TO SEDUCE AN EARL
Author: Lori Brighton
Pub. Date: July 26, 2011
Retail: $2.99
Pages: Novel length
On the outskirts of London in a meadow of lavender, sits a house of esteemed ill repute. But this is no house geared toward pleasing men. No, this house is for women who have come to seek their own delight. And for three young ladies it’s where they’ll find something completely unexpected…true love.
Grace Brisbane will do whatever it takes to save her dying mother, but with a stepbrother intent on gambling and drinking, their funds have run dry. What’s a girl to do when she’s left poor and destitute? Seduce an Earl, of course. Handsome and rich, the Earl of Rodrick is the perfect target. Unfortunately, Rodrick despises innocent virgins. There’s only one place where Grace can learn the secrets of seduction… Lavender Hills. The moment Grace spots Alex, the man who will teach her the ways of intimacy, she knows she must guard her heart. Alex is charming and gorgeous and completely inappropriate.
As a young man, Alex Weston is blackmailed into working at Lavender Hills in order to save his family from London ’s prisons. There could be worse ways to spend his days and nights. Still, seduction has become a chore and thoughts of freedom keep him up at night. Until he receives a new client, the sweet Grace Brisbane. He should be thinking only of his growing need to escape, instead he’s captivated by the lovely Grace. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that their brief meetings aren’t enough. For while marriage between a lady and a whore could never happen, Alex knows in his heart that he is willing to accept nothing less.
~*~*~
To Seduce an Earl is Lori Brighton’s first installment of a new series, The Seduction Series, and is a wonderfully emotional romance with unique leads.
Do not be mistaken by Brighton’s title—the hero is NOT the Earl mentioned in the title! Instead, the hero is Alex, a male prostitute never seen in non-erotica romance. Alex is sexually enslaved by a manipulative brothel owner, Lady Lavender, and has been groomed as a prostitute for rich women since his early teens. Alex is a very unique hero, balancing his personal strength and honor with the powerlessness of his situation. Alex has a cynical view of women, sex and life and Brighton perfectly captures the detachment sex workers develop to cope with their lives (yes, my day job as a social worker recognized this right away). But none of this makes Alex a wimpy hero! He has a core of steel and a compelling strength of heart and body.
Grace is the perfect heroine for Alex. She is optimistic, warm, funny and sees Alex as more than an attractive piece of meat. Grace is in a difficult home situation with a wastrel stepbrother, a sick mother and younger sister, all in need of her to marry for money. Grace meets Alex through a mistake but is drawn to him both emotionally and sexually.
The unique and compelling part of this book is less on the mystery of how Alex became a prostitute and more on Alex and Grace’s relationship. I found it heart wrenching to watch Alex learn to see himself through Grace’s eyes as lovable and having self-worth. Grace is relentless but so very warm in her emotional pursuit of Alex. She believes in Alex’s value and fights for him to see it as well. Grace is the calm catalyst to prompt Alex to fight for himself and their relationship. But Grace isn’t a perfect 2-D heroine stereotype; instead she knows her needs and desire and sees in Alex a man who can love and understand her emotional and sexual needs. Given Alex past as a sex worker, the sexual intimacy between he and Grace were sensual and emotional without being purely physical. Alex character demanded a more emotionally connected sexuality and Brighton perfectly delivered this.
While it’s true that the mystery plot of how Alex became a prostitute is wrapped up quickly and neatly, I didn’t care because I was so invested in Alex and Grace that I wanted them to find a happy ending. I was pleasantly surprised that Brighton didn’t use the conventional device of a long-lost relative leaving the struggling couple a fortune. Instead the ending rang true to both Alex and Grace’s characters and life choices—and made me remember why romance novels can be so heart-warming.
This book is the first installment of a new series and I cannot wait to read Gideon’s story, a fellow prostitute. Gideon stole every scene he was in and I will be waiting with bated breath for his story!
I promise you, the inexpensive e-book price of $2.99 is a stellar investment for Brighton’s To Seduce an Earl.
