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Cleopatra's Perfume
Europe 1939
The world may be teetering on the brink of war, but that's no reason for the privileged classes to deny themselves the satisfaction of their deepest lusts. In exotic and exclusive clubs, they pursue the delights of the flesh with little thought to the world crumbling around them. Marlowe has everything she needs to lead the most decadent of lives, money, nobility, nerve, and an insatiable appetite for sexual adventure. She also has a singular treasure, a fragrance of ancient origin said to have been prepared for the Queen of Kings herself. Seductive, irresistible, even mystical, it is the scent of pure sensuality. The power of this elixir is such that it sweeps Lady Marlowe into a game much more dangerous than those she played in the darkened rooms of kinky bars. As the Nazis devour Europe and North Africa, she embarks on a fevered journey, with sizzling stops in Cairo, London, Berlin, each city filled with new perils and pleasures for one anointed with pure lust.
The world may be teetering on the brink of war, but that's no reason for the privileged classes to deny themselves the satisfaction of their deepest lusts. In exotic and exclusive clubs, they pursue the delights of the flesh with little thought to the world crumbling around them. Marlowe has everything she needs to lead the most decadent of lives, money, nobility, nerve, and an insatiable appetite for sexual adventure. She also has a singular treasure, a fragrance of ancient origin said to have been prepared for the Queen of Kings herself. Seductive, irresistible, even mystical, it is the scent of pure sensuality. The power of this elixir is such that it sweeps Lady Marlowe into a game much more dangerous than those she played in the darkened rooms of kinky bars. As the Nazis devour Europe and North Africa, she embarks on a fevered journey, with sizzling stops in Cairo, London, Berlin, each city filled with new perils and pleasures for one anointed with pure lust.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Jina Bacarr
60 books155 followersJina loves dark chocolate truffles and rainy days in museums...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 16, 2020
Interesting tale of erotica but some areas were hard to follow. I enjoyed the diary portions and liked the way it all came together.
January 30, 2022
Novela erótica que gira en torno a la vida sexual de Eve Marlowe, joven mujer de la aristocracia inglesa q usa su fortuna para hacer realidad todas sus fantasías sexuales. La protagonista es básicamente ninfómana, pero la trama quiere hacernos creer que todo va sobre un elixir mágico, y luego de una sucesión exagerada de escenas tórridas la cosa empieza a hacerse inentendible, cae en lo predecible y el final es flojísimo, por lo que se queda en nada.
Los personajes no me cierran tampoco, en general son bastante sosos, nada cercanos, planos y vacíos, incluso la protagonista, Eve, conoceremos bien cuales son sus fantasías, pero me queda la sensación que a ella no la terminamos de conocer, xq para empezar, debe haber alguna razón x la cual ella es como es.
El perfume de Cleopatra contiene una historia simple y repleta de carencias. Y lastimosamente, una vez más con esta autora, no la puedo recomendar.
Los personajes no me cierran tampoco, en general son bastante sosos, nada cercanos, planos y vacíos, incluso la protagonista, Eve, conoceremos bien cuales son sus fantasías, pero me queda la sensación que a ella no la terminamos de conocer, xq para empezar, debe haber alguna razón x la cual ella es como es.
El perfume de Cleopatra contiene una historia simple y repleta de carencias. Y lastimosamente, una vez más con esta autora, no la puedo recomendar.
September 25, 2010
Hard to follow. Story jumps around too much. Too many incomplete scenes. Not enough emotional or romantic development.
STORY BRIEF:
Eve Charles is a high school dropout from a poor family in New York City. She works as a nightclub dancer in Berlin in the 1920s. In 1931 she marries wealthy Lord Marlowe and becomes Lady Marlowe. They enjoy eight years together with a lot of kinky sex. He dies in 1939. She goes to Egypt and falls in lust with Ramzi, a handsome Eqyptian. She is lonely and has an insatiable need for kinky sex which he provides. He wants her for her money, and she provides funds for half ownership with him in a Cairo nightclub. Eve then meets Chuck, an American pilot visiting the nightclub. They have sex for one night, and then he leaves for his job. Chuck returns to Cairo later, and they spend two days together. At that time Britain declares war on Germany, and Eve leaves Cairo to return to England. Then she goes to Berlin as a spy.
During 1941 Eve writes a diary reminiscing about her life. Most of this book (pages 37 to 375) is the diary. Eve jumps around in her diary as her thoughts wander. For example (starting on page 251), 42 pages Cairo 1939, 3 pages Berlin 1941, 3 pages America during Eve’s youth, ½ page Eve’s comments about the diary, 3 pages Cairo 1939.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I did not like the way the story jumped around. Too many scenes were interrupted. It was hard to follow. I wanted it to be over. This book would have been so much better if the author told it in chronological order without the diary. The World War II setting, characters and overall plot were interesting and had potential, but there were too many problems for me to enjoy it.
