All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess

Lords of Vice #5

by Alexandra Hawkins

Simon Jefferes, the Marquess of Sainthill, has done the unthinkable—he’s fallen in love. The so-called “Saint” has spent his life gambling, dallying with women, and satisfying his every whim. And he fully intended to continue his wicked ways, until he met the mysterious, exotic, and irresistible Madame Venna—the one woman he can’t have…and the only one he’s ever wanted for more than an evening.
The proprietress of the Golden Pearl, one of London’s most exclusive brothels, Madame Venna takes pride in the lush, decadent club she’s created. With a half-mask to conceal her identity, she’s careful to safeguard something even more valuable—her heart. But Saint is determined to tear down the walls she’s built around herself, and to finally expose the truth—that Madame Venna is a woman very much in love…with him.

 

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Regency Romance, Ebooks

307 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 31, 2012

About the author

Alexandra Hawkins is an unrepentant Anglophile who discovered romance novels as a teenager and knew that one day she would be writing her own. In "The Lords of Vice" series, she has combined her love of English history, mythology, and romance to create sensual character-driven stories that, she hopes, will touch readers' hearts.

You can also find me at:

www.facebook.com/author.alexandra.haw...
Fan page: www.facebook.com/lordsofvice
www.twitter.com/lordsofvice
https://plus.google.com/u/0/103785519...

Reviews

[Danielle Carpenter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is totally scandalous. The ending is not very plausible considering the time period. Catherine Deverall is the illegitimate daughter of an Earl, who gave her away because the Lady of Eyre, a married woman hid her pregnancy while her husband was in India. The Royles raised her, beat her and allowed their son to rape her. One night she escapes and takes to streets where she becomes a prostitute to survive.

Years later, the Marquess of Sainthill goes into the newly opened brothel, the Golden Pearl. There he and his friends meet Madame Venna. One of the most beautiful women he has ever met. No one ever sees this woman's whole face, because she always wears a half mask. While he tries to seduce her, she realizes she has feelings for him and has him ejected from her bedroom and pretends he means nothing to her. While in his anger, he beds every woman in her brothel in front of her.

Six years later, Saint comes upon a name, Catherine Deverall. Thinking this woman is in some type of danger, he courts Catherine and becomes friends with her. At his friends home, the women are preparing for a masquerade when one of the wives holds up a half mask to her face and Saint realizes that Catherine is Madame Venna.

Here is where the story becomes not very plausible. All that follows here, goes against all of the tons rules and how Catherine would be viewed in society.

[♡ Sassy ~ Amy ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine has 2 lives. One as her quiet reserved unnoticed self & that of Madam Venna. Saint has been in love with her for 6 years & finally he has had it. He's going for it!

This was another great installment in this series, however, I felt it missed an entire chapter or 2 of family resolve at the end of this book. You were left wondering what happened to the a**holes that caused all the problems. Maybe it is planned to be resolved in the next book??

I would have given this book a 5 star rating if the other half of her so called family had been dealt with, but NOPE! Oh well!

[Danette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heroine is creepy. She was a true whore. She was going to sleep with her half brother out of spite for a scandal!...she got interrupted before she could accomplish it. She slept with the hero's best friend too. I cringed all through the book because the heroine is nuts and has mental problems. Big disappointment. Never should have been published. Icky.

[Adria's Musings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on Adria's Romance Reviews

I liked this book a lot, it's not my favorite of the series but I enjoyed it and didn't put it down until I was dead tired each night. There were a few issues I had with the storyline, most of them towards the end of the book but they didn't diminish my overall enjoyment of All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess.

The Marquess of Sainthill, or "Saint" as he is known to his friends, The Lords of Vice, is obsessed with a woman. Unfortunately for him, she is entirely unsuitable to be anything more than a mistress because she is the owner of an exclusive brothel. After spending one night with Madame Venna, six years earlier Saint found himself tossed out of her bed and her life seemingly for good. Now Saint has resumed pursuing the elusive Madam and discovers there is more to her than meets the eye and there is a startling reason why she hides her face behind a half-mask.

Madame Venna has many secrets, she was an innocent girl once and that innocence was brutally taken from her. Now she hides in plain sight, making money off of the gentlemen of the ton. She's content until Saint shakes things up by relentlessly pursuing her and forcing her to trust someone other than herself for the first time in her life.

I love the Lords of Vice and frankly it surprises me that I do. These are men who at times straddle the line between hero and villain, some even gleefully jump back and forth between sides *cough * Frost *cough* and I think that's what makes them so interesting.

