Completely forgot about the time change, but this review was a fabulous way to wake up when I got up at what was really 5 AM, LOL.

LORDS OF PASSION

BEAUTY AND THE BRUTE by Virginia Henley
When eighteen-year old Charles Lennox, Earl of March, is called home from school, the last thing he is prepared for is a quick marriage. His father has lost a great deal of money to General William Cadogan, who sees a chance to get his thirteen-year-old daughter, Lady Sarah, a titled husband. Before they are even introduced, Charles reprimands her, leaving her very upset, especially when she discovers he is to be her new husband.

After the wedding, Lady Sarah returns home with her parents and Charles embarks on his Grand Tour.Three years later, Charles returns home, a changed man after being so ill that he nearly died during his Grand Tour. However, when he sees the voluptuous woman with his sister, he does not realize that she is his wife. The girl he married had been a thin stick, not this very desirable woman. How can he convince her to forgive him for his past conduct when all she wants is to get a little revenge?

Deliciously sensual, readers will find BEAUTY AND THE BRUTE a hard story to put down until the last page of this tale is read. Sarah is used to not having a husband around and her memories of Charles are not the best. So she leads him on a merry chase, as he tries desperately to win her forgiveness and get her to see that he is not the same man who left her so abruptly. A great read. http://www.virginiahenley.com

HOW TO SEDUCE A WIFE by Kate Pearce

Nicholas March, the eighth Earl of Stortford, had been forced to wed his wife Louisa, for her dowry to help his family. However, he wants to leave his wild life behind and be true to his new wife after watching his father’s disreputable behavior over the years. His wife is not considered beautiful, but he does desire her. However, she seems to find more joy in the heroes in the novels she reads than she does with him. He believes that making love to his wife should be more respectful than the way he treated the women prior to his marriage.

Louisa gets nothing out of her husband’s love making, but she believes there must be more to it after reading her racy novels. She wants him to sleep cuddled with her like the heroes in her books, but she is an innocent and doesn’t know how to tell him. The only person she has to advise her is her mother and her husband’s sister, but she can’t discuss it with him. But when Nicolas gets the idea to take his wife to the local brothel, where they can reenact the situations in the books she reads, things between them really begin to heat up.

Delightfully wicked, HOW TO SEDUCE A WIFE is a witty, sensual historical romance that readers will enjoy immensely. Nicholas goes to great lengths trying to figure out what is wrong with his love life, until he finally hits upon a solution that works greater than he could ever have predicted. This story is a joy. http://www.katepearce.com

NOT QUITE A COURTESAN by Maggie Robinson

Prudence has spent her life taking care of her ailing and now deceased mother and her orphaned, heiress cousin Sophy, who has recently eloped with Cyrus Shaw. She has had no adventure in her life, but she figures now she will have the chance, since she has money and no one relying on her. But first, she has to help Sophy, who begs for her help in getting her husband back. Sophy had thrown him out after receiving a letter addressed to him, from a mistress named Carmela.

Darius Shaw and his brother Cyrus inherited a house on Jane Street, also known as Courtesan Court, since those residing in these homes are the Ton’s most wanted mistresses. The house they inherited comes complete with their uncle’s aging mistress, Carmela. While trying to evict her from the home, Darius mistakes the veiled Prudence Thorne for Carmela. Soon, spending time with Darius, under his skilled guidance, she finds more adventure than she ever dreamed of, as he fulfills her wildest desires.

Deliciously witty and sensationally sensuous, NOT QUITE A COURTESAN is a captivating historical romance that you will hate to put down. Mistaken identities and pornographic artifacts soon add up to a delightful interlude between the disreputable Darius and the prim Prudence. All I have to see is author Maggie Robinson’s name on a book to know that it is a must read. http://www.maggierobinson.net

Wonderfully decadent, LORDS OF PASSION, a captivating anthology by three very talented authors, is a book that readers will want to read over and over again. The three stories are enriched with compelling and complex characters, creative plots, humor, love and plenty of steamy sensual scenes. Readers will be unable to tear themselves away from this book and these marvelous stories, as they read about unfulfilled heroines and reformed rakes, whose fantasies are played out and their desires satisfied in very imaginative ways. As I look forward to more works by these phenomenal authors, be sure to get your own copy of LORDS OF PASSION. You won’t regret it!

Dottie, RomanceJunkies.com

The Look Inside feature is posted on Amazon for Mistress by Midnight and Lords of Passion. Take a peek here for MBM and here for LOP!

Thank you to Theresa Romain for featuring me and my books all this month on her blog. For a chance to win the complete “Maggie Robinson collection”, hop on over and tell me about your first love. (I confess to Googling mine, LOL)

Well, maybe not. But every now and again I discover from my website statistics that someone has read an old blog post, and I read it too. I’ve had this blog now almost 4 years, and at one time, I aimed to be philosophical, educational and humorous. But things have evolved, and now it seems I’m mostly promotional. I miss the old me, but the new me is pretty busy with deadlines and family and not quite as witty as I once was. So if you’re reading this, you’re apt to see infrequent posts with “portentious” news, like this:

Margaret Rowe will have a short, “Wicked Wedding Night,” in the November 2011 Berkley anthology, The Agony and the Ecstasy. I’m excited that one of my critique partners J.K. Coi has a fabulous, twisty story in it as well. There will be about 20 5,000 word erotic-ish stories, and it was fun to have Margaret come out to play.

Copyedits for Margaret’s Any Wicked Thing were finished last week. Sebastian and Freddie are two of my most favorite characters. He’s a depraved duke, she’s a bluestocking, there’s a castle—what’s not to like? An excerpt on the Books page will be going up soon.