The purpose of the book is for erotic sex scenes. This was lacking for me because most of the sex scenes were not complete. For example, the author describes the details about how two people are caressing each other and then she skips to another scene without finishing the logical conclusion to the first scene. I suppose that’s ok for an erotic book, but it doesn’t allow any emotions to come into play or relationships to be involved. There is self pleasuring, rear door activity, group sex, women with women, bondage, spanking, sadism, and rape.
DATA:
Story length: 402 pages. No swearing language: Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: more than 26. Total number of sex scene pages: more than 61. Setting: Egypt, Germany, England, and America 1920s to 1945. Copyright: 2009. Genre: erotic World War II romance.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
Most of the story is about Eve’s time in Egypt with Ramzi. They have a lot of sex, but there is no love. The love relationship is between Eve and Chuck, but no time is spent developing that relationship. Eve and Chuck meet and have three nights of sex before being separated for 2 years. Then they meet again with a short sexual encounter. That’s it. The main love story consists of a handful of pages, mostly about a few sex scenes.
I did not like the way the author created conflict between Eve and Chuck. When they first meet, Chuck thinks Eve is a nightclub dancer. When he soon learns that she is titled and wealthy, he hates her and wants nothing to do with her. His explanation on page 378 is he thought her “a selfish, pampered lady of the realm.” That didn’t make sense to me. I also did not like what happened later, when they see each other after being apart for two years. He is hoping he was wrong about her, and that there was something there. But she lies to him and tells him she is with another man. She is killing their relationship. I didn’t buy it. Sure she is leaving on a trip to be a spy and can’t tell anyone, but she could have said something like, I am leaving on a trip, I have no time to see you now, but I still love you. But no, the author has Chuck thinking Eve doesn’t love him. I was angry at these illogical and unreasonable conflicts.
The story about “Cleopatra’s perfume” was an interesting concept, but not well done. When Ramzi first meets Eve, he sells her a box containing wax perfume, supposedly from Cleopatra’s tomb. He tells her it has the power to keep her alive if someone tries to kill her. Eve wore the perfume almost every day for the next two years, and her life was threatened on a few occasions, but she didn’t die. For example, when Eve drinks poison, she blacks out and wakes up in an alley in a different part of the city. Later, someone shoots at her, and she falls into a lake. The next scene has her walking into a hotel room with no gunshot wounds. These scenes were vague and could have been explained in other logical ways. For example, someone could have carried her to the alley and left her there. In the second scene, the shooter could have missed her while she jumped into the water and swam away. I feel like the author wanted me to believe in this magical perfume but didn’t take the time to convince me. The magic also didn’t fit well with the rest of the story which was told in a historical fiction manner.
STORY BRIEF:
Eve Charles is a high school dropout from a poor family in New York City. She works as a nightclub dancer in Berlin in the 1920s. In 1931 she marries wealthy Lord Marlowe and becomes Lady Marlowe. They enjoy eight years together with a lot of kinky sex. He dies in 1939. She goes to Egypt and falls in lust with Ramzi, a handsome Eqyptian. She is lonely and has an insatiable need for kinky sex which he provides. He wants her for her money, and she provides funds for half ownership with him in a Cairo nightclub. Eve then meets Chuck, an American pilot visiting the nightclub. They have sex for one night, and then he leaves for his job. Chuck returns to Cairo later, and they spend two days together. At that time Britain declares war on Germany, and Eve leaves Cairo to return to England. Then she goes to Berlin as a spy.
During 1941 Eve writes a diary reminiscing about her life. Most of this book (pages 37 to 375) is the diary. Eve jumps around in her diary as her thoughts wander. For example (starting on page 251), 42 pages Cairo 1939, 3 pages Berlin 1941, 3 pages America during Eve’s youth, ½ page Eve’s comments about the diary, 3 pages Cairo 1939.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I did not like the way the story jumped around. Too many scenes were interrupted. It was hard to follow. I wanted it to be over. This book would have been so much better if the author told it in chronological order without the diary. The World War II setting, characters and overall plot were interesting and had potential, but there were too many problems for me to enjoy it.
The purpose of the book is for erotic sex scenes. This was lacking for me because most of the sex scenes were not complete. For example, the author describes the details about how two people are caressing each other and then she skips to another scene without finishing the logical conclusion to the first scene. I suppose that’s ok for an erotic book, but it doesn’t allow any emotions to come into play or relationships to be involved. There is self pleasuring, rear door activity, group sex, women with women, bondage, spanking, sadism, and rape.
DATA:
Story length: 402 pages. No swearing language: Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: more than 26. Total number of sex scene pages: more than 61. Setting: Egypt, Germany, England, and America 1920s to 1945. Copyright: 2009. Genre: erotic World War II romance.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
Most of the story is about Eve’s time in Egypt with Ramzi. They have a lot of sex, but there is no love. The love relationship is between Eve and Chuck, but no time is spent developing that relationship. Eve and Chuck meet and have three nights of sex before being separated for 2 years. Then they meet again with a short sexual encounter. That’s it. The main love story consists of a handful of pages, mostly about a few sex scenes.
