe something, called another female serial killer 'stupid', called three other female killers 'trolls' when talking about how he doesn't think they're as attractive as Karla. He said Karla was a Facebook 'slut' before there was a Facebook. He called something a 'cluster-fuck', talked about 'blow jobs', 'licking ass', and 'sick, horrific shit'. Said Karla's husband was 'troll-like' and called Karla a 'homicidal bitch'.

He incorrectly stated that the three murdered girls would be 'in their forties'. Wrong. Only Karla's sister Tammy would be 40 this year, the other two, 39.

I've read many a nonfiction book, have since 1995, and have never seen an author sound so unprofessional. That would never have been allowed in a book being published by a major publisher. I'm embarrassed for him and don't know why the publisher allowed it. That's the type of language you read on blogs, forums, ect., not in professionally published books.

I think the book is well written, though lacking a bit in information in some areas. For someone who's never read about this case before, I don't recommend that you start with this. I think you need to start with one that has more information, such as Deadly Innocence (which has interviews with their friends), Invisible Darkness, or Lethal Marriage. I'd never read anything by this author again because of his lack of professionalism.

Other books about Paul and Karla:

Karla's Web by Frank Davies (published before Paul's trial in '95, I bought this in 2002 but never finished it)
Deadly Innocence (My favorite. I've read it three times and even wrote to Alan Cairns in 2002.)
Lethal Marriage by Nick Pron (read once)
Invisible Darkness by Stephen Williams (read twice)
Paul's Case: The Kingston Letters by Lynn Crosbie (not interested in reading)
Karla: A Pact with the Devil by Stephen Williams (read once)
Finding Karla by Paula Todd (not interested in reading)
Behind Every Successful Psychopath by Patricia Pearson (not interested in reading)
The Masks of Karla Homolka: My Interviews with Karla Homolka - The Ken and Barbie Sex Killer! by Dr. Paul Dawson (I bought this the other day. It's a gigantic paperback.)

Lori (now married and goes by Logan Tanner) Homolka's Facebook page is here.

Anything you want to know about Paul, Karla, and the trial can be found on the Watching Karla Homolka forum.

I've been reading about Paul and Karla since February 2001 and have seen three or four documentaries on them. My favorite is MSNBC Investigates 'To Have and to Kill' episode from 2000.

I purchased this book myself.

THE BUNDY MURDERS: A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY by Kevin M. Sullivan

PUBLISHING INFO: McFarland
GENRE: Nonfiction/True Crime
PURCHASE: link
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: A-

FROM PUBLISHER: Theodore Bundy was one of the most infamous, flamboyant American serial killers on record, and his story is a complex mix of psychopathology, criminal investigation, and the U.S. legal system. This in-depth examination of Bundy's life and his killing spree that totaled dozens of victims is drawn from legal transcripts, correspondence and interviews with detectives and prosecutors. Using these sources, new information on several murders is unveiled. The biography follows Bundy from his broken family background to his execution in the electric chair.

MY THOUGHTS: This was pretty informative and would be a good book for someone to begin with if they've never read about Ted. For the most part the murders are in chronological order but the story does jump around a bit.

I wish the author had gone into Ted's childhood/parentage a whole lot more and maybe discussed past interviews that his mother had given to the press. I wanted to know more about his wife, Carole Boone. He never mentioned Carol having Ted's child or how she could have gotten pregnant by him while he was in prison, since they had no conjugal visits (that we know of). But this book is titled 'The Bundy Murders' so murders are the primary focus of the book.

I don't like how, instead of using the word 'rape', the author says Ted either 'made love' or 'had sex' with the victim, during or after death. You can't do either to a kidnapped victim.

Ted confessed to over thirty murders and I wish there had been a list of names and dates in the book.

Overall I found this to be pretty detailed in some ways, every interesting throughout, and totally lacking in details in some places.

