Tuesday, November 19, 2013

BOOK REVIEW compilation of Viveka Portman's novellas.



These are all ARCs by netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I was in the mood for some erotic reading, as weird as that sounds. Basically I jsut wanted to read a simple book that would take me no more than an hour to read, so I was scrolling through netgalley and  found these two novellas.  I'm beginning to like novellas even more (especially when I actually know thats what I'm getting myself into). A quick little read.

The Secret Diary of Lady Catherine Bexley by Viveka Portman
(a novella)


The Secret Diary of Lady Catherine Bexley
 
Lady Catherine Bexley is new to marriage and the marriage bed, but surely there must be more to it than this? Her husband is proper and perfunctory — treating her with careful respect but leaving her aching for more.

When she witnesses a gentleman disciplining a maid at a house party, the ache explodes into ravenous desire. She finds herself no longer willing to wait for her husband’s stiff and passionless attentions — and soon develops a naughty plan to finally get what she wants.

 
 
Ahh, the good ol' tale of the man being to respectful while the lady just wants to get railed. 
 
Written in a diary style narrated by Catherine Bexley.
 
Catherine is new to marriage, and at that time this means being a virgin. Her husband, much older (but that's besides the point) is the epitome of being too gentlemanly, he performs his marriage bed duties, getting off but leaving poor ol' Catherine wanting more. She even questions that maybe women aren't meant to have an orgasm and is meant to feel this longing. (thank god that's not true).
 
Anyways, at a party Catherine stumbles upon a very illicit act that involves spanking and the not so respectful treatment that her hubby has been given her.  She isn't scared away, she in fact is turned on by this act and now finds it to be her mission to get her husband to perform what she saw.
 
She tries to seduce him, and he being the gentlemen (aka prude in my books) doesn't get it. She also feels she can't straight up and ask him, as that would be very unlady like. Being a 19 year old, newly married she isn't aware of the protocol of  it either. And surely you have to be respectful to whatever your husband wants!
 
Finally, the poor girl gets what she wants! (sorry for the spoiler) But it was a happy day.
 
I enjoyed this one. I couldn't help but feel bad for women back in the day. I'm sure this happened all too much. The women was there just to take the man and sire a child. No desire. No satisfaction. Just being used. 
 
 
The Wicked Confessions of Lady Cecelia Stanton by Viveka Portman
(A novella)
The Wicked Confessions Of Lady Cecelia Stanton (novella)When faced with a rakish, lusty husband, what is a proper English wife to do but educate herself in the art of bedplay?

“Marriages are strange things, none stranger perhaps than this betwixt me and my lord husband.”

Lady Cecelia is married to the dashing and philandering Lord William Stanton, a situation that would distress even the most composed and refined gently-born lady. However, Cecelia has a secret balm to her dissatisfaction: her maid, Bess Miller.

Cecelia’s inexperience and William’s insatiable appetites fuel her desire to learn, and Bess is a willing teacher. Then, when Cecelia blossoms into pregnancy and can no longer accommodate William’s needs, he distances himself, and Bess becomes her only solace and comfort — and the channel for her most intimate desires. As Cecelia struggles to understand her own feelings, gossip begins to spread. William starts asking questions, and wicked confessions must be made...


Lesbian love back in the day. You know it happened. You also know threesomes happened too.

Cecelia is married to Lord William Stanton, a known philander and sex lover Which was very evident on their marriage night. Again, she is a virgin and the act was nothing but painful for her. While complaining of this to her maid, Bess, she learns some valuable lessons. Bess becomes a teacher of sorts, teaching Cecelia there is much to be pleasurable in the marriage bed.

Cecelia is very fertile, and through every pregnancy her doctor tells her not to engage in sexual activity.  This does not bode well to sex addict William. Throughout these pregnancies William goes to London and fucks around until Cecelia is ready to be his 'one and only'. However, William isn't the only cheater. She finds solace and love in Bess, using each of his escapes to London to strengthen their bond.

However, during one of her last pregnancies she finds herself witnessing her husbands infidelity (the same one that Catherine Bexley witnessed above), and she isn't mad. In fact she is turned on.  And what to do with this, well she actually has the balls and tells her husband. *SPOLIER* She tells him a lot of things too, like that the rumours of her are true and that she liked watching him. And he doesn't flip out, instead he very much welcomes the newfound sexual desires of his wife.

I enjoyed this one very much. It was written very tastefully. But this one left me wanting more. What about the new found sexual needs and wants that each character had, their little menege trois. I feel this could be another novella that Viveka will write.


The thoughts on both:
 
 I didn't realize that they were co-existing books featuring the same characters. I read the Catherine Bexley one first and was surprised to see that some names featured in the other book. That being said, you don't have to read the books in order.  I did enjoy the Cecelia Stanton book a bit more.
 
Again, its a novella so it is a quick and easy read,but the author does a good job bringing you in. There are no cliffhangers, no unanswered questions but good ol'  historical fiction erotica.  I do recommend these if you want a short little entertaining read. They aren't going to make you all hot and antsy mind you.

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