Saint is no exception. His nickname definitely doesn't describe him, in fact he's the total opposite: Arrogant, seductive, bull headed and bossy. So when he finds those same qualities in the woman who captured his attention, he's not exactly sure how to handle her and he makes all sorts of bad decisions regarding the woman. Saint and Madame Venna spend a lot of time circling each other like boxers, each waiting for the other to strike so that they can block the attack.

Shockingly, though a lot of the scenes with Saint and Madame Venna take place in a brothel, there isn't much sexy time in All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess, but when there is, it's pretty intense. I did feel that there was an emotional connection from the first time Saint and Madame Venna were together, though neither one was aware of it. Each time they were together tore down part of the barriers between them and made room for something better.

My biggest issue with All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess was the rushed ending. I felt that the ending was incomplete and left me with several questions, the biggest one being: What happened to the villains? Why doesn't the reader get to see that end tied up? I'm assuming that Saint and the other Lords of Vice didn't let them walk away from what they did to Madame Venna, yet it seemed like Saint just shrugged it off once he got the woman he wanted. That's a pretty big loose end to leave dangling there. I would have liked a slower pace towards the end, with more development and possibly one or two chapters showing Saint and Madame Venna working out their remaining issues because "I love you" doesn't magically solve everything and they had a lot to go over and get over before they moved on and built a life together.

Other than the rushed ending, All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess is still very much a Lords of Vice novel and I enjoyed it. Now I'm off to pick up the next book in the series and revel in the fact that after Hunter's book is Frost's.

[Tiffany Day · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series is becoming increasingly disappointing. It seems as though Hawkins put effort into Book 1 and then barely fleshed out the ideas for the rest -- as if she hadn't thought through the full contract or something. First off, it has a very "already done" feel: a brothel madam wearing a half-mask with a victimized past (sounds an awful lot like Hoyt's "Princes," no?) leads a double life (good girl by day) and our Lord of Vice (Saint -- but does it really matter which one, since they are basically all the same guy save for Frost?) falls for both versions of the heroine. We're also stuck hearing everybody in her life call her "Madame Venna" or "Madame V," which really rather grated on me and seemed so unnatural (why not just say "Venna"?) Then there's the writing style. Grammatical and editorial errors abound (somebody please teach her the if/were rule). It's also extremely repetitive, almost condescendingly so (on page 282 - nearly the end of the book(!)- she describes how the group of guys were surprised about something said because they didn't know about the h's dual personalities and I wanted to scream, "NO DUH! That's the whole point of the plot!!"), and comes off feeling more like she's telling us about events rather than experiencing them with the characters. Of course, at the end nobody cares that she's been a whore (so super believable, eh?) and they laugh and joke about it. *eyeroll* I know these books are fluff and I don't expect Pulitzer-worthy craftsmanship, but this one felt way too much like E.L. James for my liking. All-in-all, the only reason I'm coming back is to read Frost's tale. I sure hope she's been busying herself so much with that one that these last couple failed to receive much attention. lol 1 - 1 1/2 stars

[Sangria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly considered leaving no review for this. 2.5.

I have no idea why Saint got this book? I found myself feeling bad, disgusted and disheartened by this so called romance and furthermore found the historical accuracy completely implausible.

Catherine Deverell or AKA Madame of Golden.....had an abusive childhood. Full of abuse and rape. She becomes a prostitute then a madame and lives 2 lives.

Saint becomes enamored of her and well, it’s also revealed that she’s serviced one of the other Lords of Vice, if your reading the series I bet you can guess which black hearted scoundrel that occurred with.

Nothing in this book was romantic to me. I was purely in it for the discovery of what’s going on in everyone else’s lives.

[Readsalot81 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Sunrise with a Notorious Lord.. so I was excited to read this one going in. Talk about meh.

I've read a couple of books recently with OUTSTANDING heroes, so this one came up relatively short. "Saint" really did nothing for me, in anyway, shape, or form. Bland or boring might be better adjectives. And I do take issue with throwing in rape/sexual assault to help move along or build a story. And that's how this one starts out.

I'll wholly admit this is my issue. I get REALLY cranky if I don't perceive that the assault/rape is handled well or in a thoughtful manner. It gets my back up quicker than lousy editing, typos, and huge ass plot holes.


****Mini Spoiler ahoy****














The back & forth between Saint and Frost over bedding Madame Venna got old very quickly. It felt like it was put into the story to give Saint something to fight over. I stopped counting how many times Saint went after Frost's throat for some ill made remark. "Don't you dare say something bad about my woman".. sigh.

The ending was terrible. Less than 1 page supposedly took care of all the issues throughout the book. The ending is actually what pissed me off the most. But ugh, I've read enough reviews on GR to hate spoilers.. so I shall resist the urge.

[Melissa Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stubborn...both of them were but I loved it. Made the story so much better. I cannot wait to get Hunter and Frost's story.
I loved how Saint found out who Catherine really was. The way Frost egged Saint on through out the book was a great touch.

[ies · Rating 4 out of 5]

fyuh... gw baca buku ini sebel banget sama Frost, baca buku berikutnya makin sebel sama Frost! ampun deh... tp emang ga mungkin si ya, kl sebagai pemilik rumah bordil tp ga pernah uhuk2 sama siapa2 ahahahaha...

Ceritanya dimulai dari, Catharine 15 th, abis di rape sama kakak angkat merangkap sepupunya trs kabur dari rumah. Jadi Catharine ini anak haram Earl dan Countess apa ya, pokoknya emaknya ini istri orang yg pada saat hami suaminya lg pergi jd ga mungkin ngejadiin anak nya sbg anak suaminya, maka Catharine dikasih ke tetangga / sepupu / apanya si Earl deh buat diakuin dan dijadiin anak. Yang ternyata, setelah ngambil uang bapaknya die malah diperlakukan kek budak, tiap hari dikasih tau kl die seorang pendosa, ga punya tempat di mata masyarakat dan Tuhan, digebukin bpk angkatnya, terakhir di rape sama kakak angkatnya, menderita sekali! sampai die bersumpah bakalan ngehancurin keluarga emak-bapak kandungnya, kalangan terhormat yang ngebuang die.

Setelah kabur, marah, ga punya duit, sakit hati, Catharine diterima jadi courtesan, dan digembleng sama si empunya rumah bordil dan akhirnya jadi pemilik tempat prostitusi itu, die pakai nama Madame Venna (iyap yg sering di sebut2 sama Lord of Vice itu) + selalu pakai topeng. Nah pas awal2 pembukaan Golden Pearl, si madame V ini liat Marquess of Sainthill, aka Saint yg masih 20 an deh umurnya (sama2 20-an) dan suka, 1th tarik ulur akhirnya mereka bobo bareng dan si Madam V ini takut setelahnya kr die suka sama Saint, padahal ga ada tempat buat die di kalangan ton, die jg musti balas dendam ke emak-bapak nya kan, Catharine ngusir Saint, dan Saint yg sakit hati pun pergi. Selama 6th mereka berdua perang dingin, Saint bobo sama anak2 asuhnya madam V biar die kesel, dan si madam V jg menghindari Saint sebisa mungkin dan ga nunjukin kl die cemburu dan die jg bobo sama lord laen, meski ga sebanyak Saint (gw rada kecewa di mari).

Marquess of Sainthill aka Saint, jadi Marquess pas umur 6th (keknya kl ga salah), Bapaknya meningal pas lagi sama mistress nya yg bikin malu emaknya, dan 1th kemudian emaknya merit lagi dan ngirim saint ke sekolah. Dari kecil ude di judge bakalan ga beda jauh sama bapknya, sinner bla bla.. (ada ya eman kek gt), untungnya ada Lord of Vice yang jadi kek sodara buat die dan Madame Venna yg die yakin kl die jatcin sama tu madam.

6th kemudian, Saint ude cape banget ngehindari si Venna, die jg kaga bisa move on, sampe berhari2 nongkong di Golden Pearl tanpa bobo sama siapapun, cuma ngeliatin si madam V dari jauh. Sampai suatu hari, die diminta emaknya (yg ngebuang die) buat nyari adek iparnya (tiri, anak emaknya sama suami barunya) yg katanya ada di Golden Pearl dan mau ga mau die minta tolong madame Venna yg malah mergokin si V ini lagi bersitegans sama Lord dan ada secarik kertas nama Catharine Da(argh gw lupa namanya). Awalnya Saint ngira ni si Catharine nama gadis muda yg bakalan dijual ke madam V, die niatnya bantuin sampai nyari siapa Catharine, ketemu deh.. Spinster, tinggal sendiri (sama pelayan), cerdas, asik diajak ngobrol, sampai Saint bingung kenapa die suka sama si Catharine padahal jelas die jatcin sama si madam V kan.

