Fortuna Allenthorpe is at her wits end. Her family have engaged her to odious Sir Hector, a man she despises beyond measure. Convinced that the destruction of her reputation will free her, Fortuna flees into the night with infamous scoundrel, Giles Dovecote and his debauched friends the Darleston twins. Too bad, then, that her betrothed is more interested in her impressive inheritance than her errant virtue. What’s more, he’s prepared to destroy her family to ensure he gets it.
A vocal advocate of free love, Giles isn’t looking for a wife. Past mistakes weigh heavily on his conscience, but Fortuna makes him want things he considers off limits. As the stakes mount, how long can he hold fast to his principles, if they mean surrendering the woman he loves to a hellish match?
7th Annual Passionate Plume Finalist
Three Times the Scandal is a scorching historical romp through the Regency underbelly involving arson, molly houses and grave robbery, and includes M/F, M/M and M/M/F/M interactions. Readers are advised to ensure a cold drink is on hand to avoid overheating.
Madelynne Ellis is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of over 50 erotic romance novels.
Madelynne lives in the UK, not far from the Welsh border with her partner, family, & assorted pets. She is currently sipping rapidly cooling decaf coffee, listening to loud music, & indulging her obsession for tattooed bad boys.
What a pleasant surprise this book turned out to be. Historically accurate? Who cares! (though it actually seemed pretty accurate but I wasn't paying attention) Steamy, with a fun storyline? Most definitely.
The story-
Fortuna is being forced to marry Sir Hector. He is a major slime ball and she wants nothing to do with him. Running away from Hector at a Ball, Fortuna runs into Giles Dovecote. Giles, who recently lost his sister to (what he thinks was) an abusive husband, decides to help Fortuna. What Giles didn't expect was Fortuna saving him from himself.
Giles best friends, the Darleston twins, play a major part in this story as well. You have Lord Darleston (the older twin) and Neddy Darleston, who turned out to be an irresistable jokester with a heart of gold.
Along the way, there is lots of sex. Pretty hot and steamy I must admit. You have lots of m/f/m and one incident of m/m/f/m (that was hot).
Overall-
What I really enjoyed (which is what surprised me the most) is how charming the story was. I smiled alot because of the twins and how absolutely loving they both turned out to be. Giles, while battling his own demons, makes discoveries about himself and about the people that he loves. Fortuna turned out be a great female character. I usually can't stand the female characters in erotica stories. For some reason, they are either sappy, weak females or come across as controlling bitches. She was neither.
It's hard to rate an erotica but overall I really liked this one. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Wow, this book is wicked. Do not read this if you like "sweet" romance. It's an erotic story concerning MM/F and also MMM/F - it also has a good plot. The hottest read!
*I got this copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
“Three Times the Scandal” by Madelynne Ellis is the 4th book in the “Scandalous Seduction” series. First I was pretty skeptical because it took me ages to get into this story. Names, people and their stories – in my opinion quite confusing but in the end it wasn’t. And I think it was one of the hottest stories I have read in quite a long time.
Fortuna Allenthorpe is about to get engaged to somebody she absolutely dislikes, hates. She is the oldest of a bunch of sisters, has no important title or anything. On a ball she flees from her to-be to the balcony and there she meets Giles Dovecote, a notorious rakehell. But he doesn’t offer her anything except a place to stay but he knows that there is something about her he likes.
Giles is a vocal advocate for free love. He disagrees with the concept of marriage and the fact that a woman loses every right with it. A man can have a mistress, a woman isn’t allowed to have somebody else besides her husband. In the end Fortuna flees with him and hides from her family. But in Giles house, where she stays, are also his best friends, the twins and so on.
Well of course Fortuna cannot resist Giles and his friends for a long time. But it isn’t just about sex of course because Giles doesn’t like the idea of Fortuna being with somebody else, he wants to have her for himself but not offer her marriage.
So there are simple MF sex scenes but also MMF and even a MMMF – so you really have to like those things if you read the book. I don’t mind it and the description was pretty hot (but I still like Kate Pearce more, nobody can be compared to her storylines, characters or sex scenes).
Language wise it was rather erotic and not so ordinary which isn’t that easy in my opinion if you write explicit scenes like she does. The storyline itself was rather low, very easy and with little plot but I liked the leads and the scenes were hot. Rating: 4****
I'm a sucker for historical romance novels and this one's a wicked ride. The writing is on the brilliant side and quite descriptive. I could actually see the rooms, the estate, and so on in my mind's eye. The story moves and develops while taking the characters along for the ride, allowing them to develop, too. An easy four stars is what I am giving Three Times the Scandal.
Fortuna is a woman too forward thinking for her time. She wants passion, equal footing, and a marriage based on love rather than a "suitable match." I liked her because she was so modern in an era where it wasn't acceptable to behave, think, or act the way she did. I loved her with Giles! Giles believes in "free love" and isn't interested in the institution of marriage but is very much interested in Fortuna. When she is in need of saving from a loveless and mismatched marriage, Giles can't help but come to her aid.
