In the Flesh by Portia Da Costa
Series: Ladies' Sewing Circle
Publisher: Harlequin, 2012
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Erotica, Historical
Rating: 2 1/2 pint of blood
I happen to adore corsets. The fact that I own four of them might attest to this. As a result, well, this cover appeals to me. Really, how can a cover focused on a corset be a bad thing? (Don't answer that. I'm sure someone has found a way somewhere.) I like the hint of skin and the warm colour tones here, both of which create a sensual atmosphere appropriate for erotic romance. And I kind of dig the way the title is placed on her arm, emphasizing both the bare skin and the "flesh" part of the title. Yup, we know exactly what's in this book, and it's all wrapped up in a pretty package.
After all that, though, I'm pretty sure it was the premise that caught my attention more than the cover. A ruined young woman who decides if she's going to have a reputation for whoring herself out, she might as well do it for real and at least get the benefits? Awesome. Seriously, given the time period, becoming a "kept woman" was one of the best ways for a lady to achieve some manner of independence, so having a young woman decide to venture in this direction caught my attention, since fiction is much more likely to depict older and jaded women as courtesans. Young and fresh? Let's go!
Beatrice has been ruined for good society, ever since the nude photographs her ex-fiancé took of her began circulating. She can't even rely on wealth to make her marriageable, since her gambling brother has managed to run them into debts they can't handle. Then the rich and disreputable Mr Richie begins to express an interest in Beatrice, and while initially she has no intention of keeping him as so much as an acquaintance, he makes her a very tempting offer: she spends one month as his lover, and he pays her enough to get out of debt and set herself up. While she's heard the rumours about this man, she realizes this is likely her best chance to keep herself and her brother ahead of the creditors, and since most of society already thinks the worst of her, well, why not have the fun and money she's already believed to have?
It doesn't hurt that something about Richie sets her on fire. In fact, the trick might be to be able to give him up after that one month. In spite of the emotions that have started to flare between them, though, Richie's been very adamant that their relationship will not and can not be anything more than the contract they've both signed, and Beatrice is about to find out why exactly that is.
In The Flesh is the latest installment of a series that started as Spice Briefs, short stories and novellas connected through the Ladies' Sewing Circle. The Circle is, of course, a front for a group of women to get together and discuss naughty things. Each story focuses on a different lady, and this is the first title not to be released under the Spice Briefs line.
It's my guess that Da Costa is a fan of Jane Eyre, as she seemed to borrow quite a bit of Rochester (minus the mood swings). Richie's deep dark secret adds a bit of conflict --or at least the potential for conflict-- but it's very tidily resolved in a deus ex machina that does no justice to the author or the reader. I would much rather have seen a more complex resolution where the characters had to work things out for themselves instead of having all the loose ends snipped off for them.
Also somewhat problematic is the depiction of insanity. If this is a hot button issue for you, you'll want to steer clear. One scene contains this gem: "How the dickens had Margarita managed to create so much havoc, so fast? The cunning of the insane, no doubt, and now they were all paying for that infernal guile." Yup. Them crazy people, so crafty and deceitful in their wacky antics.
As this is erotic romance, it's a given that the focus will be on sex. A lot of these scenes revolve around the experienced Richie teaching virginal Bea the ropes, although there's a very fun subplot involving a threesome that I wish had more attention paid to it. Since the characters there have only a couple of scenes and then disappear for half the book until the resolution is given to us in the form of a conversation between Richie and Bea, rather than letting us see how they arrived there, the wrap-up there seems just as pat as the conclusion of the main plot. The sex is pretty well varied, though, and it's interesting to note that in spite of all the playing around, Bea technically remains a virgin until about halfway through the book. (Of course, the decision to make her a virgin at all instead of merely inexperienced is a whole other discussion.)
In The Flesh will be available in mass market paperback
on March 20. My copy was generously provided by the publisher.
Publisher: Harlequin, 2012
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Erotica, Historical
Rating: 2 1/2 pint of blood
I happen to adore corsets. The fact that I own four of them might attest to this. As a result, well, this cover appeals to me. Really, how can a cover focused on a corset be a bad thing? (Don't answer that. I'm sure someone has found a way somewhere.) I like the hint of skin and the warm colour tones here, both of which create a sensual atmosphere appropriate for erotic romance. And I kind of dig the way the title is placed on her arm, emphasizing both the bare skin and the "flesh" part of the title. Yup, we know exactly what's in this book, and it's all wrapped up in a pretty package.
After all that, though, I'm pretty sure it was the premise that caught my attention more than the cover. A ruined young woman who decides if she's going to have a reputation for whoring herself out, she might as well do it for real and at least get the benefits? Awesome. Seriously, given the time period, becoming a "kept woman" was one of the best ways for a lady to achieve some manner of independence, so having a young woman decide to venture in this direction caught my attention, since fiction is much more likely to depict older and jaded women as courtesans. Young and fresh? Let's go!
Beatrice has been ruined for good society, ever since the nude photographs her ex-fiancé took of her began circulating. She can't even rely on wealth to make her marriageable, since her gambling brother has managed to run them into debts they can't handle. Then the rich and disreputable Mr Richie begins to express an interest in Beatrice, and while initially she has no intention of keeping him as so much as an acquaintance, he makes her a very tempting offer: she spends one month as his lover, and he pays her enough to get out of debt and set herself up. While she's heard the rumours about this man, she realizes this is likely her best chance to keep herself and her brother ahead of the creditors, and since most of society already thinks the worst of her, well, why not have the fun and money she's already believed to have?
It doesn't hurt that something about Richie sets her on fire. In fact, the trick might be to be able to give him up after that one month. In spite of the emotions that have started to flare between them, though, Richie's been very adamant that their relationship will not and can not be anything more than the contract they've both signed, and Beatrice is about to find out why exactly that is.
In The Flesh is the latest installment of a series that started as Spice Briefs, short stories and novellas connected through the Ladies' Sewing Circle. The Circle is, of course, a front for a group of women to get together and discuss naughty things. Each story focuses on a different lady, and this is the first title not to be released under the Spice Briefs line.
It's my guess that Da Costa is a fan of Jane Eyre, as she seemed to borrow quite a bit of Rochester (minus the mood swings). Richie's deep dark secret adds a bit of conflict --or at least the potential for conflict-- but it's very tidily resolved in a deus ex machina that does no justice to the author or the reader. I would much rather have seen a more complex resolution where the characters had to work things out for themselves instead of having all the loose ends snipped off for them.
Also somewhat problematic is the depiction of insanity. If this is a hot button issue for you, you'll want to steer clear. One scene contains this gem: "How the dickens had Margarita managed to create so much havoc, so fast? The cunning of the insane, no doubt, and now they were all paying for that infernal guile." Yup. Them crazy people, so crafty and deceitful in their wacky antics.
As this is erotic romance, it's a given that the focus will be on sex. A lot of these scenes revolve around the experienced Richie teaching virginal Bea the ropes, although there's a very fun subplot involving a threesome that I wish had more attention paid to it. Since the characters there have only a couple of scenes and then disappear for half the book until the resolution is given to us in the form of a conversation between Richie and Bea, rather than letting us see how they arrived there, the wrap-up there seems just as pat as the conclusion of the main plot. The sex is pretty well varied, though, and it's interesting to note that in spite of all the playing around, Bea technically remains a virgin until about halfway through the book. (Of course, the decision to make her a virgin at all instead of merely inexperienced is a whole other discussion.)
In The Flesh will be available in mass market paperback
on March 20. My copy was generously provided by the publisher.