Gimana lanjutannya? siapa lord yg bersitegang sama Catharine? gimana caranya Catharine buat ngusir Saint dr sisi die? gimana caranya Catharine bisa diterima ton, sbg istri saint? (jelas hepi en kan) baca dehh.....

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been looking foward to reading this book; since I have fallen in love with the Lords of Vice, those sexy , naughty men that fall hard for the loves of their lives.

The Marquess of Sainthill " Saint". Is enamored with Madme Veena. The Golden Pearl's madame and owner who over the years has sent her girls to the Lord's of Vices club Nox. The two of them spent one passionate night together after a year of flirting when they first met but she had him escorted out after because she felt too much for him and feared that he could be her downfall , especially with the secrets she must keep.

Six years later Madame Veena is still keeping secrets and Saint is still in love with her. People are brought in to the story line who threaten to reveal her secret and destroy her and the parents and family she does not acknowledge , Saint stumbles unwittingly into her predicament , this works to his advantage of getting back with her.


This is where some of my problems arise , the story felt a little rushed. The story line which she introduced of theses jerks who are meddling never comes to A concluion and it feels like there may be whole chapter or two missing near the end that oils tieup these loose ends.

As much as I wanted to give this 4 stars and as much as I loved the story line between Saint and Veena the feeling of the book being rushed and story lines not completed took away from the book for me.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised to find myself enjoying this one as much as I did, I mean a madam?

I liked that Saint had a adult opinion of Venna/Catherine taking lovers after him, because he really got around after her so it's only fair. I liked that Saint actually discovers that Venna and Catherine are the same person before he does something idiotic. But I don't like that he had to see her with a half-mask to make the connection.

I didn't like that Frost slept with Venna. A) what was Venna thinking? and B) Even if they weren't together at the time Saint shouldn't have to deal with that. And don't tell me that they'll get over it Frost can't shut his fat head and Saint attacks him in a rage upwards of three times. Also in Frost's book his future spouse will have to look at Catherine who is gorgeous enough to be an incredibly successful courtesan and know that Frost hit that before her. That's not fair to any of the people involved.

I would have preferred it if Frost had been just saying it to impress people.

Really the worst part is that several years ago (as of the time of the book) Venna slept with Frost.

The set up for Dusk with a Dangerous Duke is good and I look forward to it.

[Greselley · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Saint was always missing during the gathering of the Lords of Vice and the ladies in the preceeding book, I was wondering and curious about his whereabouts during those times. I didn't expect my question will be answered in this book. Much more surprising is the answer, itself. Nice one. I didn't see that coming.
After escaping her own hell, the heroine lives her life in two persons. The irony of the lives between that two women amazed me. One, as Catherine living a mundane life who is known as an innocent, kind and independent lady by her neighbours. Two, as Madame V wearing a half mask, the owner of an infamous brothel who is known to be a sensual woman. She didn't really have difficulty living her life as two different persons. Well, not until the Marquess of Sainthill shove himself into the lives of both Catherine and Madame V. The hero was crazy over Madame V's body and her sharp tongue while Catherine appeals to his protective instincts. He was going mad but he wanted both of them just for himself. Little did he know, the two is only one woman.
This is really an interesting, sexy and great read! My only concern is that there was no scene where they have to deal Mr. Royles. I mean, it's not enough to assume the matter has been settled. But nevertheless, it turns out good!

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man, this came so close to being a perfect five stars.
The characters were well-developed. There was a rich back story for both Madame Venna, the madam of the Golden Pear, and the Marquess of Santhill, "Saint." Madame V wasn't your average wilting-flower heroine. She saved herself from a horrible situation and then found a way to make money. She never apologized for how she made her way in the world. Saint never blamed her for her situation and the only problem he had was that she slept with his friend Frost. And Frost rubs it in his face. That was one of the issues that I had with this book. The two men fought. Over. And over. And Frost is such a douche. The other problem I had with the book was one that I've seen from other reviewers. All of the problems in the book were wrapped up in the last ten or so pages. Except that they weren't. All of a sudden the h/h had their HEA with no actual resolutions to any issues. About 40 pages out, I began to wonder how Hawkins would wrap up the many plot points. Well, she just didn't. I don't know if there was a page limit imposed by editors or a writing deadline but to have such a wonderful story end so abruptly was just disappointing.