The two together tease, test, and evaluate one another. Fortuna wants Giles the way she so desperately hopes she can want the man she will marry. She burns for him and she makes him burn, as well. Giles and Fortuna embark on a journey that stops being about saving her from an unwanted marriage to figuring out that love has rules of its own and sometimes it overrides what you thought you knew, wanted, and needed.
Wow. This book was burn-prints-off-fingertips-hot. Not one but three sizzling men all willing to share. There was intrigue, history, great setting and did I say HOT? a real page turner, but I suggest wearing gloves if you want to keep your fingertips intact.
I couldn't finish it, and I've got less than 50 pages left. Giles just turned into such a spineless, weak idiot who is completely blind to the realities of society. What did he think was going to happen? Women have no power, no freedom in that time (1801 London society). Was Fortuna supposed to just stay with him, locked up in the house so she wouldn't be publicly scorned, with no resources to take care of herself? Moron.
Also, I had no idea this was a menage historical when I picked it up. I'm good with some erotic romance, but I like to know in advance, and when a menage turns into "No, I can't deal with you sleeping with anyone else!" when the hero is an advocate of free love then I get irritated. I like Neddy a lot better, and I appreciated Fortuna's open-mindedness. Also, that final scene in the molly house was pretty damn hot. The wide range of sexual preferences and methods of expressing them was also very new for me to read in the time period, and that was interesting.
Fortuna is offered a somewhat dubious protection by the rakehell Giles when she is desperate to avoid being married off to a revolting man who it turns out is only after her fortune. Giles's idea of rescue involves lots of naughty sex, and not just with him (enter stage right the delightfully wicked Darleston twins) and from then on it's a case of staying one step ahead of the baddie and trying to work their way through to a HEA.
Madelynne Ellis writes great historical romps, but this one - although still full of delicious naughtiness - has a real depth of story to it as well. It is worth reading the books in order, but not at all necessary to get full enjoyment from this stand alone tale.
Warning - might make you dream of grey-eyed redheads that will ravish you in tandem!
If you are looking for an amazingly good and steamy romance, this book is it. I have always had a soft spot for historical Victorian romances,though many of them tend to be somewhat the same. But Three Times the Scandal came as quite a surprise and was anything but predictable, with several very erotic twists. The language was great and unbelievably despcriptive. I could see the rooms and the characters in my mind flawlessly. I will be recommending this book, as well as the author to all of my friends.
Historical? Yes. Proper and lady-like? Hell no. This book is great, you get an erotic read with a little twist in the form of the historic setting. It shows a different side of the past society. It wasn't all balls and gowns. No, no. You have brothels and molly houses. Free love and menages. Putting it simple, it was an interesting read. A book to pass time, though I'm quite intrigued about Robert's future. His wife is a vicious bitch, to whom I wish the very worst.
An excellent historical read. Fortuna hates the man she is engaged to so she runs off to create a scandal so that he will call of the engagement. Unfortunately he is more interested in her money, now she must find another to marry her first. The story drew me in from the beginning, the characters have plenty of depth and lots of chemistry. The sex scenes are hot. Loved it!
Talk about HOT! This book made me think that there is nothing new under the sun and what is no doubt considered risqué today was probably just the same long ago. People are people with needs and wants and desires that may not be vanilla…and this story more than proves that this is so! Fortuna learns a LOT and makes herself into a new and very different woman before the story ends.
Another great historical erotic romance from Madelynne Ellis! Lots of hot sex, angsty emotions, an adventure-filled historical plot (with references to the legal status of women in 1801 Georgian England), and luscious writing.
This author always writes such detailed sensual and steamy stories .This story is both exciting and sexy . The characters are strong and and believable and a real page turner loved it
Great read, liked that there was an actual plot and resolution, plus tons of smexy times! Go onto this with an open mind. It's not your typical historical!
That was beautiful! I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to like this book not focusing on the main characters like the first 3 books but omg I was just as hooked. The writing is gorgeous and the pace of the story was perfect! This series is so addictive!
I loved this book! I was so pleasantly surprised to read a very engaging story that was mind-blowingly hot. I mean seriously Hot. The plot was really good and the characters were very interesting. Especially the supporting characters - the twins. There were also quite a few engaging sub-stories that were well woven into the main plot.
In the beginning of the story, I struggled a little with the writing style. It was after midnight, so I may have been really tired, but I had a hard time following what was happening. You hit the ground running in the first chapter and I had a bit of trouble keeping up with all of the names. Also, the author's writing style is different than the HR books I've been reading as of late. The vernacular is less familiar- I'm assuming because it is more accurate to the time period? There was some slang that I couldn't decipher and couldn't find the definition of my kindle. But Like I said, it was late and I was tired. But once I stopped trying to envision and comprehend every detail, I was able to settle in. Once I got my barrings, I couldn't put the book down. It was one surprise after another. This is erotica for sure. It isn't BDSM but it does contain M/F/M menage which was actually tastefully done. But it has all the trappings of a historical romance which the sizzle more emotional.
I noticed some bad reviews and I almost didn't read it because of them. I am happy to report otherwise for those readers that are tired of the same old sex song and dance you find in RN.
Soft core pornography, but it was much more lurid than that. There was no warning attached to the book description, so I thought I was getting a light read historical romance. I am no prude, but this book should seriously have a warning attached to it. People can live, and love, as they wish, however, that does not mean I want to read about it in something I was not warned was rather pornography detailed. Within the first couple chapters there is everything from an invitation for the protagonist to join his friend and an unnamed debutante, to a brother sharing his twin's wife and the husband having their acts described to him and he and the female subject watch the coupling, to said female masturbating by instrumentation with a candle. I cannot comment on the remainder of the book, I could go no further. This received only the one star necessary to post a warning review.
Fortuna, when faced with marriage to a man she doesn't love or respect, chooses to flee with Giles who practices free love. What follows is one of the steamiest Historical Erotica novels I've come across. Menage-a-trois, FMMM.... nothing's off limits. But unlike a lot of erotic novels, the sex scenes aren't what's holding the story together. Rather, there's actually an amazing plot. Great characters, with a depth I hadn't expected. Ellis Creates a story that's so modern, but thoroughly in it's time as well. Though not for the faint hearted, I absolutely loved it.
To buy this book was £3:99, to buy in the package Taste of scandal 99p!!! No brainier.....TBH I would have happily paid the asking price for the book alone, it's easily the best book in the package. I love how ME writes, she easily transports me to the past with her detailed descriptions. I love this series, my favourite of all being Her Husband's Lover, go get it....in fact get them all, you will not be disappointed.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a wonderful twist on society at the time and reminds the reader of the lack of women's rights. It also has action and suspense and lots of steamy, sexy scenes which do not overwhelm the story.
Actually a DNF. This book seemed to be mis-categorized as historical romance when actually it should be in at least erotica. I felt the story relied too much on the sex and not enough on an engaging story line.
This is a very sexy historical erotic romance set in 1801 London. Though it’s book 4 in the Scandalous Seductions series, it’s a standalone with characters from the previous books. Giles Dovecote believes in women’s rights and the freedom to love and have sex with anyone a man or a woman would want. He scorns marriage due to a tragic mistake on his part years back. Fortuna Allenthorpe longs for adventure, but her parents are forcing her into a loveless marriage to Sir Hector, a boorish man with a hidden agenda. She’s desperate and willing to do anything to get out of the engagement, even ruin her reputation. When she absconds with Giles and his two sexy friends, Lord Darleston and his twin brother Neddy, the fun really begins. Fortuna and Giles are very likable characters. Giles and his friends quickly introduce Fortuna to a passion she never imagined possible. Though she experienced one wild coupling to another man during a Halloween celebration in the previous book, she finally grasps the whole concept of sharing partners, having wonderful sex, and learning various ways to make love. Robert, Lord Darleston, is the mysterious, moody, quiet lover who would rather watch than participate. He’s bisexual, his desires are darker than Giles’s and Neddy’s, and he leans more toward men. I would’ve liked to know more about his past and his relationship with his horrible wife, but I understand all that will be explained in book 5 which is Darleston’s story (I sooooo want to read that one!). Neddy Darleston is the more fun, carefree lover. He casually goes from woman to woman, and he becomes Fortuna’s friend and confidante throughout her wild week with the sinful trio. Giles doesn’t mind sharing to a degree, but his free-thinking ways are put to the test when his emotions get involved. His steadfast beliefs cause a major conflict in the story. After a while, Giles’s stubbornness became tiresome and repetitive (though in his mind he was doing the right thing, so it’s understandable). The sexual kinks include: oral, anal penetration, spanking, multiple partners (M/F/M, F/M/M/M). The book could use an edit to add in some missing commas and periods, and to change single quotation marks to double. The story is told in third person with properly alternating POVs between Fortuna, Giles, Lord Darleston, and Neddy. The main plot and all the sub-plots were well thought out, but sometimes the narrative was a little hard to follow. Still, I really enjoyed the book and want to read more in the series. 4 Stars
Disclaimer – I downloaded this book from Amazon and volunteered to review it. I am not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
Not quite what I was expecting. This could almost have been a standalone read. Yes, there was mention is characters from the series, but felt more like a passing. Got to give it to Madelynne for her script in the BDSM department. Once again in the era of the story, where trios manages were banned and most deadly, a hanging for the males of love. Great twist and turns here. Enjoyed and will read again. As per every review, I do not give out the details of story as I do not like to be a spoiler and ruin a read for others.
I am really enjoying this series. It is definitely steamy so that must be your interest. The series was following the 3 main characters and in this book veered off to include peripheral characters from the previous book. I high recommend anything written by this author. Especially if you are a fan of historical erotica.
I don't usually read this type of book, however , nothing was. mentioned in the synopsis that referred to a relationship between more that two people and certainly not a sexual one