I’ve ordered new magnets, so if you enter either of my contests this month, expect some in the mail when they come in to thank you for your efforts. Last month I mailed out new bookmarks to everyone who took the time to enter. I truly appreciate everyone who’s along for the ride with me! This month’s prizes are an ARC of Mistress by Midnight , two copies of Tiffany Clare’s sensuous The Surrender of a Lady, and a fantastic excerpt book. There’s still a week left to enter on the Contest pages.

Next month debut author Theresa Romain will have me on as her Guest Author of the Month. There will be a big book giveaway, and I’ll let you know when the interview post goes up.

So that’s it for now. As you can see from the pictures, I could not decide on the design for the AWT magnet, so I ordered three different styles, LOL. Which do you like best?

LORDS OF PASSION
by Virginia Henley, Kate Pearce, Maggie Robinson

Genre: England, Anthology, Historical Romance
Sensuality: HOT
Setting: 18th- and 19th-century England

RT Rating ****

Passion or sex can be serious or fun and these three talented authors show the many sides of desire. Readers will delight as fantasies are played out and passion is given free rein, and while there is plenty of lust, there is also trust, love and tenderness — enough to please any reader seeking pleasure.

Three years ago, Lady Sarah Caversham was promised in marriage to Charles Lennox to settle her father’s gambling debt. Now it’s time for the “Beauty and the Brute” to begin married life. Charles is shocked to see his gawky bride has turned into a beauty and he’s now more than ready to make her his wife. However, he’ll have to woo her, seduce her, win and try to keep her in Henley’s irresistible novella.

Pearce introduces readers to Louisa March, who wishes her staid husband was more like the heroes in her novels, especially the pirate in her latest romance. Thinking he cannot offend his wife’s sensibilities, Nicholas has been the perfect gentleman in bed: quick and efficient. He’s more than a bit surprised to learn Louisa wants more and with a courtesan’s help, he learns “How to Seduce a Wife.”

Robinson’s prim Prudence Thorn is “Not Quite a Courtesan,” just a sensible woman trying to help her cousin resolve a marital problem. Then she meets Darius Shaw, her cousin’s husband’s brother, at an infamous courtesan’s home. She’s intrigued by the man, who imports pornographic artifacts. The artwork and the idea titillates Prudence, and the idea of the wanton love slave is born. (BRAVA, Dec., 379 pp., $14.00)

Reviewed By: Kathe Robin

Publisher: BRAVA

Published: December 2010

Lords of Passion
Virginia Henley, Kate Pearce, and Maggie Robinson, Kensington/Brava, $14 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-5107-7

This lively book collects three well-matched historical romance novellas set in England. In Henley’s “Beauty and the Brute,” high-born teens Charles and Sarah are wedded to settle Charles’s father’s gambling debts. Mortal enemies on their wedding day, they part for three years, only to reunite as strangers and experience unexpected passion. In Pearce’s “How to Seduce a Wife,” prim young Louisa March yearns to feel pleasure in the bedroom. Her husband, Nicholas, wants to help her, but doesn’t know how. Could a Mayfair madam help them? In Robinson’s delicious “Not Quite a Courtesan,” a young heiress gets far more than she bargains for when she marries into a family of swindlers short on cash but long on charm. Readers will float away on the literary flair of these escapist tales, each touched with just the right amount of eroticism. (Dec.)

Delicious! Literary flair! Plus just the right amount of eroticism. I’m floating away right now!

How can you resist a challenge like that? I’m helping the divine Juliana Stone kick off her celebration of the release of her next book from Avon, His Darkest Embrace. Stop by her blog Sunday, October 10 for a chance to win an ARC of Mistress by Midnight!

She’ll be having great guests, with giveaways every day on her blog until her Jaguar Warrior releases into the wild.

Mia Marlowe’s DISTRACTING THE DUCHESS (written as Emily Bryan) is now available as a free ebook download from Kobo (Just click on the link!) She hopes you’ll enjoy the story and remember to look for her debut Brava title TOUCH OF A THIEF coming May 2011! For more info, please visit her website.Go forth and download!

Mia and I are going to be spinemates for Brava’s anthology Improper Gentlemen (August 2011). Pre-order now!

Mark your calendars! Starting Oct. 4th to Nov. 1st, historical romance author Lila DiPasqua will be hosting a BLOG PARTY. Counting down to the release of the next book in her sexy Fiery Tales series, THE PRINCESS IN HIS BED (out Nov. 2nd, Berkley Sensation), she’s hosting wonderful authors with GIVEAWAYS EACH DAY!

You won’t want to miss out!  Stop by HERE and join in the fun!

I met Lila at RWA and read her inventive reinvention of classic fairy tales, Awakened by a Kiss , on vacation. I start off the party on Monday, October 4! Come on by for a chance to win an ARC of Lords of Passion! Look who else is blogging with Lila:

Maggie Robinson
Kimberly Killion
Kris Kennedy
Tiffany Clare
Courtney Milan
Michelle Rowen
Eve Silver
Miranda Neville
Monica Burns
Christina Phillips
Ann Macela
Margie Lawson
Anna Campbell
Juliana Stone
Sarah MacLean
Carrie Lofty
Kathryn Smith
Donna Grant
Evangeline Collins
Delilah Marvelle

A pretty great guest list.

Who would you like to kiss you awake?

Short and sweet. New 2-book contract from Brava! Evie and Ben will get their HEA. Yay!

Maggie Robinson’s THE LONDON LIST, centered around a weekly newspaper, the Regency equivalent of the National Enquirer, Craigslist and Missed Connections combined, to Megan Records at Kensington Brava, in a nice deal, in two-book deal, by Laura Bradford at Bradford Literary Agency.