[Maureen C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved this series when it first came out, but now.. It was bad enough that the last book was OK with large gaps in the story leading to a rushed and lackluster finish and now after hoping the last book was a minor hiccup we are given another book that again seems rushed and unfinished. The story concludes with no resolution to what happened to the villains - Are we to believe that Saint and Catherine got their HEA with those people still lurking around and did I miss what Catherine said to Lord M to pay him back for his involvement in what happened to one of her girls? I can only hope since the next 2 and final books in the series are not coming out until next year that the author takes the time to give us a book like the first 3 in the series that left us eager and wanting for more of the Lords of Vice.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that this author is on heavy duty meds and must have forgotten one or two doses, while writing this book.

This books is a mishmash of ugly words thrown together and stirred up and then spat out. Pure dreck. At one point, the madame of the brothel (the heroine) contemplated bedding her half brother. Seriously. This must have been during one of periods, when the author forgot a dose of her meds.

How the fuck was this book published???

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars

[Elilysa · Rating 2 out of 5]

почему же вы, джентльмены, так не хотите, чтобы мы стали свидетелями вашего очередного припадка слабоумия?

— А вы довольно общительный и энергичный мертвец.

Цитата, которая лучше всего описывает все происходящее в данной книге. Вроде, и роковых мужиков подогнали, и жаждущих страсти дам выбрали, да и сюжет кое-как собрали в кучку, но отделаться от чувства омерзения никак не можешь, потому что смотришь такой на это шевелящееся нечто и хочется вопить: "Оно живое!"
Все составляющие изначально подталкивают тебя ненавидить и презирать роман, ибо обложка из разряда "- Ты не станешь дизайнером! - Это мы еще посмотрим!1!", название, которое пестрит 25-м кадром "для одиноких дам бальзаковского возраста", само название серии "Порочные лорды". Уверена, проходя в книжном мимо полки с подобными произведениями, ты начинаешь креститься и крикать: "Ну нахер. Ну ты видел?" Беря такие книги в руки многого не ждешь. Чистый стереотип всех классических дамских романов.
Сюжет. Он есть. Трагическая история , романтик , страшная тайна , хеппи энд .
Герои. Они тоже есть. Главная героиня с тяжелым прошлым , элитка , хот-хот мужик из элитки , "заботливые" родственнички .
Интрига. Ее нет. Предсказуемо и банально. Можно просто прочитать аннотацию и главы 3, 27-28, 32 ( те самые сцены няшканья в кустах). Все.
Еротика. Вот тут я была удивлена, ибо что это такое вообще было? Ожидала настолько больных фантазий автора, примерно, как в Andre Aciman - Call Me by Your Name: A Novel (да-да, сцена с персиком, ты надолго в моем сердце), но все оказалось не так плохо, к счастью.
Тут особо нечего обсуждать, ибо то, что вы хотите получить от этой книги, обязательно получите. В основном, все завязывается на том, что группа так называемых "Порочных лордов" самые, что ни на есть порядочные джентльмены, которые в один прекрасный день завязывают со своими бордельными приключениями и всецело предаются усладам семейной жизни.
Кэтрин (она же мадам Венна) мне абсолютно не понравилась. С самого детства она познала все дерьмо этого мира, потому что угораздило родиться внебрачным ребенком. Девчонку отправляют к ее чудесному кузену на перевоспитание и он, как порядочный родственник, приковывает двоюродную сестренку кандалами в подвале. Терпение Кэтрин лопнуло и она, наконец-то, решила постоять за себя.

Губы его не успели растянуться в улыбке, потому что в этот самый миг на его лицо с размаху опустилась деревянная лопата.

Странно, что после всего этого не нашлось лучшего способа реализовать себя кроме как стать владелицей самого элитного борделя.

— Как для шлюхи, мадам В достигла значительных высот.

Девушка имеет одно увлечение, которое по логике автора, наверное, делает ее не такой как все, она имеет две личности, как Бэтмен. В один момент она непокорная и страстная-прекрасная мадам Венна, а в другой скромница-святоша Кэтрин. Конечно, от всех тех ужасов, которые происходили с гг в прошлом могла поехать крыша, но это чуть-чуть не тот случай, ибо все это сделано для того, чтобы самый топовый мужик мог полюбить эти две личности главной героини.

Он так запутался в своих чувствах, что готов был биться головой об стену.

Как она его, а? Хороша, чертовка.

Маркиз Сэйнтхилл даже нормальный персонаж, внезапно. Обычно, таким героям приписывается роль сексуального тупого шкафа на фоне, но тут он будет поумнее главной героини.

