Review: To Seduce an Earl - Lori Brighton

Series: Seduction #1
Genre: Historical romance
Pages: 270, ebook
Published: July 2011

Grace Brisbane will do whatever it takes to save her dying mother, but with a stepbrother intent on gambling and drinking, their funds have run dry. What’s a girl to do when she’s left poor and destitute? Seduce an Earl, of course. Handsome and rich, the Earl of Rodrick is the perfect target. Unfortunately, Rodrick despises innocent virgins. There’s only one place where Grace can learn the secrets of seduction… Lavender Hills. The moment Grace spots Alex, the man who will teach her the ways of intimacy, she knows she must guard her heart. Alex is charming and gorgeous and completely inappropriate. 

As a young man, Alex Weston is blackmailed into working at Lavender Hills in order to save his family from London ’s prisons. There could be worse ways to spend his days and nights. Still, seduction has become a chore and thoughts of freedom keep him up at night. Until he receives a new client, the sweet Grace Brisbane. He should be thinking only of his growing need to escape, instead he’s captivated by the lovely Grace. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that their brief meetings aren’t enough. For while marriage between a lady and a whore could never happen, Alex knows in his heart that he is willing to accept nothing less. 

My Thoughts:

Not long ago I read my first book about a nice whore, this time it was about a male whore. But him I just felt so sorry for. 

Alex has been a male prostitute for years. He did it to save family, something I can admire. And later on he stays to save his family. I get it, if it came out that their son was a whore then the scandal would rock the ton. Not to mention all the people he would recognize. He is lost, he his bored, and I did feel so sorry for him. At first it may have been fun, a 16 year old boy and all the women he could get, but now, not so much. 

Our heroine does not seek him out, but later on well yes she needs to seduce an earl so she can marry him and save her family. And he seems to like experienced women. Oh, Grace, her guy has something over him, and she is so blind. Well not for long as she will fall for Alex. Now if this is not a match that is doomed then I do not know. A lady of the realm and a male prostitute. I was pretty unsure how Lori would pull it off, because there were so many things that I could not have seen happening. But she found a way and I was very happy with the way the book ended. A great big HEA too. 

What I was a bit unsure of was the whole oh I am Russian and we had to hide and stuff plot. I just did not see why they would be shunned, but hey it was needed for the plot so he would become a whore. 

I think the end was the best part, not because it was a HEA and all that, but because it felt like the best conclusion that could be. Real too.

Conclusion:

If you want a different sort of historical romance then give this one a try.

Cover:

This one I like.

Joint Interview and giveaway: Edie Ramer and Lori Brighton

Today I have something different on my blog. Lis and I interviewed Edie Ramer and Lori Brighton. There are also 4 books to win :D

First up is Lori:

1. Do you plan to write more books with heroines from this family?

There will be a full length book 2 and 3 which will star two secondary characters from my first full length in this series, A Night of Secrets. So yes, more books, but not necessarily family members. And who knows, maybe some more short stories too. I have plenty of secondary characters to pick from!  

2. In this novella some will fight for their life. And you left some poor bastards at a gladiator arena. Do you have any plans to go back and free them?

Lol, yes, poor bastards. In the next full length book, A Night of Redemption, I’ll discuss these “fight clubs” (as another reviewer called them) in more detail. Will we go back and save any of the werewolves Aidan fights in the novella? Sadly, no. They’ve been left in the dungeon to rot.

3. We also got to see werewolves in this story, and since I do love my weres my question would be if you plan to have a were find love?

Yes! The next book, A Night of Redemption, will star Beth (Meg’s friend from A Night of Secrets), and the hero will be a werewolf! This will be out probably late spring 2012.

4. What made you write a historical with vampires in it?

I always set out to write straight historical romances, but somehow the paranormal always slips in. It’s what happened with my first book, Wild Heart, and what happened with A Night of Secrets. There are so many vampire books out there, I thought to make mine a little unique by placing a vampire in the past. And by the way, I have managed to finally write a full length historical romance without paranormal, To Seduce an Earl!

And now Edie Ramer:

How did your story The Fat Cat came to be?

Misty Evans suggested a Halloween theme to unify the stories. I immediately thought of the two traditional symbols of Halloween – a black cat and a witch. I knew it would be fun to play around with the elements. 

Cats have a prominent feature in your stories. In Cattitude the main lead also goes to a cat. How come there are so many cats in your stories?

I’ve tried to put dogs in books, but they don’t work as well. They’re needier than cats. I have two dogs, and they can’t be left alone for hours like cats. They pick inconvenient times to go outside and then inside. They eat anything. (My beagle ate rat poison last Friday, and we had to rush her to the vet’s. She’s okay now, but she didn’t have a good evening.) 

Besides, I love my cat’s personality in a different way than my dogs’. She’s confident and independent. She doesn’t ask me to pet her, she jumps on my lap and demands it. If I’m busy, she meows at me, letting me know that it’s time to give her attention. When she’s had enough, she gives me a little nip. How can I resist a character like that?

Tory is such a fun witty character. She made me laugh with her comments. What was the inspiration that made you create Tory?

Tory was the hero’s sister in Cattitude. She was fun and positive, kind of girlie but with a backbone. She’d hooked up with a boyfriend, and it looked like they would have an HEA. Readers have asked for another book on the characters from Cattitude, but I thought Belle made the book fun, and there was only one Belle. But what I didn’t realize was that there are other cats. Since I wanted the story to have a witch, Tory immediately came to my mind. It fit her character.

As for being witty, all my characters are wittier than I am. And taller. And braver. No way would I drive up to a mini-castle and fight a warlock for women’s souls. I’m way too chicken for that.

The proceeds for this anthology go to the breast cancer foundation, how did you come to be a part of this anthology?

I’d mentioned to Misty Evans that I’d like to do an anthology of short stories and give the proceeds to charity. She emailed me back and said “Let’s do it!” I’m a breast cancer survivor and my critique partner and good friend has been fighting cancer for 15 years. So that was an easy pick. We started sending out emails, and writers agreed to come on. It’s been a wonderful experience.

In the foreword Stacia Kane talks about the use of condoms in romance stories. What is your view on that?

I loved Stacia’s foreword. The best foreword ever. I’ve mentioned condoms in my books but don’t make a big thing about it. In Galaxy Girls, though, it was a plot point in a scene with my heroine, who’s been bred to be a broodmare. When they’re ovulating, they can’t stop themselves from wanting to have children. It’s a primal need. Kind of the way my beagle feels for any kind of food. Even if it will kill her.

Thanks so much for having me and Lori here today and helping to get the word out about ENTANGLED. My critique partner found out a couple weeks ago that her tumor markers are up. That means the cancer cells are cooking again. It feels good to be doing something to help stop the disease. 

And now on to the Giveaways!

4 winners, 3 different books!

1. Open to all, worldwide

2. Ends October 3rd

3. Just enter, that is it.

But be free to ask questions if you want to :) since Edie will stop today.

2 e-copies of Entangled

Check our review here

1 e-copy of To Seduce an Earl by Lori Brighton

1 ecopy of Galaxy Girl by Edie Ramer