libro leído para el RetoÍntimo
Soy muy fan de Sylvia Day, me gustan mucho sus historias, sus personajes y sus escenas eróticas tan intensas.
Estos relatos tienen esas escenas que tanto me gusta de ella, pero las historias y los personajes en ocasiones ponen a prueba mi paciencia.
Todos los relatos son bastante superficiales y cargados de un sexo que resulta innecesario, No negaré que son intensos, pero en relatos tan cortos, tantas escenas eróticas no me han conducido a nada.
El primer relato, Placeres robados, es sin duda el que menos me ha gustado, Su protagonista masculino está repleto de incoherencias y el personaje femenino apenas si tiene trascendencia, Sus actitudes se contradicen todo el tiempo y consigue que no me crea nada de lo que estoy leyendo.
La apuesta de Lucien, el segundo relato, tiene un punto de partida un poco más interesante y el desarrollo también lo es, pero termina de forma abrupta.
No me refiero a que sea un relato corto y no haya espacio para más, sino que en un capítulo plantea una cosa, la resuelve al siguiente sin mostrarlo y termina sin más.
Los personajes son más interesantes, pero vuelve a caer en el exceso, Y vuelve a ser superficial en muchos aspectos,
Su loca excelencia me ha gustado más que los otros, los personajes y el planteamiento son más interesantes y lamento que fuese un relato, porque podría haber salido una buena historia con esta idea.
Los personajes mantienen su coherencia, más o menos, hasta que de nuevo acaba de manera abrupta,
Lo que no me ha gustado ha sido sin duda alguna, los personajes y sus conductas/pensamientos/actitudes más propias de adolescentes que de personas adultas.
No puedo encontrar coherente que un pirata, el dueño de un club de caballeros o un conde o duque, es igual, la verdad se comporten como niños y hagan y digan lo que dicen.
Me saca de la historia, Y volvemos a caer en la frivolidad del atractivo y la belleza femenina, sin nada más que eso.
En fin, no es mala lectura, pero no tiene mucho más, This is an Anthology but all three novellas are written b the same Author, The first one takes place in, the second inand the third in, At the end of the first novella Stolen Pleasures we find out that Sebastian the Hero is friends with Remington the Hero from Lucien's Gamble the second novella.
Personally I think Lucien's Gamble should have come first but I'm sure the Author had her reasons for doing things in the order she did.
The third novella is about Hugh the brother of Julienne the Heroine in Lucien's Gambleand Charlotte.
The Heroine in Stolen Pleasures is Olivia,
Stolen Pleasures I liked this one although no one element really stands out, Due to what would amount to underhanded trickery by his father the Hero Sebastian marries Olivia the Heroine but he doesn't know it.
Sebastian due to something that he believes to be his fault left home at the point the story starts I think it had been five years and became a Pirate known as Captain Phoenix.
He has the misfortune to capture the ship Olivia is on, Olivia is on her way to England from the West Indies to meet her husband, It doesn't take long for her to learn the truth nor does it take long for the two of them to decide they are perfectly okay with the idea of being married to each other.
When they reach England we learn better what his Dad had planned at least I think we did I'm not sure if Sebastian's cousin Carr was going to be Sebastian or if his Dad was.
I'm pretty sure it was Carr but something Sebastian says to his Dad makes me think it could be the other case.
Anyway, after the confrontation between father and son and some miscommunication between husband and wife they live HEA,
Lucien's Gamble As the older sister Julienne feels responsible for her brother Hugh, even though he is old enough that she shouldn't have to be, his gambling has placed a burden on she and her Aunt who raised them after their parents died when Hugh was.
I don't recall it saying how old Olivia is or was but I got the impression she is older.
Of course Hugh is affected also but doesn't seem to care and actually I don't think he is aware of it.
Anyway, Olivia dresses as a man to sneak into a club she believes her brother has gone to but it turns out that may just be her excuse.
She is fascinated by and attracted to Lucien Rembrandt the Hero the owner of the club, It turns out the feeling is mutual and the passion between them according to Remington's mother can heat a room.
I love reading books where the couple is brought together by fatedestiny andor by overwhelming attraction and passion, Stolen Pleasures was a factdestiny and Lucien's Gamble is an attractionpassion, Okay maybe some curiosity thrown in there as well which is why Julienne went to the club and why Remington let her stay.
