Marriage is not the end of desire...Lady Justine is willing to trade her good name, her reputation and her place in London’s gossip-hungry ton to secure her father’s release from prison. But when the notorious Duke of Bradford counters her offer with a proposal of marriage, the stakes grow higher still. For while the smoldering lord is famous for his conquests, the man is oblivious to both her devotion and her charms.And Justine is soon afraid she has wagered all for naught…
Are you ready to be scandalized?Prelude to a Scandal (Hqn)
Written by Delilah Marvelle. This is the first book in her Scandal series, due to be released 1/1/11. Justine is an innocent, in love with a dreadful rake, who she needs to marry to save her father. Sound familiar? While the plot is an old favorite the twists are new and quite inventive. The Duke of Bradford has an issue though.. a compulsion, if you will. He is a sex addict. Something I really haven't seen before in any romance novel I have read. I have to say this novel has more masturbation and thoughts of it inside than some erotica. While not graphic, it is clear enough what is going on. I kept waiting for the major plot twist, the giant act that throws all the love they have been working for to shambles... And it never came. I am glad I didn't hold my breath. The apex leaves some to be desired. Although I am glad they do not turn Bradford into a villian. That is really what I was expecting, that he should do something stupid driven by his compulsion, something the heroine would eventually forgive him for- which i cannot abide. Gag. Thankfully, that never came about. The sex is ok, scenes are few and far apart. The thoughts of sex are much more prevalent. This one is a little too cutesy for my taste. Not a bad read, but not something I would read over and over again.
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are recent free shorts available for Kindle. Each on is very graphic and very short. Which is why they are being lumped into one review. 
by Brenda Joyce is the first in her de Warrene Dynasty series- one of my favorites. This one is a little more.. touchy.. than the others. This novel, first published in '96 is a far cry from the most recent additions to her story. Rolfe is a relation to Edward de Warrenne who eventually marries Mary O'Neill, thus bringing together the two families centered in the series. Rolfe is a warrior, through and though. The story is set 1069, quite a distance from the Regency and Victorian settings of the others. Rolfe wins Aelfgar and it's Lady after his victories in France. Heading to his new castle he rides into a village being punished for treason, basically, being destroyed. A woman stands up to him, then fearing his wrath attempts to flee. Rolfe, meet Ceidre. Ceidre, Rolfe. Rolfe chases her down and seriously considers raping her, until he mistakenly assumes she is the Lady Alice, his betrothed. Leaving her unscathed he takes her back to Aelfgar only to find she isn't in fact his betrothed, but her illegitimate sister. His betrothed is a horrible wretch of a woman, jealous of Ceidre and determined to make her life miserable. In fact, we learn that she is just a masochistic little bitch. What follows is a painful dance around and around. Rolfe wants Ceidre. Ceidre wants Rolfe, but denies it due to allegiances to her brothers- enemies of the crown. Rolfe marries Alice to keep a hold of Aelfgar, all the while detesting the little beast of a woman. His desire for Ceidre is apparent to everyone, including the Lady Alice. From here it is bound to get weird. Rolfe falls for Ceidre, Ceidre for Rolfe. Ceidre constantly goes behind his back to try and help her brothers which in turn hurts Rolfe. In the end, you get the HEA. It just takes a while, a very, very long while. In the meantime there is war, blood and guts, attempted murder and some steamy sex-although at times the sex is painful to read... Also a good phrase to wiki would be 
by Elizabeth Essex- This is one of those tiresome novels where the hero and heroine could solve everything simply by trusting one another enough to tell them what the hell is going on. But where is the fun in that? Lizzie wants to be a widow- simply for the fact that it would give her the freedom she desires but couldn't get without marriage or with a husband to control her. Enter James Marlowe. Her childhood love. She agrees to the marriage of convenience to gain that which she most desires- freedom. Blah, blah, blah.. They marry and fall in love. Then he leaves to set sail on a voyage that could take months, years even.. She realizes she loves him... Then comes the drama. Marlowe told Lizzie not to stay in the house he bought for her, she refuses. She wants to live there. This causes undue problems, simply by not giving her a better reason than "it's not safe." There are too many things going on that trouble Lizzie, and she is too damn clever for her own good, her husband underestimates her and once again- they have issues. She is too headstrong to be believable. No one is that pig headed. She is aggravating beyond belief. You love him, he loves you- deal with it. Stop being such a prig. The ending seems rushed and all together too easy and predictable. Soo predictable, I had been trying to figure out what could be going on as the ending it seemed was coming to was just to damn stupid and simple. Alas! It sucked it up, the ending was shit. The sex was passionate, lots of dirty words and descriptions.. The word fuck and it's derivatives are used profusely, as is my favorite "quim." Always good to throw that one in there. And it wasn't the typical bedroom sex, no fucking like a virgin for Lizzie!Lots of sex in places that commonly seem to be left out in these novels. Like on a countertop.. This is definitely a book where I wanted to trade places with the heroine for their exchanges. Marlowe sounds delicious.
by Jo Goodman- 
