An interesting premise and likable characters, but the writing is awkward, a little too filled with adjectives to be enjoyable. Still, if Bernard continues to grow as an author, that should improve, and I look forward to reading her future work. ( )

A Lady's Pleasure
3.5 Stars

An engaging historical romance with a healthy dose of mistaken identity and a dash of mystery and intrigue.

Merriam Everett is a charming heroine who starts out as a timid mouse, but ultimately finds herself turning into a vivacious cat. Merriam's romance with the devilishly divine Duke of Sussex, Drake Sotherton is seriously steamy, and Renee Bernard certainly knows how to write an erotic sex scene.

The minor mystery is interesting although it is relatively easy to guess the culprit. Moreover, the climax and resolution are exciting despite the somewhat confusing sequencing and motivation.

The only problematic note concerns the keeping secrets trope, which is not a favorite of mine. Both the hero and heroine have secrets they are determined to keep. This leads to several misunderstandings that are drawn out for far too long and undermine an otherwise lovely story.

All in all, an entertaining read and I look forward to continuing with the trilogy focusing on Drake's friend Alex and the intriguing Madam DeBoucier. ( )

I read this book straight through, even though it meant losing half my sleep for the night. But I couldn't help it. I was hooked from the first scene. I loved both main characters, as much for their flaws as their strengths, and the secondary characters were just as interesting. I would have thought that with this many love scenes (ooh, la, la:-), a book would have to lack plot because how could someone fit it all in? But this book had plenty of plot. I wasn't even sure who the killer was until the end. No boring beginning here, no sagging middle, no convenient ending; Ms. Bernard's debut is simply fantastic with plenty of mystery, plot, characterization and (need I say it?) scorching hot sex ( )

Historical erotica with a fairly decent plot. There was sex, sex, sex from the beginning to the end, however, there was also pretty good character development and a bit of a mystery. ( )

THIS BOOK GRABS YOU WITH BURNING HOT SEX AT ABOUT PAGE 7 AND PLAYS HELL WITH YOUR LIBIDO THE REST OF THE WAY THROUGH. EXCEPT THAT THE "GREAT BIG MISUNDERSTANDING" LASTED A LITTLE TOO LONG, THE STORY WAS GREAT. DRAKE, THE DEADLY DUKE IS AS ALPHA AS THEY COME. UNLESS MS BERNARD HAS WRITTEN PREVIOUSLY UNDER A PSEUDONYM, THIS IS A FANTASTIC FIRST ATTEMPT AT WRITING AND SHE HAS GREAT POTENTIAL. ( )