Her Mad Grace I finished this one earlier today and although what I had learned about Hugh in the previous story didn't leave me with a page turning desire to read his story I did and I'm glad.
Hugh has become a much better person in the last couple of years the time lapse between the two isyears.
Charlotte for reasons we do learn is pretending to be someone she is not, After learning her reasons along with the names and partial descriptions of her "motley crew" of servants I'm hoping there is another book because to my way of thinking it leaves loose ends and unanswered questions.
Such as do they find the treasure that supposedly exists and what exactly is wrong with Katie that she can't carry the tea tray without massive clinking of the service.
Artemis is a true character not just in looks, for starters he only has one eye that seems to bulge out of his head and he speaks his mind.
What happened to Artemis' other eye it never says unless I missed it, Tom and I think his name is Harry don't have the book handy also apparently have physical shortcomings that only detract from their looks but not their abilities or personality.
The only other servant is Katie who I've already mentioned, There is one other person in the house besides the ones already named and that is Guinevere aka Gwen who is the illegitimate Granddaughter of the Duke who is deceased her father the current Duke wants nothing to do with her but having learned about her years ago she's nowher Grandfather took her in and raised her.
This story turned out to be a really good page turner but due to the questions I have I'm hoping there is a sequel.
It would be nice to know what happens to Gwen after Finishing School among other things already mentioned, Book
Title: Scandalous Liaisons
Author: Sylvia Day
Genre: Romance
Rating:
: So I dont normally read romance books but there are some exception namely anything written by Sylvia Day and the Black Dagger Brotherhood.
I remember reading the first three books in the Crossfire series years ago and I am planning to reread those and finish the series, as well as reading most of Days published works.
What I didnt know about Scandalous Liaisons before picking it up was that it is a bindup of three interconnected novellas, so I will be reviewing and rating each story individually and the bindup as a whole.
Stolen Pleasures
Stolen pleasures follows Sebastian Blake also known as the infamous pirate Captain Phoenix and Olivia Merrick and this was by far my favourite story in the bindup.
We meet Sebastian after he has stolen himself a bride but not in the way you think, We meet Olivia Merrick was has been married by proxy to Sebastian who has raided a ship belonging to Olivia's father and kidnapped his supposed wife.
Initially the pair dont get on that well despite the sexual tension radiating between them but the banter between them is amazing as he tries to proves that he is her husband as well as a pirate but Olivia is much smarter than Sebastian gives her credit for in the beginning.
Initially he tries not to give into his passion for her as he has no desire to return to England, his title or his family but this quickly fails when he realises that she wants him as much as he wants her, so he plans to return her to England as his wife.
However, he doesn't plan to stay only return occasionally, Olivia meanwhile, is fighting over whether she wants that lifestyle or a far more attentive husband.
The sex scenes between these two are hot wild and filled with passion but there is much more to the novella.
We learn that Sebastian has made an enemy of two vicious twin brothers who wanted Olivia as their compensation but Sebastian refused as he is protective of her, not just as his wife but because he also cares for her.
Upon returning to England they fall into the roles of husband and wife but not before discovering that Olivia was meant to marry Sebastian's cousin resulting in a violent encounter between Sebastian and his father.
They also have prove to Olivia's father that their feelings for each other are genuine and that the rumours surrounding Sebastian arent going to harm Olivias reputation but it is too late for their marriage to be annulled despite the fact that neither want that.
The night after their return Sebastian isn't sure he has made the right decision for Olivia and is going out to find a whore when she uses all of her charm to get him to vent his anger at his own cold and abusive father on her, not violently but sexually.
This turns out to be the best sex they've had yet and Olivia admits that she loves Sebastian and he knows he can't bear to be parted from her so he needs to settle his affairs at sea.
That night he leaves leaving her a note asking her to trust that he will return and it breaks Olivia's heart.
He does return months later but Olivia tries to close herself off from him because she is angry with him but this fails since she loves Sebastian and he knows it.
Despite the seemingly forced nature of these scene it doesnt feel rapey at all as Olivia herself even admits that you cant rape the willing and she is more than willing.
It takes some convincing but he manages to explain that he left to deal with his ship and crew but also to take care of the twins that wanted her so badly.
He explains that he killed one but the other escaped and he immediately returned to her side to make sure she was safe and that he is never leaving again and will be with her as a husband should.
