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Brennendes Verlangen
Ein Mann und eine Frau, verfeindet bis aufs Blut - und doch auf geheimnisvolle Weise füreinander geschaffen: Alexander, der Earl of Mere, will endlich die Geheimnisse aufdecken, die sich um die Frau seines verstorbenen Bruders ranken. Er ist davon überzeugt, dass sie eine Feindin von Land und Königin ist - und für jeden Mann gegen Geld zu haben. Francesca lässt ihn zuerst in dem Glauben und setzt all ihre Verführungskünste ein, um die Wahrheit über Alexander zu erfahren... bis sie selbst in heftiger Leidenschaft zu ihm entbrennt...
492 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Thea Devine
60 books69 followersThea Devine is the author of eighteen historical romances and four novellas, including her contributions to the Brava anthologies Captivated, Fascinated, and, most recently, All Through the Night. Devine lives with her husband of 35 years in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2019
Really weird & surreal. That's not a bad thing, per se, but it does complicate a review. I don't even know what to say about the plot -- it's totally outlandish & bizarre, like a Victorian penny-dreadful** (indeed, Francesca makes a remark to that effect midway through). It also dumps the reader into the middle of everything without a fully-functional compass. If you're familiar with Devine, this is nothing new; if you've never read her before, it's a disorienting experience in the land of Zebra, which is (usually) a haven of undisguised plots embedded within exotic scenery. But I digress. >__>
There's relatively little sex in this -- surprising, given that the heroine is disguised as a courtesan/ exotic dancer & the hero is a ruthless manipulator for the good of queen & country. TD likes spy heroes for their James Bond'ian stamina, but there are only 2 brief scenes between these MCs, & both are in the final third of the book. The remainder of Alex & Francesca's sexy time is focused on their smoldering tension (his watching her dance, her evasions of his wordplay) -- which is one of TD's strengths as a writer, & something she should include more of, esp in her later novels. Make no mistake, this is NOT erotica; the majority of sex is between the villain & Alex's sister-in-law, & even then I wouldn't label their encounters very arousing--more lolzy & facepalming & omg, u idiot. So if you're in the market for TD's nipple-fetish boinkfests, this is not the droid you're looking for.
Personally, I *liked* the focus on tension & lack of nipples -- even the lolzy bizarre plot -- because it gave the story a strong neo-gothic feel, what with mistaken identity & sinister aunts & drugged food & smoldering stares & secret passages in the library. So IMO, this is one of TD's better books. Some authors are at their best when they let themselves go, but others are at their best when they exercise restraint. And Thea Devine is one of the latter.
...Unless you're a fan of nipple-happy romantica, in which case you're better off with DESIRED. :P
**Though there's nothing the same about their plots or prose, it often reminded me of THE GLASS BOOKS OF THE DREAM-EATERS, which is a pastiche update on the penny dreadful genre. Take that as you will.
There's relatively little sex in this -- surprising, given that the heroine is disguised as a courtesan/ exotic dancer & the hero is a ruthless manipulator for the good of queen & country. TD likes spy heroes for their James Bond'ian stamina, but there are only 2 brief scenes between these MCs, & both are in the final third of the book. The remainder of Alex & Francesca's sexy time is focused on their smoldering tension (his watching her dance, her evasions of his wordplay) -- which is one of TD's strengths as a writer, & something she should include more of, esp in her later novels. Make no mistake, this is NOT erotica; the majority of sex is between the villain & Alex's sister-in-law, & even then I wouldn't label their encounters very arousing--more lolzy & facepalming & omg, u idiot. So if you're in the market for TD's nipple-fetish boinkfests, this is not the droid you're looking for.
Personally, I *liked* the focus on tension & lack of nipples -- even the lolzy bizarre plot -- because it gave the story a strong neo-gothic feel, what with mistaken identity & sinister aunts & drugged food & smoldering stares & secret passages in the library. So IMO, this is one of TD's better books. Some authors are at their best when they let themselves go, but others are at their best when they exercise restraint. And Thea Devine is one of the latter.
...Unless you're a fan of nipple-happy romantica, in which case you're better off with DESIRED. :P
**Though there's nothing the same about their plots or prose, it often reminded me of THE GLASS BOOKS OF THE DREAM-EATERS, which is a pastiche update on the penny dreadful genre. Take that as you will.
October 12, 2021
RTC! Went into it, knowing this wouldn’t be one long extended love scene, although I wish it was 😄
~Full Review~
Out of all the Thea Devine books that I've read, All I Desire is on the understated side of things, when it comes to the erotic page count. I think it was an interesting decision not to go for it, Devine style, because there were many opportunities for it to happen.
Not that that took away anything from the story, and in fact, if you prefer less of that stuff, you might enjoy this story more.
The sexual tension is quite nice (something irresistible about heroes who initially hate the heroine lol), and while the mystery that is revealed is so out of left-field, Devine really commits to the third act, so that you're ok with it. At least, I was. Perhaps there were some more clues, I think there was a mention of a doctor? But other than that, you would not be able to guess. I was not.
I love double identity plots because reading the character's quick thinking POV, doing their best version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, is so stressful but fun.