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

MY STORY by Marilyn Chambers

PUBLISHER: BearManor Media, 7/2014, updated
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: Warner Books, 1975
GENRE: Nonfiction/Memoir/Pornography
MARILYN ARCHIVE: link
MY GRADE: D

FROM PUBLISHER: The intimate, uncensored reissued erotobiography that is pure-as-Ivory Snow. The sexy girl next door who turned on the world talks openly in detail about her fantasies and what turns her on. Twenty-six pages of personal photos of the star of Behind the Green Door and The Resurrection of Eve.

MY THOUGHTS: This autobiography started out good with all the stuff you'd expect in one. Where she grew up, what her childhood was like, how she got into the sex business, and so on but damn, it's a nonstop sex fest and I got so sick of reading it, and it's a short book...couldn't wait for it to end. Literally almost every single page was just graphic sexual ramblings of how horny she is. We get it, Marilyn, you like sex, but your filthy language was too much.

The page count for the original publication of this book was around 200 and nineteen of those was taken up by sexually graphic fan mail letters she received, which I didn't care at all about. Another twelve pages was taken up by letters people wrote to her for her sex advise column in Genesis magazine in the 70's. Total waste of space.

There's a three-page forward by her daughter that was really pointless and unnecessary and just a two-page afterward/epilogue. Since this book was written thirty-nine years before the reissue in 2014, the epilogue should have been at least a chapter long and should have been written by someone who actually knows something about her and could have given some useful, interesting information on the woman, who is a legend in the porn world.

Wikipedia has more info on her, like her drug addition that wasn't even mentioned in the epilogue, and her death in 2009.

You can read her adult fimography here.

You can read my review for her 1980 porn Insatiable here.

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

DEATH OF INNOCENCE: The True Story of an Unspeakable Teenage Crime by Peter Meyer

PUBLISHING INFO: Berkley, 7/1986
ORIGINAL PUB: Putnam, 4/1985
GENRE: Nonfiction/True Crime/Rape/Murder
SETTING: Vermont, 1981
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: One early spring day, two young girls took a short-cut home from school through the woods. Then in a few horrifying moments, the tranquility of the day was shattered by rape, torture and murder. A small Vermont town and the entire nation was stunned - these gruesome crimes had been committed not by hardened criminals but by two young boys, fifteen and sixteen years old.

One of America's finest investigative journalists, Peter Meyer, recounts this provocative true story of terror in the small Vermont town of Essex Junction. He powerfully recreates this tragic case and its complex emotional aftermath - the statewide manhunt, the trial, and the chilling results that sent one teenage killer to prison for life and set the other free after two and a half years. Here is the shocking story.

BOOK SUMMARY: On Friday May 15, 1981, twelve-year old friends Melissa Walbridge and Meghan O'Rourke, almost nine months apart in age, were raped, and one was murdered, by teenage friends, fifteen-year old Jamie Savage, and sixteen-year old Louis 'Louie' Hamlin. Both girls were very thin and under 5' tall.

Both girls were raped, sodomized, shot multiple times with a BB gun (Melissa was shot through the eye), strangled, and stabbed multiple times. A stab through the heart is what killed Melissa, the older of the two, born 7/17/68. Meghan survived because she's passed out and Jamie and Louie though she was dead, so they left her and put an old mattress over her and Melissa's bodies. Meghan came to, and walked out of the woods, naked and bleeding badly. A flagman working a few yards away at the railroad tracks, Alton Bruso, saw her, ran over to her, she asked for help, and he and a few coworkers, Howard Constantine and Alfred Laidman, called the police. From a distance Alton thought Meghan was wearing a red bathing suit, she was that bloody.

It took just over a week to find Jamie and Louie. Neither showed any remorse and neither seems to have a conscience.

