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.