Rating:4 (Very Good)
Heat Level:3 (Sensual)
Reviewed byJanine
Today, Lori Brighton is giving away 3 (three) digital copies of her book. Comment to enter to win!
34 Replies to “Review: To Seduce An Earl by Lori Brighton”
Sounds great. Thank you for the giveaway.
Thanks for the review, Janine. I would not have known about this book otherwise. Just ordered a copy for my Nook. I’m now looking forward to reading it.
Great insightful review of To Seduce an Earl. I read Wild Heart from The Wild Series by Lori and really enjoyed it. I find that she has a different approach to her stories which I find refreshing. She definately deliveres the unexpected and keeps you on your toes. Watch out for that elusive something that is just out of your reach of understanding when you read Lori’s books because it will all be resolved – just read carefully than wait to see what happens
I can’t wait to read To Seduce an Earl and the other books to come in The Seduction Series.
What an amazing excerpt and synopis. I’ve never, ever read anything like this before. Wow, what an fantastic story this must be. I would absolutely love to read this as it sounds so very exciting. There’s nothing I enjoy more than being swept away to another time and place where people lived, laughed and loved and were finding their way to each other.
Congratulations on your new release.
Janine, thanks for a really insightful review on To Seduce An Earl. I have fallen in love with Alex and Grace’s story, and can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the giveaway!
Great review. Congrats to Lori on the new release.
Romance readers are always asking for something different and this definitely fits the bill. I can’t wait to read it. I actually can think of two other romances featuring leads who are male prostitutes – Broken Wing by Judith James (a historical) and Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone (a contemporary). I loved both of them (Fallen From Grace was out of print for awhile but is now available as an ebook)
What a different premise. I like the sound of it!
Sounds like a somewhat unusual historical romance. Thanks for the review!
Can’t wait to start reading.
tis grt. a diff break in norm. would love to get tis as my first book by lori b.
Oh wow, what a great review. This series sounds really good and I can’t wait to start reading it.
Quite an unusual setting for a historical romance. Great review & thanks for the giveaway. So hope I win *fingers crossed*
Congrats on the release. Sounds like a wonderful book
Great review. I loved Lori Brighton’s Wild series and have been looking forward to reading more books by her. Can’t wait to read this one!
Sounds like another book is going on my TBR pile. Thanks for the review and giveaway.
This is an interesting twist to the typical kept lover story line. It is a brave move on Lori Brighton’s part. It sounds like she has managed to pull it off quite well. We often forget that men can be abused and enslaved.
Thank you for the review.
I’ve read Brighton’s debut and I also recently read this e-book — I really enjoyed it.
Sounds intriguing! Thanks for the opportunity.
Ah the tables are turned. Usually it’s the ladies who have no control of their situation! Alex sounds intriguing. Will love reading the whole book!
Good luck on winning the free copies but if you don’t, $2.99 is a great deal for this book! And no, I just reviewed it, I make no money on it. 🙂
hem.. nice romance story, like it ^^
Thanks for the review and giveaway! This book sounds terrific.
Interesting indeed! *adds to must-read list* =D
Loved Wild Heart and Wild Desire. To Seduce an Earl sounds like a good read.
That’s certainly a different plotline. Good luck with the new release.
What a wonderful review! I can’t wait to read this.
Love your review and this sounds like a great new historical series!
Great review, Janine! I love Lori’s books, and am looking forward to reading Alex and Grace’s story. Thanks for the giveaway!
I saw a review of this on GoodReads and it sounded so interesting.
Thanks for the review of Lori’s book. I’ve never read her work but I am liking what I’ve read here today. I’ll be adding her to my BTB list! Thanks for the giveaway too!
Always fun to discover new to me authors. This will be on my TBR list. Nice giveaway as well.
How refreshing to have a hero who is the prostitute instead of the other way around. That alone says this one will be more than the usual. Thanks for the review. I hope I win a copy but if not, I will be looking for it anyway.
This sounds like a very good book. I would love to win a copy of it to read. Thank you so much for the great review and for the giveaway.
(VERY GOOD)
Sounds great. Thank you for the giveaway.
Thanks for the review, Janine. I would not have known about this book otherwise. Just ordered a copy for my Nook. I’m now looking forward to reading it.
Great insightful review of To Seduce an Earl. I read Wild Heart from The Wild Series by Lori and really enjoyed it. I find that she has a different approach to her stories which I find refreshing. She definately deliveres the unexpected and keeps you on your toes. Watch out for that elusive something that is just out of your reach of understanding when you read Lori’s books because it will all be resolved – just read carefully than wait to see what happens
I can’t wait to read To Seduce an Earl and the other books to come in The Seduction Series.
What an amazing excerpt and synopis. I’ve never, ever read anything like this before. Wow, what an fantastic story this must be. I would absolutely love to read this as it sounds so very exciting. There’s nothing I enjoy more than being swept away to another time and place where people lived, laughed and loved and were finding their way to each other.
Congratulations on your new release.
Janine, thanks for a really insightful review on To Seduce An Earl. I have fallen in love with Alex and Grace’s story, and can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the giveaway!
Great review. Congrats to Lori on the new release.
Romance readers are always asking for something different and this definitely fits the bill. I can’t wait to read it. I actually can think of two other romances featuring leads who are male prostitutes – Broken Wing by Judith James (a historical) and Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone (a contemporary). I loved both of them (Fallen From Grace was out of print for awhile but is now available as an ebook)
What a different premise. I like the sound of it!
Sounds like a somewhat unusual historical romance. Thanks for the review!
Can’t wait to start reading.
tis grt. a diff break in norm. would love to get tis as my first book by lori b.
Oh wow, what a great review. This series sounds really good and I can’t wait to start reading it.
Quite an unusual setting for a historical romance. Great review & thanks for the giveaway. So hope I win *fingers crossed*
Congrats on the release. Sounds like a wonderful book
Great review. I loved Lori Brighton’s Wild series and have been looking forward to reading more books by her. Can’t wait to read this one!
Sounds like another book is going on my TBR pile. Thanks for the review and giveaway.
This is an interesting twist to the typical kept lover story line. It is a brave move on Lori Brighton’s part. It sounds like she has managed to pull it off quite well. We often forget that men can be abused and enslaved.
Thank you for the review.
I’ve read Brighton’s debut and I also recently read this e-book — I really enjoyed it.
Sounds intriguing! Thanks for the opportunity.
Ah the tables are turned. Usually it’s the ladies who have no control of their situation! Alex sounds intriguing. Will love reading the whole book!
Good luck on winning the free copies but if you don’t, $2.99 is a great deal for this book! And no, I just reviewed it, I make no money on it. 🙂
hem.. nice romance story, like it ^^
Thanks for the review and giveaway! This book sounds terrific.
Interesting indeed! *adds to must-read list* =D
Loved Wild Heart and Wild Desire. To Seduce an Earl sounds like a good read.
That’s certainly a different plotline. Good luck with the new release.
What a wonderful review! I can’t wait to read this.
Love your review and this sounds like a great new historical series!
Great review, Janine! I love Lori’s books, and am looking forward to reading Alex and Grace’s story. Thanks for the giveaway!
I saw a review of this on GoodReads and it sounded so interesting.
Thanks for the review of Lori’s book. I’ve never read her work but I am liking what I’ve read here today. I’ll be adding her to my BTB list! Thanks for the giveaway too!
Always fun to discover new to me authors. This will be on my TBR list. Nice giveaway as well.
How refreshing to have a hero who is the prostitute instead of the other way around. That alone says this one will be more than the usual. Thanks for the review. I hope I win a copy but if not, I will be looking for it anyway.
This sounds like a very good book. I would love to win a copy of it to read. Thank you so much for the great review and for the giveaway.