After they were arrested and Louie's house was searched, officers found in the basement a lot of pornographic photos of Louie's fifteen-year old sister, Lisa, that her father had taken. She said he'd been molesting her since she was four and told her she'd only have to 'do it' until she was eighteen. Louie and his older brother said they'd been molested by their father too. The father, Butch, got a prison sentence of only 6-15 years for molesting Lisa, so he's been out a really long time. I don't know if he was questioned about molesting his other children.

Louis- Born 10/29/64. He's 5'7", stocky, very dark hair with thick eyebrows and a unibrow. He's been violent his whole life. He didn't say how long he'd been molested by his father. He came from a poor family. There was no mention of what his IQ was. He's the second oldest of five children, and was born to teenage parents. At the time of his arrest he was on probation for assaulting a college girl, Candy Hackett, four months before. She was walking along one day when Louie showed up beside her. She got scared so engaged him in conversation in hopes he wouldn't hurt her and it worked for awhile. He later confessed to the author via telephone from prison that he'd intended to rape Candy.

Almost two years before killing Melissa, days before his fifteenth birthday, he'd been arrested for attempting to rape his thirteen-year old sister, Lisa. One day at home he forced her to get naked, he got naked too and laid on top of her but didn't penetrate her. She told their mother and the mother called the police. I don't understand why Lisa told on him yet didn't tell on her father for molesting her for years.

He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 45 years, which was the maximum sentence he could have been given. He was imprisoned in Missouri, then Wisconsin though I don't know where he's currently incarcerated nor can I find an inmate photo. He'll be 51 this October.

Jamie- Born 9/20/65. He's blond, 6' tall, lanky with acne pitting on his face. He has a low IQ of only 78, which is 'borderline impaired to delayed'. He reads at the first grade level. There was no mention of physical or sexual abuse in his past. He's violent too, at least with his siblings, but there was never any attempted rape. I don't think he actually raped Meghan though he tried but said his penis wouldn't fit. I wish who did what had been made a bit more clear.

He was released from a juvenile facility when he turned eighteen in 1983. He has no prison record and his crimes have been erased from the records since he was under the age of sixteen when the crimes were commited.

An Arizona newspaper headline from May 1984 read 'You can rape, and you can kill, and then you can move to Arizona and change your name'. That's the first time anyone knew where Jamie was located since he was arrested. It was rumored that after his arrest he was sent to Pennsylvania to serve his measly two year sentence. Maricopa County Superior Courts (Arizona) records showed that in December 1983, shortly after his release, he'd applied to have his name legally changed and his wish was granted the following month. His name was changed to John W. Barber. He'd lived with someone for a short time in an apartment in Arizona and after moving, left a forwarding address in Vermont. He'll be 50 this September.

In 1984 Jamie's twenty-year old brother was murdered. You can read about that here.

MY THOUGHTS: This was a really well written book. I learned of it by searching older true crime books at Amazon very recently. Jamie and Louis's backgrounds were explored, as were the backgrounds of the parents.

Unfortunately there aren't any photos of Jamie, Louie, or Melissa in it but there are online newspaper articles with Jamie and Louie in them, but they're hard to make out. I wish the author had interviewed the parents of Jamie and Louie.

You can see Melissa's grave here.
This story was done on Killer Kids in 2011. It's season 1, episode 3. 7:30 into the episode this story starts. You can watch it here. The author is interviewed for it.

You can read the case summary at Valley News.
In 2007 Melissa's younger brother, Judd, was arrested for sexual assault. You can see his photo here. I found a Vermont television station's post on Facebook from 2012 advertising a 'where are they now' update on the case but couldn't find the actual update video so I have no idea what's going on with anyone involved with the case.

EDIT: I did find a story from 2013 that the station did. It says that Meghan is living a 'full rich life'. It says too that Louie has been in a Colorado prison since 2000 but I can't find him listed on the Colorado Department of Corrections site.