I did not like the way the author created conflict between Eve and Chuck. When they first meet, Chuck thinks Eve is a nightclub dancer. When he soon learns that she is titled and wealthy, he hates her and wants nothing to do with her. His explanation on page 378 is he thought her “a selfish, pampered lady of the realm.” That didn’t make sense to me. I also did not like what happened later, when they see each other after being apart for two years. He is hoping he was wrong about her, and that there was something there. But she lies to him and tells him she is with another man. She is killing their relationship. I didn’t buy it. Sure she is leaving on a trip to be a spy and can’t tell anyone, but she could have said something like, I am leaving on a trip, I have no time to see you now, but I still love you. But no, the author has Chuck thinking Eve doesn’t love him. I was angry at these illogical and unreasonable conflicts.
The story about “Cleopatra’s perfume” was an interesting concept, but not well done. When Ramzi first meets Eve, he sells her a box containing wax perfume, supposedly from Cleopatra’s tomb. He tells her it has the power to keep her alive if someone tries to kill her. Eve wore the perfume almost every day for the next two years, and her life was threatened on a few occasions, but she didn’t die. For example, when Eve drinks poison, she blacks out and wakes up in an alley in a different part of the city. Later, someone shoots at her, and she falls into a lake. The next scene has her walking into a hotel room with no gunshot wounds. These scenes were vague and could have been explained in other logical ways. For example, someone could have carried her to the alley and left her there. In the second scene, the shooter could have missed her while she jumped into the water and swam away. I feel like the author wanted me to believe in this magical perfume but didn’t take the time to convince me. The magic also didn’t fit well with the rest of the story which was told in a historical fiction manner.
June 21, 2012
I found this book quite confusing. The book starts in April 1941 in Chuck's POV, then jumps back to March 1941 when Eve starts writing the diary because of her role in WWII, but then she flicks back to 1939, when her adventure starts after the death of her husband. But in her diary she is often jumping between the present and 1939, as well as remembering some of her moments with her late husband. We go back to Chuck in the middle of the book, and towards the end. Then the book finishes with Eve writing in the diary again.
To me I think the story would've been better if the diary section started from 1939, so the reader is not so confused with the jumping back and forth in time. Then Eve would only then recall memories with her husband which would've been easier to follow.
However, I had to keep reading because it really had a good storyline and I find books written around War fascinating. The feelings and emotions of people caught up in things they cannot prevent, being scared whether they live or die, it is just unbelievable to me. I can't imagine what it would be like to be caught up in War.
The story is not just about the Sex, although Eve is pretty open about her pleasures, it is more about her relationships with the men who have been in her life, and how their influence has guided her to make the decisions for today. What a woman would do for love, not just for herself, her political beliefs and for her country.
To me I think the story would've been better if the diary section started from 1939, so the reader is not so confused with the jumping back and forth in time. Then Eve would only then recall memories with her husband which would've been easier to follow.
However, I had to keep reading because it really had a good storyline and I find books written around War fascinating. The feelings and emotions of people caught up in things they cannot prevent, being scared whether they live or die, it is just unbelievable to me. I can't imagine what it would be like to be caught up in War.
The story is not just about the Sex, although Eve is pretty open about her pleasures, it is more about her relationships with the men who have been in her life, and how their influence has guided her to make the decisions for today. What a woman would do for love, not just for herself, her political beliefs and for her country.
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January 23, 2013Letto in traduzione...
Un romance che esce fuori dai canoni di questo genere per la struttura (il diario invece della classica narrazione in terza persona), la caratterizzazione della protagonista (lady Eve Marlowe giovane vedova di un nobile inglese che a ridosso della seconda guerra mondiale si innamora di un misterioso uomo egiziano che sostiene di aver ritrovato il profumo di Cleopatra dal potere di essere afrodisiaco e di proteggere dalla morte) ed infine le numerose e dettagliate scene erotiche... nel complesso un libro diverso dai soliti romance anche se suona un po' strano che Eve scriva un diario non per se stessa, ma per degli ipotetici lettori a cui si rivolge spesso nel suo racconto...
Un romance che esce fuori dai canoni di questo genere per la struttura (il diario invece della classica narrazione in terza persona), la caratterizzazione della protagonista (lady Eve Marlowe giovane vedova di un nobile inglese che a ridosso della seconda guerra mondiale si innamora di un misterioso uomo egiziano che sostiene di aver ritrovato il profumo di Cleopatra dal potere di essere afrodisiaco e di proteggere dalla morte) ed infine le numerose e dettagliate scene erotiche... nel complesso un libro diverso dai soliti romance anche se suona un po' strano che Eve scriva un diario non per se stessa, ma per degli ipotetici lettori a cui si rivolge spesso nel suo racconto...
July 3, 2015
Finished 01/05/2011. Pretty good story, but typical Bacarr erotic novel in that lots of innuendo and leading on, but very little explicit action and it does go on forever. +
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews