How do you feel about ‘experienced’ heroines? Do you prefer your heroines virginal and innocent? – Margaret Rowe


Tempting Eden

Author: Margaret Rowe
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Pub. Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0425234310
Retail: $15.00
352 pages

Forbidden desire is the hardest to deny … Eden Emery is no stranger to sin. To keep her sister safe from harm, she’s paid a steep price with her body—and very nearly lost her soul. But when Baron Ivor Hartford, the very Devil himself finally dies, her troubles are far from over.

Major Stuart Hartford, the late baron’s nephew, is in the market for an honorable wife, but first he has to take care of the matter of his Uncle Ivor’s ward—a young woman who makes him question the virtue of being proper. For the passion she incites burns away his inhibitions and inflames his heart.

But Eden has vowed to never again cede her destiny to a man. And Hart is left with no choice but to tempt the temptress herself, to show the woman he longs to possess forever that passion can heal, that the sins of the past can be overcome, and that submission can be the greatest power of all.

~*~*~

Deeply disturbing, dark, and poignant, Tempting Eden is a love story that will stay with you long after the final page is read.

Maragaret Rowe, who also writes much lighter historical romances for Kensington/Brava as Maggie Robinson, pushes the boundaries of romance in this intense psychological, erotic tale. This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you do have the heart, it’s well worth the read.

At the very least, I was hesitant to read Tempting Eden. To say this is a disturbing romance would be, in my opinion, understating the matter. The premise of the book is taboo. The heroine, Eden Emery, is seduced by her stepfather, and at the age of eighteen willingly assumes the role of his mistress, plays the slave to his master.

I say his slave because not only are they lovers, her stepfather is the dom in this twisted relationship. He is cruel. He is sadistic. He is sick. The book begins by stating his intentions:

When he was done, she’d be the greatest whore in all of Christendom.

And good to his word, in the following four years, Eden’s stepfather, the Earl of Hartford, applies himself to doing precisely that. And his vow, his vision is a success. Eden does any and everything he asks of her. I have to admit this was the hardest thing for me to deal with in reading Tempting Eden, that the heroine took this road willingly…eagerly…at first.

Upon his death, his nephew and heir, Stuart Harford, or Hart as he is called, resumes responsibility for his uncle’s stepdaughters, Eden and her sickly younger sister, Jannah. He and his aunt travel to Hartford Hall to assess his inheritance: the property and the females themselves.

Eden’s introduction to the new lord nearly has her fainting at his feet, for he’s the younger image of his deceased uncle, the man who’d tortured her all those years. And to Hart, Eden is a scrawny wisp of a woman whom he considers ‘a plain virgin’. Little does he know.

But when he discovers a provocative drawing of her ‘au naturelle’ done by his very talented uncle, he immediately understands and is sickened by the nature of their relationship, thinking she seduced his uncle after her mother’s death. He had originally planned to send her away with his aunt after her sister died (Jannah’s illness is terminal), but now he wants her to have nothing to do with his family. The problem is his attraction to her, which of course bothers him to the nth degree because he is the man some called ‘Holy Hartford’ because of his pillar of moral rectitude.

Eden is just as pained and horrified by her attraction to him, which wars with the depth of the shame she bears over the relationship she had with his uncle. Her shame only deepens when Hart confronts her with his knowledge of it. She believes he’s found the book his uncle had published (one single copy) to document his seduction of her titled, The Seduction of a Young Lady.

For me, the other difficult part of this book were the flashbacks. Very difficult. Ms. Rowe does not skimp on the details of Eden’s seduction at her stepfather’s hands. Most of these flashbacks are explicit in nature. There were many times that I sorely wished she had been raped. The fact that I feel this way is a bit stunning, but that’s how difficult it was for me to digest the fact that she was so very willing in the beginning. This affair began when her mother was alive and Eden had no compunction in carrying on with her mother’s husband behind her back. This just added a more unsavory air to something that was unsavory enough.