BURIED MEMORIES: MY STORY, REVISED EDITION by Katie Beers and Carolyn Gusoff

PUBLISHING INFO: Beaufort Books, 4/2015
ORIGINALLY PUB: Titletown Publishing, 2/2013
GENRE: Nonfiction/Memoir/True Crime
SETTING: New York & Pennsylvania
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: In 1992, nine-year-old Katie Beers was kidnapped by a family friend and locked in an underground box for 17 days. Katie has now come forward to tell the story that created a national media storm as reporters uncovered the truth about her pre-kidnapping life of neglect and sexual abuse and the details of her rescue. She shares how this experience and the recent death of her kidnapper, John Esposito, has affected her life. Despite the horrible reality of Katie's days of being chained in darkness, the kidnapping was, in fact, the climactic end of a tragic childhood and the beginning of a new life. Katie breaks her silence and reveals her inspiring healing process to the journalist who covered the story of the disappearance more than twenty years ago. "Buried Memories" is the only source that includes the complete details of her traumatic childhood, transcriptions of recordings from Esposito, a first-hand account of how Katie felt after Esposito's death in 2013, and Katie's hopeful view of the future as she looks back into her dark past.

MY THOUGHTS: What a disturbing read. I like that the narration shifts from Katie to Carolyn Gusoff, who was a television reporter who actually covered Katie's case. We get more than one person's perspective on the story. One chapter will be written by Carolyn and will be about her experiences with reporting on this case at the time it was happening, and the next chapter will be written by Katie, and so on throughout the entire book. The revised edition has a few extra chapters with both authors. I thought it was very well written and informative, honest and very sad. There were many black and white photos of most of the people talked about in the book, peppered throughout the book.

The only thing that could have made this book better is if Katie's mother, brother, and piece of sh!t godmother had been interviewed for this. I really would have liked to hear what her brother had to say about his own childhood. A pretty brief summary on this case can be found at Wikipedia. You can see interviews with Katie on Youtube.

This case is similar to one from the 1970's involving a fourteen-year old boy named Paul Martin Andrews.

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

DECORUM by Kaaren Christopherson

PUBLISHER: Kensington, 3/2015
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: America/New York, 1890-91
PURCHASE: link
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: B-

FROM PUBLISHER: In 1890s New York, beautiful, wealthy Francesca Lund is an intriguing prospect for worthy suitors and fortune hunters alike. Recently orphaned, she copes by working with the poor in the city's settlement movement. But a young woman of means can't shun society for long, and Francesca's long-standing acquaintance with dashing Edmund Tracey eventually leads to engagement. Yet her sheltered upbringing doesn't blind her to the indiscretions of the well-to-do...

Among the fashionable circle that gathers around her there are mistresses, scandals, and gentlemen of ruthless ambition. And there is Connor O'Casey--an entirely new kind of New Yorker. A self-made millionaire of Irish stock, Connor wants more than riches. He wants to create a legacy in the form of a luxury Madison Avenue hotel--and he wants Francesca by his side as he does it. In a quest that will take her from impeccable Manhattan salons to the wild Canadian Rockies, Francesca must choose not only between two vastly different men, but between convention and her own emerging self-reliance.

CHARACTER SUMMARY:

Francesca is pretty ordinary. Of the three main females, Fran, Nell, and Blanche, she was my least favorite. She's twenty-eight, blonde, and lives with a slightly older married couple in New York. She's still grieving the loss of her parents and brother, who died in a boating accident.

Edmund Tracey is an auburn-haired, blue-eyed man in his early thirties who's been after Fran's money for five years. They plan to marry. He's a very violent man and his dark secrets come out.

Nell Ryder is a married woman in her early thirties who he's having an affair with. She supports him financially. Unfortunately she gets to see firsthand his violent temper, as does Francesca.

Blanche Alvarado is a black-haired, brown-eyed widow. Not only does she have a sexual relationship with Edmund, but she has one with Connor O'Casey as well.

Connor O'Casey is an Irish immigrant in his early forties who's made his fortune in mining. He takes a liking to Francesca and peruses her.

MY THOUGHTS: Those are the five main characters. I like bad, evil characters who are up to no good so I really liked Edmund, Nell, and Blanche too, to an extent. I think the Edmund/Nell storyline could have gone on much longer than it did, possibly till the very end of the story. It was the most interesting part of the entire novel but it ended too abruptly for my liking.

Francesca was terribly dull to read about and I didn't care much at all about Connor. I don't see where his attraction to Francesca came from nor do I understand why he wants to marry her so badly and laid out all the reasons she should marry him. I never felt she was attracted to him. They're an odd paring, in my opinion.

Once things with Edmund came to an end two-thirds into the story, I'm sad to say I lost interest. I didn't like anything at all about the last third of the story. Francesca and a few others traveling to Canada near the end did nothing at all for the story. Bringing Blanche back during that time was just strange and her occupation just didn't seem plausible.

There wasn't any sex or bad language in this.

There was hardly any background info on anyone at all and that's just not acceptable. On the author's website you can see the characters and learn about their backgrounds by reading the fictional The O'Casey Chronicle. Very cool idea!

Now for the aesthetics- The book cover is slightly textured and very pretty. You can read about the cover's painting here. The pages of this paperback have uneven edges, which I've just learned are called 'deckled edges' and are meant to make the book look old, as deckled edges were how most books were in the 19th century. I don't like how they look and it was very difficult to turn each page by thumb.

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

HUNTING A PSYCHOPATH: The East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker Investigation - The Original Investigator Speaks Out by Richard Shelby

PUBLISHING INFO: Booklocker, 9/2014
GENRE: Nonfiction/True Crime
SETTING: California, 1970's-1980's
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: Hunting A Psychopath chronicles the ongoing search for the identity of the serial rapist and murderer known both as the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker. The author first lays the groundwork for how the investigation was conducted. Then using what reports are still available, plus some personal insights, he examines each assault in the order they occurred. Gradually the methods used by the EAR/ONS in first searching out his victims, then stalking them, come to light.

The EAR/ONS first surfaced in June, 1976, in Sacramento, CA. He was last heard from in May, 1986, in Irvine, CA, where he brutally murdered an eighteen year old woman. In between those years he stayed busy, assaulting fifty-three people, and murdering twelve more, while spreading a blanket of fear across central CA and parts of Southern CA. It has been over thirty years now and still he has not been brought to justice.

Perhaps this continuing interest is because those wanting to involve themselves in the investigation know it can still be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

MY THOUGHTS: Richard was a detective on this case from the start and tells of his experience with the EAR's victims and suspects. I learned of a few men who were suspects at the time of the crimes, such as Art Pinkton, William Boren, 'Jamison', and so on. Some were cleared by DNA in the 2000's. There were chapters at the end, each dedicated to a few other suspects and I enjoyed learning about them.

Not too much info was given for each of the rapes, likely because that had been covered in a previous EAR book. I'd have liked to have read interviews with some of the victims. A couple of them have been interviewed for EAR documentaries.

It's still unknown to this day who the EAR is and still unknown if he's dead or alive. Police do have his DNA and I have no doubt that he'll be identified before too long.

Mr. Shelby's written a great, informative book on this case. Anyone who's interested in the EAR should be thrilled to read this.

Listen to what is believed to be EAR's voice here. He made this call to one of his rape victims.

Please watch the documentaries below.

MSNBC Investigates 'Deadly Behavior' episode.

E!'s THS Investigates from 2009.

I.D.'s (Investigation Discovery) Dark Minds, season 2, episode 1, from 2013.

There are several websites dedicated to his monster: Ear-ons.com, Casebook of the Bedroom Killer, The Quester Files.

There's an informative discussion board dedicated to the case, ear/ons/gsk, here. Ear-ons has a complete listing of all EAR's crimes, link.

Here's an article Michelle McNamara did on EAR for L.A. Magazine.

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

INSIDE SEKA: THE PLATINUM PRINCESS OF PORN by Seka with Kerry Zukus

PUBLISHING INFO: BearManor Media, 9/2013
GENRE: Autobiography
PURCHASE: link
OFFICIAL SITE: link
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: Seka—The Platinum Princess, the Marilyn Monroe of Porn, the queen of XXX cinema’s Golden Age, and John Holmes’ favorite leading lady. Seka is a legendary performer in the annals of adult cinema, and many would say the greatest. Seka’s name was so big in XXX that her name above the title was not enough—her name had to be in the title!

Seka’s real life story, though, is as enigmatic as her screen persona. She was never a victim—on-screen or off. This is no tale of remorse, abuse, or self-destructive behavior. Seka was post-feminist before the term was born. Inside Seka is the story of a survivor, a trailblazer, and an icon—still one of the most popular and famous porn stars ever; the last of the natural beauties.

MY THOUGHTS: Seka (Dorothiea 'Dottie' Hundley) is very honest and blunt. She's not very humble and is a touch arrogant when it comes to her looks and popularity. Despite that I like her a lot. She was a true porn star in the seventies through the mid-80's. Her career came to a halt when AIDS came on the scene heavily. She wanted to use condoms but the production companies didn't want to so she left but ended up making a few more films after that. She was never very responsible with her finances.

Her life has been pretty interesting. I got a bit tired of hearing about the nonporn celebrities she's met over the years. She's childless and has been happily married to Carl, husband number two, since the 2000's. She didn't mentioned why she never had kids. Did she just never want any or did she never find the right man to settle down with? She didn't say.

There are many black and white photos peppered throughout the book including a few topless ones. Thankfully she never got implants. She did have three breast lifts.

She did an interview to promote her book in September 2013. There's more info about her films here.

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

TEMPTING A SINNER by Kate Pearce

PUBLISHER: Aphrodisia, 7/29/14
GENRE: Historical Erotic Fiction
SETTING: England, 1827
SERIES: The Sinners Club, #2
PURCHASE: link
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: Within the circles of British intelligence, Benedict, Lord Keyes, is known for his cold brilliance and strict military demeanor. Yet this icy exterior masks a man of smoldering passion and scorching sexuality who will do anything to keep his past a secret. . .

Miss Malinda Keyes refuses to be intimidated by Lord Keyes. In fact, she enjoys a good battle, especially one of erotic wiles and carnal cunning. Determined to expose his lordship's past, she will use every wanton weapon in her arsenal to tease and tempt this sinner into the ultimate sensual surrender. . .

MY THOUGHTS: The synopsis doesn't really tell you what this book is about so I'll explain. Benedict, 36, with blond hair and blue eyes, has been estranged from Malinda, 35, with red hair and hazel eyes, for eighteen years. They grew up together and married when they were seventeen and eighteen. Ben's father forced them apart because he felt Malinda was beneath his son, so he made up a horrible lie to scare/run Malinda off. Malinda thought they were divorced this whole time, I'm not sure why, but they weren't. They reunite and rediscover their love for each other. I found both of them to be bland. There's a mystery they're trying to solve about who killed her father years ago. I'm sorry to say I was completely uninterested in that, which was the entire plot. Honestly, I couldn't wait for this story to end. It's completely different than the first in the series, which I couldn't get enough of.

I liked the explicit sex scenes and there were over twenty of them. There were two m/m scenes, one threesome, a few scenes between others at the Sinners Club, and the rest were just between Malinda and Ben. I'd have liked more m/m scenes. In fact, I'd like a future Sinners Club novel to have only m/m scenes.

It needs to be made more clear in each book in the series just what the Sinners Club is, exactly. It's more than a sex club for ex-military people. I couldn't get a feel of the layout of the establishment either.

There was one interesting thing in this story and it had to do with a teenaged girl named Doris, who lives with Malinda. I didn't see that revelation coming and I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see how it played out.

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