— Порочные лорды — красивые мерзавцы, но все немного бестолковые, — жизнерадостно заметила она

[Amy Butterbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was a true thought out story. A girl running from her past and starting her life over in a disguise that only a few people knew her by her real name.
Catherine started a brothel and went under the alias Madame V. Only a few close girls that worked for her knew who she was.
A gentlemen that kept wanting her attention finally got it and he was spending a lot of time with her but six years she cast him out of her life.
One night a bad man came but the man from her past came and saved her from the unsavory character.
Now he wants to make her his forever and he hasn't yet let her know that he knows who she really is. But she was afraid and ready to run but he took the challenge and made her stay and decided he would marry her.
But would she stay and go through with it or would she go on the run .

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried. I just couldn't love this like I wanted to.
I’m in doubt because of many moments in the plot. The main heroine caused me sympathy at the beginning, then indifference, but when she decided to sleep with an unaware brother to take revenge on her mother who had left her right after she gave her birth, I only felt disgust. In the case of this heroine whore is no way to earn for a living, this is her true state of mind.
And at the end of the book there is a happy ending, but I had a persistent feeling that several pages were missing and what we’ve got is a twisted finish I can’t get. The father gave her a dowry, but it is not clear he recognizes her as his daughter in society or not. The ending does not match the realities of that time.
In the end i can't say if i want to end reading this series or not.

[Destiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad and tragic but beautiful

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Catherine's story is so sad and tragic. It's amazing what she was able to accomplish in those times considering what she'd been through and how she was forced to survive.
I like how she was able to create a respectable life as Catherine and a wealthy life with some power as Madame Venna. Very interesting twist.
That she was able to find love and acceptance with a rich noble man who didn't judge her was beautiful. Saint was perfect for her and she for him.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good grief, I was prepared for a good story and ended up with a partial one...love, deception, intrigue, good, and evil. This book started with so much potential and ended up being a disappointment. There's a HEA, but nothing is wrapped up in a tidy bow. In fact it feels like the book just stopped abruptly, just like th...

[Kathy Sue Stumpf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, I totally enjoyed this book and will definitely read it again. This is my favorite book of this series so far, but all of them up to this point have been a great read. I'm missing #2 of the series, but I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series that I do have. This author writes a very good book.

[Shh I'm reading! · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan

Not sure what possessed me to read this. I liked the idea of the positive sexual expression and Catherine's ability to overcome her past. But Saint was a violent, petty hero. And the plot wrapped up quickly with loose ends.

[Nyssy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm... 🎩

[Kayla Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a few in this series and actually enjoyed this one the most. Easy and fun read!

[Sandy M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems I’m in the minority among readers and reviewers in liking – no, loving this latest Lords of Vice book. I’m sorry I waited so long to read it. I usually don’t read other reviews before writing my own, but even our own Veena had her doubts about the story. So I had to see what others were saying. And I totally disagree with them all.

Saint has been in love with Venna – the local madam of the Golden Pearl – for a number of years now. They shared one night together, Saint believing they’d crossed into a relationship, only to be shown the door and out of her life. So now Saint’s gone on the offensive. He’s not about to let Venna continue calling the shots in the life he wants with her.

But with the life she lived before, the violence she experienced, Madam Venna’s trust has been nearly completely broken. Saint is the one who could shatter the life she’s worked so hard to build, shatter her heart that she’s guarded so closely all her life. No one else has been able to garner her love, because no one has loved her for as long as she can remember. Not her parents, who abandoned her. Not the aunt and uncle who were supposed to watch over her and protect her. And certainly not the cousin who wanted nothing more than the money she had no idea was hers. Now the Golden Pearl is all she needs, giving her safety and freedom.

And Venna goes to whatever lengths she feels are necessary to protect that safety and freedom – and her heart. A few of those backfire on her, namely the fact she sleeps with Frost to drive Saint from her mind. Even though she and Saint are by no means an item of any sort during this time, the act only brings discord between those two Lords of Vice, and I find myself enjoying the scenes where Saint goes after Frost once he learns the truth. What I also enjoy is that as ill advised as Venna’s reasons for doing this and the momentary need for Saint to do Frost some harm, it doesn’t get in the way of the friendship in the end. Frost has always done his own thing and this time is no different, though he has no idea of Saint’s feelings toward the brothel owner. Venna also lives two lives, the other as Katherine, the normal, everyday girl next door who in no way resembles the notorious madam. Saint doesn’t recognize her at first, and in a way I wish he had. It usually takes a bit for hero to be clued in, so it would have been nice to make him more aware of Venna’s double life.

