Mia Gabriel

Widowed American Evelyn Hart travels to England for an adventure, where she quickly grows tired of all the young men swarming around her, a still-young woman with a huge inheritance. One night she spies handsome Lord Savage having relations in the garden at a party and finds herself intrigued, both by Lord Savage and by the idea of having relations in a garden at a party. Her interest does not go unnoticed by Lady Carleigh, who throws intimate week-long country house parties for very particular guests where having relations in a garden is just fine and everyone agrees that what happens in the country stays in the country. Thus, Evelyn and Lord Savage get to relate to their hearts' content.

Eh? I dunno. The book has its good points--it's written pretty well (a slightly annoying tendency to repeat words, especially body-part words, in close proximity aside), it's reasonably fun, the premise is amusing, the sex writing is decent--but it feels all setting and sex to me. The setting/premise (kinky, orgiastic party in an Edwardian country house) is compelling enough and there's plenty of sex to keep one entertained, but beyond that there's nothing to it. Neither of the characters has much substance or interest, and there's no plot to speak of (beyond some mild confusion on Evelyn's part as to the nature of the party, and that rubs close enough to squicky dubcon to be uncomfortable without the interrogation of issues of consent that would make the discomfort useful). The BDSM elements also seem hazily realized, with neither Evelyn nor Savage ever really appearing to be into what they were doing but never really casting it as just a lark either. I was also supremely distracted by the fact that Evelyn doesn't give one second's consideration to what's going to happen if the result of this week of debauchery is pregnancy (or disease? Maybe a nice well-bred Edwardian-era lady wouldn't immediately think of that, especially if she's cavorting with a well-bred gentleman? I dunno. But the possibility of a sproutlet, surely?) I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of romantic fantasy sometimes, but on top of the other dissatisfactions here, I just couldn't get past this little piece of reality. YMMV.… (mer)