Customer Reviews

Something Reckless (Avon Red)

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Finding herself in the unenviable position of being the moral mouthpiece for the Ladies of the ton, Penelope is privately lauded by the women she stands for, and publicly spurned by almost everyone. The `gentlemen' of high society are the worst, with their extracurricular activities having been greatly impacted by her cause. They resolve to put a stop to her interference, one way or the other.

Jeremy Vaughn is elected to take care of the problem, using the best weapon at his disposal - seduction. Once the Duke of Kilgrath beds the wench, he will have what he needs to blackmail her into a quiet retreat from her cause, leaving he and his friends to their carnal games without impediment.

But best-laid plans often go awry, and Jeremy's plan backfires as he grows closer to the winsome Penelope. Once he befriends her, he finds it impossible not to like her, and soon finds himself in the position of confidante.

When his scheme to seduce her finally lands him in her boudoir, albeit anonymously, Jeremy cannot get enough of her. Has the seducer become the seduced? Will Jeremy be able to go through with his plan and betray Penelope?

Jess Michaels follows up her wonderful historical romance EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN with SOMETHING RECKLESS, with the previous heroine's sister Penelope in the role of heroine.

When we last saw Penelope in EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN, she was set to make a bad, yet respectable, marriage. Resigned to the idea that she must sacrifice love and passion for stability and the ability to assist her financially strapped mother and younger sisters, she weds and uncaring older man who sees her as a trophy, not a woman.

As SOMETHING RECKLESS begins, Penelope is now a widow of a year or so, and lives independently, having inherited her late husband's fortune. At a time when she might have found suitors at her door once again, she is instead avoided by the men of the ton since she began speaking publicly against their lascivious activities, which she deems immoral.

But a cause is a lonely bedmate, and so Penelope is ripe for the seduction intended to be her downfall. Although no virgin, having been married once, she has never experienced passion or sensual pleasures, and is completely unprepared - much to the readers' delight - for the overwhelming feelings that Jeremy Vaughn inspires with mere looks, the slightest of touches. Couple that with erotic missives sent daily by a mysterious admirer, and you can guess it isn't very long before Penelope succumbs to temptation. With a man like Jeremy in pursuit, who can really blame her? LOL

Jeremy could very accurately be called `idle rich.' Raised in his position as the first son of a wealthy Duke, whose title and funds he later inherited, everything has come easy for Jeremy. While he spends his days in pursuit of various pleasures, he has found his life somewhat unfulfilling lately. Is it boredom, or is something missing? Of course, as he spends more and more time with Penelope, he learns the truth of his malaise, just as he realizes how utterly shiftless and unproductive his life has been until now.

Watching as both Jeremy and Penelope cause positive changes in each other is just inspiring. While they seem to be polar opposites at the beginning, deep underneath, they learn they share similar dreams and sentiments of the sort that make a good foundation for long-lasting love.

I cannot recommend SOMETHING RECKLESS highly enough. Whether or not you read the previous book, you will no doubt find this story a deeply touching sensual romance.

Series Order:

Everything Forbidden (Avon Red)

Something Reckless (Avon Red)

Widow Penelope Norman must be stopped - that is the topic of conversation Jeremy, the Duke of Kilgrath, and his friends are having over drinks and cigars at their club. It seems that Lady Norman has interfered once too often in the lives of the `Nevers' and they want her stopped. Jeremy is lucky enough to draw the shortest matchstick, so it is up to him to silence Penelope. His plan? Seduce her with letters and illicit meetings in order to make her see exactly what she is missing by her crusade. How? By pretending to agree with her campaign to make the men of society faithful to their wives. Does it work? More than he ever thought possible.

Penelope Norman never wanted the job which she has been given. Her outspokenness has gotten her into trouble once too often and before she realizes it, she is given the title leading actress in a battle between the token wives of London's society. All it took was one innocent observation and the ball began rolling so fast that before she was able to breathe, Penelope was being held responsible for the newfound determination of forgotten wives and their hatred of the men who cuckold them. When the Duke of Kilgrath comes to her praising her work and offering to help her in her supposed campaign, Penelope is at once disbelieving as well as smitten. Why would someone as immoral as Jeremy Vaughn want to help her? She discovers exactly how he wants to help when he takes her to places women of society are never allowed. Admittedly, she is spellbound by the lack of dictates and the utter sensuality of these places. So much so that when the letters begin arriving from an unknown but highly eloquent admirer, Penelope can't help but follow her heart.

I was lucky enough to meet Penelope in Jess Michael's prior release, Everything Forbidden. I must admit that Penelope was not one of my favorite characters and I was somewhat dismayed to find out that SOMETHING RECKLESS was Penelope's story. I was genuinely afraid that I would not be able to like her as a heroine. Eight hours later I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Penelope Norman was completely and miserably misunderstood. Having finished SOMETHING RECKLESS, I see exactly where she was coming from and why she did the things that she did. In fact, I honestly adored her in this novel and loved how she handled herself. She never expected to have sensuality in her life after the death of her older husband. She was willing to be seduced and willing to be reckless, something that few society women were able to do. Then there was Jeremy Vaughn. He was a man after my own heart simply because of the way he dealt with Penelope. He wanted to hate her for her supposed influence on the women of the ton. He wanted to make her pay for the marriage troubles being experienced by the men in his club. He really and truly desired her and that is what stood out first and foremost. It was like he was on the edge of a cliff and just needed one slight push to fall in order to admit his love for Penelope. I am so glad he fell.

SOMETHING RECKLESS is simply stunning. I savored every word and action in this phenomenal romance. Jess Michaels has woven a historical tale full of emotions and complex characterizations. I highly recommend it!

In 1819 the "Upper Ten Thousand" male aristocracy members are irate that the Widow Penelope Norman has challenged them for their sensual excesses; she was sick of her late spouse's philandering and assumers other women detest their husbands' unfaithfulness. The Upper Ten Thousand choose a duke wastrel Jeremy Vaughn to end Penelope's campaign.

Although he prefers to stay out of the mess, the challenge to his pride is too great from friends he has known seemingly forever; so Jeremy agrees to end the reign of terror. He figures the easiest means to achieve success is seduce and blackmail Penelope into silence. In daylight Jeremy becomes a friend of Penelope; at night he sneaks into her bedroom wearing a mask. He accomplishes his mission, but feels like he lost the war as he has fallen in love with passionate prude.

The changing relationship between Jeremy and Penelope make for an entertaining Regency romance in which EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN becomes SOMETHING RECKLESS but worth pursuing. The lead couple makes this a fine read as he starts as a cad and she as a crusading prude; over time respect and ultimately love flourishes. However, she loathes the overindulgences of the Upper Ten Thousand at the cost of women and children while he is a card carrying member. Fans will enjoy this fine tale of just who seduced whom.

Harriet Klausner

Within Victorian London's elite male ton, a group of five men that call themselves "the Nevers", are up in arms over one obstinate yet beautiful woman named Lady Penelope Norman. The "Nevers" have vowed to never change, falter or love. Lady Norman is on a personal crusade to rebel against the sensual excess of London's finest gentlemen. In a nutshell, men flaunting their sexual conquests and publicly exhibiting their mistresses is an outrage to Lady Norman's view of proper social etiquette and this practice must cease.

Deciding something must be done about this meddlesome woman, the gentlemen draw straws as to which one of them is going to take on the cause and either blackmail, threaten, or seduce, the luscious blond Penelope. Her outrageous campaign against coveting mistresses must be stopped, one way or another.

Drawing the short straw, Jeremy Vaughn, Duke of Kilgrath, devises what he believes is a devious plan by pretending to side with Lady Norman and joins her cause. Inviting her to attend a Masquerade ball with him so that he can allow her to meet her enemy first hand, Penelope is hesitant but agrees to attend, only so that she can better understand the wicked ways of men in order to rehabilitate their licentiousness. Arriving at the exotic Cyprian Masked Ball, the Duke of Kilgrath silently chuckles as he purposely leaves her briefly unattended in search of champagne. What Penelope witnesses in the short time he is away, is enough to have her question her beliefs and feel the heat of her flushed cheeks, as she becomes voyeur to an evening of lavishly costumed partners captured in lusty and lewd acts of passion. Jeremy then starts a daily routine of escorting young Lady Norman around town to view private salons, and pleasure palaces, so that she can be educated and converted into a novice of love instead of a crusader against it. He also begins sending Penelope daily anonymous letters of erotic nature that detail his talents in the world of eros. And so the dance begins, teacher and friend, lover and rogue, both bringing Lady Norman slowly to her knees.

By day he is her kind and loyal friend, advising her on why men do what they do, and showing her the many avenues that her campaign can fight against. But by night, as he creeps into her candlelit window hidden beneath a black mask, he is lover unbound, teaching her to accept her own heart and desires. Wanting her to breakdown her defenses and admit her new wanton ways are hypocritical to her cause which will therefore win the bet with his friends, something totally unexpected happens to the Duke of Kilgrath, a circumstance that will turn around this sweet and sensual game of cat and mouse romance.

Great characters, good storyline, and a tender tale that is both sexy and seductive. Jess Michaels is an excellent writer whose talent to blend love and lust to the soft erotica genre will have fans begging for more! Loved this!

Here is the premise of the this novel Jeremy Vaughn, Duke of Kilgrath friends are tired of Penelope Norman telling wives that the 'men of TON' should give up their mistress. Penelope feels that why can't the wives be everything for their husband so they don't look elsewhere. Jeremy friends decide that she must be stopped and he get the short straw and decides to seduce her and then she will be a fraud. As with all good romance novels nothing goes as planned.

If you enjoy this author I would also suggest; Something Reckless (Avon Red), Everything Forbidden(Avon Red) and A Red Hot Valentine's Day Available due out 1/6/09. This author also writes under another name Jenna Petersen;From London With Love] (Lady Spies Book 1),[[ASIN:0061138088 Desire Never Dies(Lady Spies Book 2),Seduction Is Forever(Lady Spies Book 3) ,Scandalous and Lessons From a Courtesan, Her Notorious Viscount due out April 2009.

I wasn't aware that this was part 2 in a series by the author. However, it became clear upon reading it that there was a back story that I was not fully aware of, and one of my complaints is that the main characters did not feel as it they had been fully developed.

In the beginning of the book, I found it difficult to empathise with the female protagonist, Penelope. She was largely ostracised after gaining a reputation for being rather puritanical. I couldn't understand why instead of clarifying the misunderstanding, she decided to publicly embrace a point of view that privately she wasn't sure she entirely endorsed. I bought the book thinking it it would be a battle of the wills between the opinionated high-minded maiden and the debauched but charming rake. What I got was something entirely different, mostly because Penelope was too weak-minded to engage in a battle of any sort. She played the victim to perfection and spent the latter half of the novel crying buckets, with every other character asking some version of "Penelope, are you well?" or "Penelope, I am worried about you." Without spoiling the details, suffice it to say that I could not enjoy any of the romantic scenes because I just felt that she was foolish and hypocritical.

Jeremy's character was fairly inconsistent. In the beginning he agrees to this scheme to expose Penelope as a fraud because he was genuinely bored, restless and detached from his friends and family, and was eager to try something novel. It was therefore odd that he continued with the deception even after he started caring for Penelope and repeatedly pointed out how he would have to sacrifice his friends for Penelope, when he had never been shown to confide in them or spending time with them.

I really hope the other novels by this author are better.

Mostly sex. The writing was a little stilted there at the end, but all around a fun read. If you like erotica and have little patience for the winding plots of romance novels, this is pretty much your book.

This was quite a good one! I liked the first book a little better but just a little! Cannot wait for the next one!

Penelope decided to make the sexual affairs of the greatest rakes of the ton public knowledge, which the ladies applaud in private, but shun her in public. The males of the ton aren't happy of her either, so that they choose Jeremy Vaughn to end her revenge campaign. But no one ever imagined that he would fall in love with her.

I have to confess that I was surprised and a little dismayed when I discovered that Penelope was the heroine of SOMETHING RECKLESS, but I was more than surprised by the result of Ms. Michaels work.

The relationship between the prim and proper Penelope and the rakish rogue Jeremy makes SOMETHING RECKLESS a very entertaining and amusing as well as steamy hot story. Both of them undergo quite a change while the story develops, from an unlikely pair to soul mates. They bring the best out of the other one and soon they learn that they have more in common that they ever thought are possible. Penelope and Jeremy's story will definitely touch your heart and you will love it. Ms. Michaels gifted her reader with a wonderful story.

SOMETHING RECKLESS is the sequel to EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN (you met the heroine there), although it can be read as a stand-alone, I will recommend EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN, too.

I can recommend this book not only to all fans of the more steamy novels, but also those of Regency novels. SOMETHING RECKLESS is a book that you don't want to miss.

Courtesy of Loveromances and more

I really liked this second part of the series. Once again Jess Michaels really brings the characters alive. While I did not like Pen at all as much as I liked Miranda, and thought the story was weaker than Something Forbidden, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story. I hope there will be another in the series that will cover the youngest sister, and show us more of the characters from the first two books, especially Ethan and Miranda.