Then when her past catches up with her again, Venna’s instinct is to run, and you can’t blame her after what she’s been through. Even her father knows she’s Madam Venna, and she goes so far as to flirt with him and contemplate bedding the brother she’s never known for revenge. She does nothing more, but I can see where she would entertain these ideas as a woman who has never been loved and only wants to get back to those who have done her so wrong. Does all of that make her weak? I’d say more frightened of what could happen. She’s already suffered at the hands of these supposed relatives, so who wouldn’t want to run.

I’ve read a few reviews where it’s said there’s feelings of discontent with some loose ends not being tied up. I didn’t feel that at all. If they’re loose, hopefully they’ll be taken care of in the next couple of books. I know these are greasy characters who deserve whatever they get, so who knows what will happen. I may be one of the minority when it comes to this book, but I think it’s one of the best in the series for me. The way the Lords of Vice have lived for years, I can’t believe anyone would bat their eyes at Saint loving a madam, especially one who had her reasons, and the way the author works it out in the end gives them all a way out to keep up appearances.

See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at My Book Musings

I was really looking forward to reading the next book in the Lords of Vice series by Alexandra Hawkins because I’ve become quite fascinated by how wicked and how in love they are with their wives but the fifth book, All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess, just wasn’t up to the same caliber as the first four books.

This book is about the story of the Marquess of Sainthill (‘Saint’), whom I’ve always thought was one of the nicest in the series, and the famous (or infamous) and mysterious Madam Venna, the always-half-masked owner of the brothel who frequently supplies women to the Lords of Vice’s club, Nox.

From the first moment Saint saw Madam Venna, he just wanted her. In these books, when they first say that a guy “wants” you, it simply means he wants to bed her. Of course, for these handsome and charming Lords of Vice, they usually get the woman. But Madam Venna always resisted Saint because she was already attracted to him and for her, the business must come first. She didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize her business that she worked so hard for. But after a year of flirting, they finally ended up in her bed…after which Madam Venna realized how emotionally dangerous it was to get involved with Saint and so she severed all sexual ties afterwards.

Apparently, she hides a secret that could ruin her and her business permanently, thus she is very careful to conceal her real identity and makes sure to separate her two lives – that of Madam Venna and who she is by day. However, certain characters in the story are aiming to ruin her and expose her. With her past, Madam Venna is wary of trusting anyone but most of all she’s wary of trusting Saint…with her heart.

I liked the story and I actually liked the twist in the story. Someone threatening to expose Madam Venna’s secret and ruin her business was a good plot. However, this line was not developed. A problem arises but it was not resolved even up to the end of the story. The book was long enough to have been able to provide some sort of resolution but you’ll finish the book wondering what happened. I mean, sure, the story between her and Saint was finalized but there were glaring loose ends that could have easily been resolved.

I’m hoping that the next book, Dusk with a Dangerous Duke, will bring back the spark and sizzle that the Lords of Vice books usually have. But most of all, I’m hoping that the last in the series, Twilight with a Forbidden Earl (as stated in the end of the book 5), which I’m guessing to be the story of Frost’s – ehem- downfall to love would be a perfect series ender.

However, despite my misgivings for how the story was finished (or unfinished, depending on how you look at it), the love story between Madam V and Saint is still good and you just can’t help but fall in love with Saint. So go ahead, pick up a cuppa and settle down with All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess.

Ciao!

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story follows Lord Sainthill, the next Lord of Vice to fall victim to romance. It starts out with the heroine, Madame Venna escaping her dire circumstances and establishing herself as the proprietress of a very successful brothel in London, The Golden Pearl. Saint, as well as the other Lords of Vice are naturally frequent visitors of the place. And Saint is fascinated by its owner. It takes him a year, but he finally wears her down and has sex with her. But, fearing how much emotion was present in the their time together, Madame Venna turns him away and refuses him future encounters. In his rage, he goes out and has sex with anything that will accommodate him. Six years later, circumstances bring them together again and makes Madame Venna's life tons more difficult. This time, Saint is acquainted with her proprietress identiy as well as her respectable alter ego, Catherine. And to protect herself, she cannot let him any closer than he already is.