But once I grew to understand the psychology of this kind of seduction, Eden’s willingness made sense in the context of a mother who might have been in her life in body but certainly not in mind. Her biological father was deceased and the only male figure in her life set his mind on her seduction years in advance. Eden was so ripe for the picking with his flirtations and liberal helpings of wine, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Trials and tribulations abound in Eden and Hart’s difficult road to understanding and happily ever after, but they make it, this is a romance after all. Hart has a level of understanding of this tragic part in her life that few men would, and Eden not only has to learn to trust him, she has to learn to forgive and trust in herself. Love, in the end, has the power to heal and give them a fresh start at a new beginning, as they leave the ghosts of the past behind. ~ Beverley

Rating: June Feature Review

Heat-Level: 6 (Erotic)

14 Replies to “Feature Review: Tempting Eden”

  1. Bev, thank you so much for the featured review and your careful consideration. Eden is not a run-of-the-mill romance heroine, and her HEA is even more deserved because of it. She’s really more than “a woman with a past” and I know she’s not for every reader. My publisher hopes that fans of Robin Schone, Anna Campbell and Emma Holly will give this book a try.

    For readers of your review, how do you feel about an “experienced” heroine? Or do you like your heroines virginal and innocent?

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  3. Hi Maggie,

    Thanks for dropping by. 🙂 You know I love having you on the blog.

    I have to admit that for most of my reading life, I’ve always preferred the virginal hero. I was raised on Harlequin romances and 99% of the books I read starred virginal heroines. But I was also young when I started reading.

    Certainly, life experiences and more reading, different books have changed that. I’d still prefer that my heroines are not promiscuous but they certainly don’t have to be virgins, especially the contemporaries because, let’s face it, that wouldn’t be AT ALL realistic.

    Although, I have to tell you I have this great idea for these single title contemporaries about these virginal heroines, because let’s face it, NOW they would be quite the anomaly. 😉

  4. I do believe when it comes to sex, women are more emotional than men so as long as the woman is emotionally involved with the man she is sleeping with, I don’t have a problem. I don’t like it when the heroine has one night stands. I know it’s a double standard, but it’s the way I feel.

  5. The virginal state of the heroine, for me, depends on the context of the story. Still, I have a difficult time with heroines who are seen as eagerly promiscuous, even in contemporary romances. Based on Bev’s review, I’d like to believe Margaret has drawn with psychological depth the reasons her heroine has made the choices she has. If I know up front what I’m in for (without preconceived notions), I can appreciate the story for itself. And I, for one, ADORE Anna Campbell’s Claiming the Courtesan.

    Good luck with your debuts and your career! 🙂

  6. For readers of your review, how do you feel about an “experienced” heroine? Or do you like your heroines virginal and innocent?

    I actually like it when heroine is experienced but I’m not sure how I will feel about this book but I will give this book a try since the story seems so unique and I do think stuff like this happens more often than we think.

  7. Lovely review. ^^ I like the virginal hero far better than the experienced one. There is something about the experienced ones that lead things to getting too kinky for me.

  8. I have never understood the whole virginal heroine thing. Virginal heroines with no life experience are BORING, at least to me. Plus they tend to be utterly clueless, helpless, TSTL, etc. At least in the contemporaries these days, women are allowed to have had one or two previous partners without being labeled “promiscuous”.

  9. Bev, I also started out on Harlequin books early in life and I preferred the innocent heroine. (I don’t like heroines that sleep around.) But as time passed I read many books of heroines with some experience and alot of them were great books! I will try anything now because some of the best books I’ve read were the most unexpected ones, ones I hesitated to buy for some reason or another.

    I think I saw this book mentioned before on this blog by you and I’m glad it’s mentioned again. It looks very different than the average romance, since it’s a darker read. Thanks for the great review and I am going to look out for this book.

  10. I really never thought about it. Once I know the Author or read the book blurbs and I’m pulled in,that’s when I just read the book and take it from there. As long as their is emotional feelings involved it’s fine.I’ll read this one though because I have to see how they turn out..
    Carol L.
    Lukcy4750@aol.com

  11. I hate virginal heroines. Hate them, though it’s not because I have anything against the idea of them. It’s just that there are waaaaaaaay too many of them, and too often they get paired up with a hero who is the complete opposite. It’s boring to read over and over again about the Duke of Slut and his infatuation with the inexperienced, innocent virgin. I’d much rather read something new, like the Duke of Slut and his infatuation with the infamous widow. Sadly, said infamous widow ususally gets cast as the Duke’s mistress and turned into the villain when he chooses the virgin instead. Because women with experience are eeeeeeeeeeeevil, of course.

  12. I think I go 50/50 on this issue. I like reading about the virginal heroine because most of the books are written that way, but I do enjoy reading about a heroine with experience. The premis of this book gives me a little pause, but I do like Anna Campbell’s work, so I think I’ll give it a try.

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