Sex and the Single Earl [Mass Market Paperback]

Vanessa Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2010

Their marriage was convenient. . .

Simon St. James, fifth Earl of Trask, knows he could do worse in the marriage of convenience department. Sophie Stanton may be a bit of a social liability, with her ungovernable ways and flighty nature, but Simon has responsibilities as an earl that far outweigh happiness in the household. And as for happiness in the bedroom. . .he has to admit he sees Sophie's potential in that arena. . .

Their passion was not!

But Sophie isn't some bargaining chip to be traded, and she's not about to let Simon St. James tell her how to live her life--even though she has nurtured a crush on the handsome young earl for as long as she can remember. If his idea of courtship is telling her what to do, then she is not interested, or at least she is trying not to be. But when his scolding words turn to scorching kisses, suddenly Sophie starts paying attention. . .

Praise for Vanessa Kelly and Mastering the Marquess

"A rare gem." --Julianne MacLean, USA Today bestselling author

"Fast paced and difficult to put down." --Romantic Times

"A delectable treat." --Sharon Page, author of The Club

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zebra Books; Original edition (May 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420106554
• ISBN-13: 978-1420106558
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #803,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vanessa Kelly was born and raised in New Jersey, but eventually migrated north to Canada to study English Literature at the University of Toronto. She writes sensual, Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra, and was named by Booklist as one of the "new stars of historical romance." Vanessa also writes contemporary romance with her husband under the pen name of V.K. Sykes. You can visit her on the web at www.vanessakellyauthor.com or at www.vksykes.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard, well, impossible to put down, May 23, 2010

By 

Sophie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex and the Single Earl (Mass Market Paperback)

I agree completely w/ Teresa - this book was interesting from a historical perspective, and the romance was compelling. Most regency-era books, though I enjoy them, ignore or at best gloss over the realities of the time period. Vanessa Kelly's book gives us a peek into what would become crises in the UK and the US - child labor, enslavement, and the economic disruptions caused by war and the Industrial Revolution. Not so different from today, in many ways, when human trafficking is taking place in greater numbers than ever, ever before and global economic crises are looming...

But back to the romance...the end was implausible for me, but I was engaged by the Earl's dawning, in a duh-this-is-a-real-guy-way (I prefer true love like that over "lust-that-looks-like-reality"), love for Sophie. And I was caught by Sophie's dilemma - her deep love for the Earl, yet her deep commitment to doing what she knew was right -regardless of Society's consequences.

Absolutely worth the read, and it's not a serious book like I may have made it sound (it's late and I need to put my kids to bed) - fun, sexy, interesting, hard to put down... I'm looking forward to reading more from Vanessa Kelly.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Female lead is a strong-willed puppet, June 6, 2010

By 

jhl (VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sex and the Single Earl (Mass Market Paperback)

The regency-romance genre has strong rules for the proper behavior of ladies, and Sophie Stanton, the female lead of Sex and the Single Earl has no intention of following them. The title of the book, as well as all the descriptions on the front and back cover imply that we're really going to get modern mores in regency dress. That bugs some readers, but I don't mind it - I enjoy a writer like Amanda Quick, who creates modern, independent women in historical guise. The book is well written, though the characters are rather 1-dimensional, and Vanessa Kelly seems to have a pretty good grasp on the historical period. That would probably have led to a 4-star review, but I didn't buy the relationship between the leads.

The "tension" in this book revolves around the pressure everyone around Sophie - especially Simon St. James, her love interest - places on her to conform. The irony is that Sophie ultimately almost always does conform, and Simon, who is presented as the most priggish, reputation-obsessed character, actually seduces her repeatedly in a blatant disregard for his society's values. The contradictions inherent in this behavior for both lead characters does bug me, especially since no one seems to notice how inconsistent their behavior is. So that would have resulted in probably 3 stars, but I had to bring it down to 2 because of the ending.

Romance is supposed to be far-fetched, but it shouldn't be stupid, and alpha males are appealing, but not if they're abusive. When Sophie races off to save a lower-class girl from being auctioned off at a brothel (her one act of non-conformity!) and ends up being beaten and an inch from being raped and killed by the girl's father, she should not also have been subjected to threats by her fiance before he even gets her out of the brothel, nor should he have pressed rough sex on her the next day. I don't know what the appeal is of an innocent girl who is pushed into torrid sex and then emotionally abused by her lover, but I really didn't like it. And if Sophie had truly been non-conformist, she would have kicked Simon's a-- to the curb (I guess I should have been warned by the description of Sophie on the back cover as "ungovernable and flighty" - so belittling!).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well, I loved it!, October 23, 2010

By 

Donna - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sex and the Single Earl (Mass Market Paperback)

I was surprised by some of the negative reviews of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a good plot, memorable characters, and held my interest till the very end. Ms. Kelly, I look forward to your next book! I'm actually hoping Becky gets her own story. :-)