I had very mixed feelings here. In one respect, I LOVE the fact that there was a rather liberal view of sexual experience and that the whole double standard thing was largely missing. I usually hate courtesan stories because of the heroine's feelings of shame regarding her profession and the hero's scorn for it. Which is why I didn't hate this one - the heroine was not ashamed, simply regretful that her situation wouldn't allow her to be with a man she could love and the hero didn't scorn her for her profession, but sort of admired her for her ability to make something of herself in whatever way she could. At one point, he refused to see her as a whore, stating that if she'd been a man, everyone would look up to her for her business acumen. He never really treated her like a whore and for that I have to give this story props. Also I really like that, although the hero was jealous that his friend (and probably others) had also had sex with the heroine (which kind of made for an uncomfortable situation, but added to the angst) the hero didn't fly the double standard flag and rage at her for having other lovers during their separation. He recognized that he had no right to feel jealous as he'd probably slept with more people during that time period than she had. (Although it's kind of a negative for me altogether, because I don't like to think of my romance couples having sex with anyone but each other).

That being said, there was something lacking in the romance for me. I just didn't buy Saint's love, since their whole getting to know each other time was during the year between their meeting and sleeping together (and we don't get to see that). Also, I'm not sure at what point Saint decided he was actually in love, since he'd been monologuing all that time that his feelings and anger at Catherine were too dark to be love. We didn't get to see that resolution, so that part of the story felt incomplete.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewer: Crystal
Source: Publisher
Crystal's review was first posted at Romancing the Book's blog.

The reason that I picked this book to read was because I have read the others in this series and I just can’t get enough. I really love the cover of the book too.

I love the Lord of Vice series and each one always leaves me with a lasting impression. I love reading how all seven are there for each other. They are closer than family. No one can do anything to them except them and they always have each others backs. I enjoy when each one find the woman just for them. It might not be what society thinks they should do, they don’t care and seem to not do any wrong.

When I read Simon Jefferes, the Marquess of Sanithill, aka the Saint and Charlotte Deverall aka Madame Venna’s story I was hooked. I got so into all of the mystery of the life that they both lead. I hated what their childhoods where like. I think that since they went through what they did that, it made them better suited to each other. I could just imagine myself in the story.

The thing that mad me mad at them was that they fought their feelings for each other. They reminded me of little kids. If they had just talked or quit being so pig-headed six years wouldn’t have been wasted. I know to make a good story, there has to be some conflict.

They had an instant connection from the first time that they layed eyes on each other. While four of the Lords of Vices found the women to make their lives complete, that still left three of the group and they we not go down easily. You can just imagine them kicking and fighting all the way. That is what makes it that much sweeter in the end.

The author did a great job in bringing out all the personalities in each one of her characters. Even if Frost does make me laugh, it’s a miracle that he hasn’t got himself killed by now. So much emotion is in this book and you can feel it. Somethings you like and some you don’t.

I can’t wait to read Hawks and Frost’s story which will be coming out. You wonder if after the two books are done will it be the end or will the author write a little mini version so that you can see how everyone’s lives turned out several years later.

If you love historical romances then this is a must read. Make sure that you read each and every one. You will enjoy them like I did.

[Marita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was OK. Liked that Saint had pined for Catherine for so long and they eventually worked towards trusting each other with all tehir secrets to get an HEA.

Major plot issues though. Again, were a couple of chapters taken out for no goddamn reason?!?! We have all this tension building with some danger thrown to add to the major point of conflict and then BAM apparently it's all been solved and nothing in this book even explains how. We only get a brief paragraph in the next book about how everything was resolved. BOOOO.

Also slightly iffy about Frost having slept with Catherine too. I'm not judging or anything, and it actually makes sense that they probably would have slept together at some point, and I love that Frost doesn't do anything as long as he is aware that Saint's still not over her. Still, it's just a bit, to quote Monica Geller, "icky".

Still looking forward to Frost's HEA though. I've been up and down with liking him though, and this book was a fairly up book regarding Frost. He's still as unnecessarily provoking as ever but I can imagine it must chafe like hell to find that all his best friends are dropping like flies and sort of moving on without him :( Poor baby, why don't you let me console you? ;)

I also find it unlikely that Catherine would have gotten away with her double life for that long, especially considering so many people seem to know her secrets anyway and have been blackmailing her about it for ages. And also, why on earth was she so timid as Catherine? She's not the first h to become stronger with a mask on, but she's one of the only ones I've seen become so missish without it. Especially considering she's like the farthest from missish you could possibly be.

And the mask thing was a personal LOL plot point for me anyway coz I kept seeing it in my head like when Marvel/DC superheroes put stupid non-disguises on to conceal their identity that no real person would fall for. Granted she had poor lighting to help disguise her further most of the time as Madame Venna but still.

Also did the books get inexplicably shorter as the series went along or something? And I swear the first half of the books get slower polt-wise as every book goes along, while the back 30% gets increasingly ridiculous and infuriating.