The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom & Their Lover by Victoria Janssen

Wretched be the woman of wealth and fortune who fails to produce a suitable heir...

And wretched is what Duchess Camille feels living with the cruel and debauched duke. But that soon turns to desperation when she learns her lecherous husband is plotting to have her killed to make way for a more nubile and fertile companion. Knowing she cannot sit idly by and wait for death, she flees into the night, taking with her her own young lover---the stable hand Henri--and her most loyal servants.

With a mind to finding refuge with Maxime, her first love who years ago ignited her sexuality, Camille and her servants take cover in brothels along the way and succumb to the physical delights of the offer, sating their longings and fueling jealousies with one another. But the duke's men are not far behind, and Camille knows they must press on, hoping against hope that the man wh has every reason to turn her away will remember the fervent passion that once coursed between them.


Okey dokey. This is going to be an interesting review. I was actually approached by the author herself to review this book. I said sure, she sent it to me, I read it and...well...honestly? I'm not sure what to say about it.

It's an odd hodgepodge of a book. I guess you could say it's a romance, but it definitely doesn't read that way, at least not to me. It starts out with Camille deciding to seduce Henri because she needs to get pregnant. The first sex scene is just that; he bends her over and enters her from behind. Not really sexy.

I think my biggest issue with the book was that it was trying too hard to be sexy and it came across more like a textbook of sexual positions. There's m/f, f/f, m/m, etc. etc. It got to the point where I was thinking "Now what?" I don't think that's the reaction an author is looking for when it comes to a book that is termed an erotica.

In fact, that's what I'd consider this book. Erotic fiction. It read more like a woman's journey through her sexuality than an actual romance. Since I'm not really into erotic fiction, it honestly didn't do a lot for me.

I don't know if Ms. Janssen has written a book before, but I do have to say that I did enjoy her voice, though the book fell completely flat for me. I think if the romance had been more the point, I would've liked it better. Also, if the sex had been a bit better written. It read kind of flat to me. Maybe I've read too much erotic romance? :)

Anyway, I don't know if I would pick up another book by her. Maybe I'm the only one out there who feels this way, but her style just isn't mine.

Again, it's not that the book is bad, it's just not my personal cuppa tea.


My Rating: C-