Excellent dialogue, lots of erotic sex, but average plot development in the last half of the book.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
While reading the first half of the book I wanted to give it 5 stars. The last half of the book felt more like 3 stars, so I used an average of 4. This writing has spark! Many times during the first half of the book, I was surprised and delighted. Val did things I didn't expect. Val and Sara said things I didn't expect. This was not typical, predictable, ordinary, churning-out-another-book dialogue. This was good. I didn't care for the events that developed the plot in the last half of the book, but that part was ok.

There are a lot of erotic sex scenes with some creativity there as well. There are sex scenes between two men and scenes with ménage a trios (2 men and 1 woman). There are rear door activities, sex toys and body piercings.

STORY BRIEF:
Val and Peter were sex slaves in a Turkish brothel for seven years. Sara's dad bought their freedom. For the next twelve years Val and Peter became wealthy as partners in a shipping company. The story begins with Sara's dad needing money and offering one of his daughters to Val in marriage. Val chooses Sara. Val still suffers from the slavery abuse but finds some relief through frequent sex. Sara turns out to be a willing partner and student. Someone has been stealing money from the shipping company and threatens to ruin the business by publicizing the sex slavery past.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Following are three excerpts to give readers examples of dialogue and writing, which I liked.

Before he met Sara, Val had sex with Sara's maid Daisy. Sara saw them together, was intrigued, and then ran off when Val turned his head and saw her watching. Val followed her and introduced himself. Val and Sara later got married. Sara is a virgin. Page 28: On their wedding night, Sara didn't want Daisy around and sent her home. Val said "Did you fear Daisy might offer you some unwanted advice?" Sara said "I have received enough advice from my mother and my aunts to send me screaming from you in horror."

Page 40: Val and Peter had been slaves in Turkey. Sara's dad paid for their freedom and brought them back to England. Val tells Sara "He saved our lives. I will always be grateful to him." "She sensed a lack of emotion in his carefully spoken words. Would he have preferred to be left to die? "I'm glad he saved you, too." Valentin swung around to stare at her, one eyebrow raised. "Because of this?" he glanced down at his ___. "Any man could give you this." Sara smiled "Actually I was thinking of my father. It makes me proud to be his daughter." "Touche, madam" " he said.

Page 55: Sara is in her room getting dressed. Val enters so Sara dismisses her maid. "Valentin paused by the bed and lifted up her dress. He smiled into her eyes. "Crimson is my favorite color. It reminds me of your ___." He brought the gown to her and tossed it over her head. Silk flowed around her body with the soft whisper of a shower of rose petals. She sucked in a breath as Valentin tied the laces at the back." (Reviewer's comment: I'm not used to thinking about a guy helping a girl get dressed by "tossing" it over her head.)

DATA:
Story length: 258 pages. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 18. Length of sex scenes: 7 short scenes (1 page or less) 7 medium scenes (1.4 to 5 pages) 4 long scenes (10, 12, 18 and 28 pages). Total number of sex scene pages: 95. Setting: 1815 Southampton and London, England. Copyright: 2008. Genre: erotic regency romance.

OTHER BOOKS:
I’ve reviewed the following Kate Pearce books.

Simply Series:
4 stars. Simply Sexual. Copyrt 2008. Review Date 10-02-08.
4 stars. Simply Sinful. Copyrt 2008. Review Date 11-01-08.
3 stars. Simply Shameless. Copyrt 2009. Review Date 5-26-09.
2 stars. Simply Wicked. Copyrt 2009. Review Date 4-15-10.

Other:
4 stars. Where have all the Cowboys Gone? Copyrt 2007. Review Date 11-24-08.
4 stars. Planet Mail. Copyrt 2006. Review Date 5-3-09.
3 ½ stars. Pleasurable Bargains. Copyrt 2007. Review Date 5-26-09.
4 ½ stars. Some Like It Rough (in anthology Some Like It Rough). Copyrt 2010. Review Date 2-28-10.