Review: Beauty is an erotic delight.. touching on dark fantasy yet encircled by love.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2014
Originally reviewed for Tea and BookDark and Dangerous.. a book that feeds off one man's darkest desires.. A glimpse into a deadly world of love, loss and revenge and when that fails..Jess Michaels closes her Pleasure Wars Series with Beauty and the Earl.. this might be book three in the series but it was book one for me and let me just say WOW..Beauty is an erotic delight.. touching on dark fantasy yet encircled by love.The House Rothcastle and the House Windbury have been fueding for generations. From the cradle they are taught to hate each other. So when Liam Earl of Windbury had the audacity to fall in love with a daughter of the House of Rothcastle, there was hell to be paid. And paid it was.. Death was the price! Both sons were left alive but wounded but the true innocent. The one who wanted only peace was dead from a carriage accident. Both men pretty much spiral into darkness and despair. Both vow revenge, for Rothcastle it involves a sister for a sister (Book one of the Pleasure Wars, Taken by the Duke) but time and love have helped to heal him. Windbury on the other hand only spirals ever deeper.. he can't have his revenge it will hurt the sister he adores..Violet Milford is a courtesan, a decent one, but a courtesan. Forced on to the streets for daring to be raped and refusing to marry her rapist, Violet makes her way as best she can. She is beautiful, articulate and caring.. able to claim her price and smart enough not to mess with the ton.. But when the Duke of Rothcastle calls her to his house.. that's right. To. His. House.. where his wife is.. Violet is most confused. When they offer her an intriguing proposition.. for a bucketload of money, Violet accepts.. even though she has a few qualms.The proposition? Get close to Liam.. Find out how he is and if at all possible help him to find a way back to his sister. She misses him.Liam, the Earl of Windbury has suffered for the past few years. Cut off from society, having chased everyone away, he has one friend left. And is quite lucky at that. Pretty much a recluse but when a gorgeous and famous member of the demimonde slips into his private room at Bath.. life suddenly changes. At first Liam is intrigued, curious.. but as time rolls on, he finds himself lost in desire. He wants Violet, he wants her for more than a moment in time..What made this book wasn't the oh so steamy sex scenes which there were plenty of.. It wasn't the excellent storyline or the well developed characters. Nope it was the fact that Violet was a courtesan.. no meek and mild miss of the Regency era.. this was a woman who had lived. Who was forced to make her way in a society that didn't really like women. And yet, she had goals and dreams. She wanted more from life and found a way to make them happen in the only way she knew how. With the only tools she had.This was a most excellent book and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to read it. I seriously suggest you all give it a try.ShauniThis review is based on the ARC of Beauty and the Earl, provided by the author for an honest review