Olivia is still angry with him but does give in to his charms, although she doesn't say I love you even though he does for the first time.
During one trip the wife of a friend realises that Olivia is pregnant but she is quickly targeted by the escaped twin and held at gunpoint.
Sebastian tries to reason with him and can't so he shots Olivia but only injures her shoulder, After they return home Olivia tells Sebastian that she is pregnant and we see their relationship return to normal with their banter sparking up again and we see Olivias characteristic wit return but this pair got their happy ending.
Stolen pleasures was a delight to read and was a solidstars,
Luciens Gamble
The second novella is called Lucien's Gamble and it follows the couple who Sebastian and Olivia met towards the end of their novella, Lord Lucien Remington and his wife Julienne, however this is before their marriage.
Considering how happy they were in Stolen pleasures I am eager to see how they got there as Julienne mentions giving her husbandchildren which is how she recognises that Olivia is pregnant.
So we know that Julienne has got into Luciens gentlemans club disguised very poorly as a man in order to find her brother, Hugh.
Lucien is instantly struck by her beauty and wants her for his own but understand that she is a highborn lady and he is unworthy of her.
Julienne has always had to take care of her brother since the death of their parents when they were young, this thrust Hugh into a role he wasnt prepared to take and he has developed a huge gambling habit which has put their family on the brink of financial ruin, so Julienne knows she has to marry well in order to save them.
Lucien insists that she spends the night in the club despite how improper it is as he doesnt want anyone else figuring out who she is and why she is there but that night he creeps into her room only to watch her sleep as he has been obsessed with her for months but never dared approach her.
Julienne wakes up and we see the intense passion between this pair although they are held apart by their standing in society.
We learn that Julienne comes from a good family but Lucien is the bastard son for a Duke and a courtesan, his parents love each other very much and his father after giving his wife an heir never touched her again and he has a very good relationship with both of his parents which was very nice to see.
For a while they dance around each other but neither truly gives into the passion between them because they both know what is at stake.
When Julienne begins looking for a husband, she begins courting a man named Fontaine and Lucien cant stand to let her go.
He offers himself as a husband for Julienne but she refuses, there is a resulting argument where Julienne is willing to let Fontaine sleep with other women but not Lucien and he cant figure out why he would be different.
There is one scene that made me uncomfortable, it is at a ball during the Season where Lucien sees Julienne and Fontaine together and corners her forcing them to talk.
In this scene he does leave bruises on her although he makes up for this later, when he weeps in her lap because he has hurt her.
It falls to his mother to explain that she doesnt let his father sleep with other women because he knows she would kill him because she loves him and he remains faithful to her because he loves her in return.
Lucien realises that Julienne refused to marry him because she loves him and couldnt stand to share him with anyone else unlike Fontaine who she would marry purely for his money.
Lucien decides to fight for the woman he loves and ends up blackmailing her brother, Hugh into helping him, because of his low birth status he isnt permitted to be anywhere near Julienne
unless her brother approves it.
He agrees to wipe off part of Hughs massive debt with him in return for allowing to court his sister and Hugh agrees.
During this time, Julienne is courting both Fontaine and Lucien but she only has a desire for Lucien but it takes her a while to convince him that despite of his birth status that he is more than worthy of being her husband and he takes a while to convince her that despite his past he will be a good and faithful husband, working off the example his own father set for him.
Eventually she agrees to marry him and we see the run up to where they are in Stolen Pleasures.
While I really like Luciens Gamble it wasnt as good as Stolen Pleasures for me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Her Mad Grace DNF
I didnt even read this novella as it is Hughs story, We meet Hugh in Luciens Gamble as he is Juliennes brother but I had no desire to read his story as I didnt like him as a character at all.
Hugh in Luciens Gamble is selfish, childish and has no regard for the feelings of his family, He is willing to marry his sister off into a loveless marriage to settle his debts only to build them again, he is willing to run away for months leaving his sister and Aunt to deal with his creditors while he acts like a spoilt child.
Despite any redemptions that might come in this novella I wasnt going to read it, I was hoping for the story of Luciens parents as that would have been more enjoyable to read, We know Luciens father is a Duke, married and has another son besides Lucien, He has been with Luciens mother for overyears and they have a son together, They also work very well together even when his father has to attend engagements with his wife and I was wondering every time they appeared how the hell they got together and made it work through the years.
I would have preferred that story over Hughs any day, .