Hannah Morse, $2.99, ISBN 978-1-7345054-2-9
Historical Erotica, 2022
Hmm, I am not familiar with Hannah Morse and the cover art of M’Lady, while pretty, is kind of on the generic side. so maybe I’ll just say another time then…
She straightened up and walked away, her hips swaying. “By all definitions, I am a whore.” She turned to face him. “But if I fuck someone, it’s because I want to, and it’s extra. If you please me, I might let you pleasure me. Or I might pleasure you. To completion, I should add. Most of my patrons aren’t here for that. But you’re a pretty enough present that I find you tempting, my Scotsman.”
Sold.
The lady in question is simply Rose to Ian Fitzwilliam, the new Earl of Whitecliffe, or he can call her “M’lady” if he wished to. He is a Scotsman that, in a previous life, eked out a very working class life to provide for himself and his mother until he was informed one day that the old earl had croaked and yay, he’s actually the new earl now.
Aside from the usual estates and money, he has also inherited a slew of memberships to some of the most unsavory clubs and circles in London. He’d graciously terminated his membership at most of them, but curiosity and not a little amount of randiness draw him to check out his membership to The Secret Treasure, one of London’s most infamous pleasure clubs.
It’s not that he is a virgin, of course, as he’d had some lusty romps with naughty cougars in the past, but he’s not exactly the town bicycle and he’s certainly too poor to pay for sex… until now. Until Rose.
“Right, so.” He closed his eyes again. “One of the drawings was of a man tied up with a woman spanking him. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. And that, um, that’s what I want.”
So, let’s see. One, a guy who is pretty much working class in all but name. Two, a genuine courtesan. Three, he wants to be dominated.
I have three oogies ready to give out already on the basis of this alone. Let’s see if the author would earn the other two… oh wait.
After the promising first encounter at the Treasure, I am then served a few chapters of Ian mooning over his encounter and Rose sighing about how she can never have a conventional life with him. These two have barely met, and they are acting like adolescents in love with the first person they’ve just shagged? What is this?
Then they are back together again, and I smile.
Then it’s back to the conventional chapters that continue to see these two continue to act like they are so besotted, and I don’t buy that. Okay, Ian’s behavior may make sense as he’d only done the missionary position a few times and nothing else, but Rose should be more jaded about finer feelings, given her job and all.
Also, for someone that supposedly has many clients that want to be dominated by her, Rose is disappointing in that she’s a lot like way too many so-called dominatrix heroines in the genre—deep inside she just wants a conventional marriage life. Since I don’t see many guys playing the dominant role in their hanky-panky times wanting to be a normal husband, I suppose this is just romance genre gender norms in play—a woman can’t be “feminine” unless she’s somehow in a dominated or weaker position than the guy—and it’s all tad disappointing.
The nail on the coffin is these two getting married with full blessings from his mother. Oh, come on!
Now, M’Lady is a well-written story, with evocative phraseology—especially in the naughty scenes, hence my perpetual dismay that there aren’t enough of them here—and I’ve already signed up to be notified of the author’s future releases. I’m impressed by what I read, but more by the author’s style than the story itself, alas.
This is one story that brazenly flaunts its unconventional premise to my face, promising a hot and raunchy read, only to then bend over backward to be as conventional as can be. I don’t mind having read it and being introduced to the author, but I’m always going to be disappointed by what this one turns out to be. It’s not bad, but it never succeeds in delivering what it promises in the opening chapter.
