Customer Reviews

Beguiled

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This historical romantic erotica set in Medieval Scotland is different in tone and content than most erotic romances out there. The tone and narrative in this New Concepts Publishing novel is darker, more explicit and graphic than the stuff you'd read in romanticas published by Berkley, Brava, even Ellora's Cave. And that is quite a refreshing change of pace. Beguiled is one scorching novel not for the faint of heart. Lady Alexandra disguises herself as a young man and escapes her castle in Scotland, fleeing from an arranged marriage. She rescues a damsel in distress while en route to her cousins' home. And that is what changes her life. The damsel in question is Lady Constance Blackmore and her four enormous brothers decide to keep Lord Alex imprisoned in their castle, afraid that the boy may be a spy for the McPhersons, which happen to be her cousins. All of the Blackmores are wary of Alex, especially Lord Bronson, who thinks that Alex may be after his sister. When he discovers that Alex is a woman, he is overwhelmed with desire and begins a unique and delectable game of seduction that will scorch the reader. There are some twists throughout the novel.

New Concepts Publishing is an erotic e-publisher, which is why I am not surprised that the book is only 212 pages long. However, I enjoyed this novella (too short to be a novel). The sexual tension between Bronson and Alex is amazing. I couldn't wait for those two to hit the sack. Their initial sexual encounter is quite shocking. As said earlier, the content of this novel is not for the faint of heart. Alex maintained her guise as a male almost throughout the entire book and Bronson seduced her as he would a male despite knowing that Alex is a she. I found the seduction quite different from typical romanticas out there. Bronson is scrumptious -- an alpha male through and through. The author keeps you guessing on whether his feelings for her are loving or sexual ones all the way to the end. And the ending has a pleasant surprise. My only complaints are that the secondary characters are underdeveloped and that the pace of the story changes in an abrupt way. At first, the novel has a leisure pace and the seduction and sexual tension are prolonged in a smolderingly enticing way. Then the story in the last forty or so pages of the book seems rushed. I wish the novel had been longer. All in all, I enjoyed Beguiled very much and this won't be the only NCP book I will read. I recommend it if you're in the bargain for a quick, erotic read.

Masquerading as a young lord traveling to her cousins in Scotland, Lady Alexandra's plans are sidetracked when she "rescues" a damsel in distress and becomes embroiled in a feud between the Blackmores and her cousins. Alex only wants to escape, but Lord Bronson is convinced she has designs on his sister, and he has no intention of letting Alex out of his sight.
When Lord Bronson discovers the young lord is in truth a woman, it sets him into a rage of passion and desire. Is she spy or temptress? Does she seek ruin upon their household?
Beguiled beyond reason, tempted to the forbidden, Bronson knows of but one way to delve her secrets....
Rating: Contains graphic explicit sex and language; some instances of sexual content which could be offensive to delicate readers; and a sexually aggressive hero.
That's the book's description on the back cover. When you just read this description, this books doesn't seem very unusual. What makes it so is the unusual mixture of humour with a rather dark sensuality (the hero is very dominant in general, and at first he tries to keep up Alexandra's disguise as a boy and takes her like one as a result). So if you're into politically correct romances and nice sex, this is definitely not your book. But if you like your hero a little darker and dominant, this book is very entertaining and erotic. I found it a pleasure to read and look forward to more books by this author.

In 1540, Lady Alexandra Montague is running away to her cousins the McPhersons in Scotland, when she unwittingly saves damsel in distress, Lady Constance Blackmore. Problem is, for safety's sake, Alex is dressed as a man, moustache and all. As thanks, the infatuated young lady takes the reluctant 'Lord' to her father's house, where adventures in mistaken identity ensue. When Lord Brandon, Constance's brother, discovers Alex is a woman, he becomes obsessed with the idea of seducing her. However, he worries she may be a spy sent by the McPhersons. He will stop at nothing in order to discover what her true intentions are, and the best way get the answers he requires is to ignite her lust with his own.

I loved this book! I read the whole thing in one night. The story is just fun, fun, fun! Julia Keaton's characters are smart and charismatic. It is very refreshing to encounter a spunky heroine who knows what she wants and goes after it, and although slightly misguided, isn't a completely irrational ditz. The main male character is devestatingly sexy, in a take-charge, alpha kind of way. The secondary characters just add to the fun.

The are many luscious, erotic scenes, including some not for the faint-hearted. I found they were very well executed, and remained very hot, considering certain pivotal plot elements. This is indeed erotica - keep this in mind if you've only ever read regular romance novels before.

'Beguiled' is a story that doesn't take itself seriously, remains consistent throughout, and where the writing flows in a delightfully straightforward manner. I especially enjoyed the way the dialogues were written, using the parlance of the times, i.e. aye, nay, 'tis, "I must needs be on my way." This could have seemed contrived, but the author manages to make it all feel natural.

I'll be looking for Julia Keaton's 'Lady of Sorrow' and upcoming 'Stranger in my Bed', as well as any of her future novels.

I haven't finished this book yet but I have to say that it could benefit from a thorough editing. The authors grasp on the English language appears to be tenuous because there are a lot of words used which don't make sense in the context of the story.
"The cavernous trees"?
"She would soon subjugate herself to such games"?
"Constance twittered"?
It's very distracting. There are also numerous typos and the sentence structure is often unwieldy.

Also ... "manroot" as a substitute for the word penis? Um.... no.

The use of "medieval" language in the characters dialogue is VERY inconsistent throughout the part of the book I have read. The characters switch from using quasi medieval language to modern English with no rhyme or reason. I know it's supposed to be set in a medieval environment and were the language used consistently I suppose it would add to the story... but do it properly or don't do it at all.

I guess I should be reviewing the actual story but I find I can't focus on it for obvious reasons. It's a shame because I think the plot has a lot of potential.

Knowing what I now know, I definitely would not have paid $4.50 for this book.