Customer Reviews

I Love Rogues

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3 star:		(3)
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"Zuleika and the Barbarian" by Bertrice Small. Princess Zuleika of Dariyabar spent her life expecting to wed her cousin Haroun, but he coldly informs her that since he no longer needs her as he will be the next sultan with her brothers dead, she will be given to the barbarian at the gates. Not even a wish with a genie could help the embattled Zuleika. Still rather than wait to become Amir Khan's gift, Zuleika offers the barbarian a sensual deal to save her people from his horde and her cousin's ruthlessness.

"All the Secret Pleasures" by Thea Devine. Though their respective fathers wanted them married, Lady Corinna rejected her neighbor Simon Charlesworth to wed an older earl because his rank and wealth were at the level she expected of a spouse. By 1820 Corinna is a widow when she meets Simon for the first time in years, but this time he plans to get his beloved in his bed forever.

"The Bedroom is Mine" by Jane Bonander. In 1880 Twin Hearts, California logging mogul Ross Benedict bets that he will never shave his beard off for a woman. His sister Sam arranges for homeless cook Lily Sawyer to stay in Ross' cabin. Soon Ross and Lily argue over who owns the bed before deciding to share it.

The three battles of the boudoir novellas are well written with engaging lead characters even though the first two tales occasionally allow the sex scenes to forget there is the plot. Exotic romance fans will appreciate these fine novellas.

Harriet Klausner

I found this book to be delightful and disappointing. I loved the story by Bertrice Small, my all-time favorite romance author. She did not disappoint me with her decadent and delicious tale. Thea Devine's tale was not to my liking, as none of her writing has been, though I did actually manage to finish reading this story. Jane Bonander wrote a sweet tale of a sister trying to play matchmaker for her brother. It was a fun read. The book is worth the price for Bertrice Small's story. I only wish it had been longer.

I found this book to display some of the best aspects of romance stories, and the worst. The best being the emotional struggle for the characters in the Bonander story which was affecting, and the wort being the utterly shallow and insipid writing of Small. The Small romance had no detail of plot, character, or circumstance. It was as if the elements were chosen at random from a Arabian mad-lib, and strung together with lots of adverbs. The love scenes were especially disappointing, with mechanical explainations of love acts, having no purpose other than to be "naughty". The Thea Devine story was a pleasant deviation from the tiresome girl-plotting-to-trap/impress-guy scenario, with compelling love scenes. One last thing; I didn't consider any of the men to be "Rogues".

I thought this was a great book. I enjoyed it very much. Bertrice Small is my favorite author so anything by her is fine with me. I wish other romance writers were as acurate with history and details as she is. Keeps you coming back for more!

In this uneven boudoir romance novella, maestro Bertrice Small easily outshines with her unconventional tale "Zuleika and the Barbarian" with its exotic Arabic setting. The tale excites with delicious cunning, pageantry and sorcery with Zuleika the Princess of Dariyabar outwitting his cousin Haroun to regain her hold of the throne. She strikes a bargain with her betrothed Amir Khan and with the aid of her genie Kansbar, she has to fend herself from the evil plots of the wicked harem mistress. Thea Devine and Jane Bonander choose a safer route with mediocre romances. "All the Secret Pleasure" by Devine is a tale that sees Simon Charlesworth convincing worldy widow Corinna Woodholme that she is to be his only choice in marriage; Bonander's simple tale is an encounter of love sparks between bachelor Ross Benedict and feisty Lily Charlesworth whose trust had been misplaced by her ex. Save for Bertrice Small's tale, this anthology is largely diluted and unexciting.

Bertrice Small manages to save this book with her story, but just barely. Certainly not Small's best work and the whole "genie" thing was really out there. Thea Devine and Bonander stories were completely uninteresting, not only the plot and the characters, but the sex scenes as well. Is anyone else convinced that Devine is a male? No woman uses words found in "her" writing. I awarded this book 2 stars only because of Small. In the future, I will avoid Devine's work at all costs.

This book typifies my frustration with many anthologies - inconsistant quality. Small's story is horrid. 4-way orgies where the men share the women they supposedly love is not my idea of romance, and this will be my first and last work by her to be read. Devine's contribution is excellent, and why I sought this book out to begin with. Erotic and romantic, with excellent characterization for such a short novella. Reading it cleansed my soul of the dreck that Small exposed me to. Bonander's was pretty good, not as romantic as Devine's piece but at least this couple was monogamous and the plot was clever. So I recommend reading the last two stories, and skipping Small's unless you know, and like, her questionable style.