Lord of Pleasure

- Delilah Marvelle -

Another great new author to add to my list of must reads!

The story had a lot of humor running through it, particularly in the interactions between Charlotte and Alexander - I found myself grinning away for chunks of the story.

I really liked that Charlotte, in order to save herself from destitution or prostitution, had taken a job with a renowned courtesan's new school for gentleman, and was gradually discovering that she rather liked operating outside of societies' rules and conventions, especially given she was ruined by her late husband's actions in the eyes of society anyway, so she decided to give up trying to please them and act according to her own wants, desires and moral code.

The flip side of Charlotte's new freedom, was Alexander's determination to confine himself according to societal expectations in order to give his sisters the best possible chance for future respectability and happy marriages. Despite his family's free spirited reputation, Alexander's love and responsibility towards his sisters compels him to try and do what he believes is the right thing by leaving his "Lord of Pleasure" reputation behind.

This dedication to his family is what draws Charlotte to Alexander, beyond her physical attraction to him, and watching them come together and draw emotional as well as physical comfort from each other was such fun to read.

There are probably nits I could pick regarding the apparent lack of societal blowback any of the characters appear to face for their unconventional actions, but I enjoyed the book too much to really care.