Francesca is mistaken for the wife of Alexander's deceased brother, after Alexander bursts into her rented room in Germany. The wife is a famous erotic dancer.
I've forgotten nearly everyone's names, in case it's not obvious already.
Anyways, Francesca has been tending to the wife who succumbed to an illness, which is why she is in her room, but when Alexander mentions the name of Francesca's own lover, she decides the best course of action is pretend to be this wife for a little while longer. At least until she can figure out what is the connection between her beau and this whole family, in order to watch out for him.
Alexander has never met the wife, and any differences in the vulgar seductress of a dancer that he expects to see and the quiet, elegant woman he actually meets are explained away due to the recent illness she is recovering from, as she'd be too weak to be too vivacious and assuming.
Alexander takes Francesca back to his estate in England, and he decides to use her to ferret out any English traitor spy ring. Or something like this. It's been a while since I read this, please forgive me.
Francesca spends most of her time emotionally telling herself, pull it together, woman! And, what would erotic dancer do?! While she tries to figure out the link that connects her beau to the erotic dancer.
Meanwhile Alexander distrusts and hates Francesca, but it is clear he is also attracted to her. Even Francesca's innocence he suspects is a feigned act/long con move. He demands her to dance for him privately, and he also installs her in his own bedroom. Yet surprisingly, they don't ever do any things -that's right, including nipple stuff- until perhaps more than halfway through the novel?
In fact, I believe a villainous couple consummate before they do. And I felt like we only got to see those extended scenes because we never got it from the H+h. It's weird to say this in this context, but the villain coupling felt a tad gratuitous, for me. I think that's because I didn't *really* care for the vicar's sexually repressed wife and her harlot fantasy with a hot stranger. Get back to the fake dancer and undercover earl, already!
I'm a little surprised that there aren't more reviews because All I Desire is a pretty solid story from the author. All I Desire is worth reading if you like Thea Devine, just know that there isn't a lot of physical love between the H+h.
~Full Review~
Out of all the Thea Devine books that I've read, All I Desire is on the understated side of things, when it comes to the erotic page count. I think it was an interesting decision not to go for it, Devine style, because there were many opportunities for it to happen.
Not that that took away anything from the story, and in fact, if you prefer less of that stuff, you might enjoy this story more.
The sexual tension is quite nice (something irresistible about heroes who initially hate the heroine lol), and while the mystery that is revealed is so out of left-field, Devine really commits to the third act, so that you're ok with it. At least, I was. Perhaps there were some more clues, I think there was a mention of a doctor? But other than that, you would not be able to guess. I was not.
I love double identity plots because reading the character's quick thinking POV, doing their best version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, is so stressful but fun.
Francesca is mistaken for the wife of Alexander's deceased brother, after Alexander bursts into her rented room in Germany. The wife is a famous erotic dancer.
I've forgotten nearly everyone's names, in case it's not obvious already.
Anyways, Francesca has been tending to the wife who succumbed to an illness, which is why she is in her room, but when Alexander mentions the name of Francesca's own lover, she decides the best course of action is pretend to be this wife for a little while longer. At least until she can figure out what is the connection between her beau and this whole family, in order to watch out for him.
Alexander has never met the wife, and any differences in the vulgar seductress of a dancer that he expects to see and the quiet, elegant woman he actually meets are explained away due to the recent illness she is recovering from, as she'd be too weak to be too vivacious and assuming.
Alexander takes Francesca back to his estate in England, and he decides to use her to ferret out any English traitor spy ring. Or something like this. It's been a while since I read this, please forgive me.
Francesca spends most of her time emotionally telling herself, pull it together, woman! And, what would erotic dancer do?! While she tries to figure out the link that connects her beau to the erotic dancer.
Meanwhile Alexander distrusts and hates Francesca, but it is clear he is also attracted to her. Even Francesca's innocence he suspects is a feigned act/long con move. He demands her to dance for him privately, and he also installs her in his own bedroom. Yet surprisingly, they don't ever do any things -that's right, including nipple stuff- until perhaps more than halfway through the novel?
In fact, I believe a villainous couple consummate before they do. And I felt like we only got to see those extended scenes because we never got it from the H+h. It's weird to say this in this context, but the villain coupling felt a tad gratuitous, for me. I think that's because I didn't *really* care for the vicar's sexually repressed wife and her harlot fantasy with a hot stranger. Get back to the fake dancer and undercover earl, already!
I'm a little surprised that there aren't more reviews because All I Desire is a pretty solid story from the author. All I Desire is worth reading if you like Thea Devine, just know that there isn't a lot of physical love between the H+h.
May 23, 2011
I always love Thea Devine's books, and this is no exception. My major complaint is the titles of these books are so forgettable and not really an indication of what the story is. This was a complex plot that is very nicely written, Francesca, a young woman, finds herself nursing a terminally ill but famous courtesan in Berlin. When she dies, Francesca assumes her identity for some convoluted reasons and is brought back to England by the deceased woman's brother in law, Alex. Mysteries abound and many surprises as the story unfolds. This author writes romance in the best way - careful, studied, erotic and satisfying.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews