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Lessons of Love
Lessons of Love is an old fashion bodice ripper, full of passionate love scenes full of fire, and old fashioned discipline for those who refuse to obey. One with a beautiful, spirited heroine, and a dark, cruel rogue whose heart must be tamed. He takes her as his, and the battle of wills begins. One that has been fought for ages between a man who has no intention of ever feeling love, and a woman who must teach his heart to feel or be forever adrift in a life of cruelty.
In 1842 Louisiana, Jolie Dupree lives an oppressive life ruled by her strict and unloving stepfather. She has the luxuries of plantation life, but feels suffocated under his watchful eye. Fate brings an abrupt change in the form of Cole Jameson, a man full of wealth but short on acceptance into society. He needs the cloak of respectability to hide behind, and silence the rumors of girls gone missing while in his company. His business of selling genteel women to rich men with unsavory tastes, must not be discovered.
When he comes upon the lovely Jolie bathing in a secluded glen, he sees in her the answer to his problem. A young bride with an old family name will provide an aura of propriety. She is a girl from a suitable family, but also one who is not loved. She's perfect for his scheme. He carries her home, bound, wet, and almost bare, with a story of saved virtue, and is granted her hand in marriage.
Cole is a man who has never loved and has no plans to start. He doesn't give a care for the women whose lives he shatters, but Jolie isn't just any woman. Her beauty bewitches him even as her stubborn will defies him time after time. He weds her with plans to make her an ornament on his arm and a slave in his bed. He will teach her how to please a man with a hard hand and an unfeeling heart.
Will Cole be able to keep his cold heart and continue with his business of white slavery, treating his new wife as cruelly as he does all his captives? Or will Jolie's fiery spirit and beauty break through the ice that surrounds his heart and put an end to his cruel ways?
In 1842 Louisiana, Jolie Dupree lives an oppressive life ruled by her strict and unloving stepfather. She has the luxuries of plantation life, but feels suffocated under his watchful eye. Fate brings an abrupt change in the form of Cole Jameson, a man full of wealth but short on acceptance into society. He needs the cloak of respectability to hide behind, and silence the rumors of girls gone missing while in his company. His business of selling genteel women to rich men with unsavory tastes, must not be discovered.
When he comes upon the lovely Jolie bathing in a secluded glen, he sees in her the answer to his problem. A young bride with an old family name will provide an aura of propriety. She is a girl from a suitable family, but also one who is not loved. She's perfect for his scheme. He carries her home, bound, wet, and almost bare, with a story of saved virtue, and is granted her hand in marriage.
Cole is a man who has never loved and has no plans to start. He doesn't give a care for the women whose lives he shatters, but Jolie isn't just any woman. Her beauty bewitches him even as her stubborn will defies him time after time. He weds her with plans to make her an ornament on his arm and a slave in his bed. He will teach her how to please a man with a hard hand and an unfeeling heart.
Will Cole be able to keep his cold heart and continue with his business of white slavery, treating his new wife as cruelly as he does all his captives? Or will Jolie's fiery spirit and beauty break through the ice that surrounds his heart and put an end to his cruel ways?
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2003
18 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Jolynn Raymond
17 books99 followersJolynn Raymond's love of writing began in her early 30s and has been a passion ever since. She loves to read, write, travel the world, and is a history buff. Her genre's cover historical romance, often with a spicy kinky twist to suspenseful paranormal thrillers. Her love of history makes its presence in the books she writes. They are often set in centuries past. She is a lover of art, architecture, and the study of diverse world cultures. She still resides near her childhood home with the love of her life, her two spoiled cats and their gnome, Gerome.
Her favorite quote is: "Well-behaved women seldom make history." -- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Her favorite quote is: "Well-behaved women seldom make history." -- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 5, 2018
Twisted
I am not against some spanking, but how any woman could think about loving a white slave trader is beyond me. I would have bashed that man's head in, stolen some cash and RAN. This cowardly girl just cries like an idiot and TAKES his crap. Seriously? It's not even sexy, it's messed up.
I am not against some spanking, but how any woman could think about loving a white slave trader is beyond me. I would have bashed that man's head in, stolen some cash and RAN. This cowardly girl just cries like an idiot and TAKES his crap. Seriously? It's not even sexy, it's messed up.
July 7, 2018
Sorry I just can't do this. I tried over and over. It started great and just turned into all sex for me and the sex writing sucked. Maybe it's me and I just am too impatient because my friends gave this good reviews. If you are going to try a newer type bodice ripper/erotica, I recommend Winter Thaw by Jaide Fox. Although some might not consider it BR, I thought it had many elements similiar to BR and added blackmail as well as fun.
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September 14, 2021Nubbin 😐
January 12, 2022
Some characters simply can't be redeemed for every reader. DNF at about 10 pages. YWS, YLS.
April 30, 2015
Lessons of Love goes both ways in this story; both main characters find love and make a commitment to each other. Jolie the young girl that grew up with no love from her stepfather after the death of her mother and is desperate to be loved. Cole grew up without love and came to regard women little more than objects and a way to gain wealth. He is involved in many unsavory business dealings and is looking for a woman for his wife to give him respectability. He found a handful with Jolie when he tired to mold her into the woman to be seen as a proper wife as a pretty display object. She challenges him, keeps his interest and meets his every need as a man to become the love of his life.
The action started in the first chapter and continued to the end to keep me turning the pages to find out what would happen next as these two mismatched lovers learned to truly love one another.
The action started in the first chapter and continued to the end to keep me turning the pages to find out what would happen next as these two mismatched lovers learned to truly love one another.
July 7, 2013
Lessons is a dark love story between two people who at first glance couldn't have been more wrong for one another. Products of their time, they come together explosively, their sharp edges slowly filed until they each become what the other needs.
This book isn't always an easy read; there's violent, non-consensual sex, a seemingly evil leading man, and a woman trying to survive at a time when she's considered nothing more than property. If, however, you like bodice rippers and redemption archs, which I do, you need to read it. Now!
This book isn't always an easy read; there's violent, non-consensual sex, a seemingly evil leading man, and a woman trying to survive at a time when she's considered nothing more than property. If, however, you like bodice rippers and redemption archs, which I do, you need to read it. Now!
November 8, 2025
Not for grown ups
A smattering of BDSM, not remotely erotic. Unbelievable characters, no historical relevance. Without the crudeness it would be suitable for a teenager.
A smattering of BDSM, not remotely erotic. Unbelievable characters, no historical relevance. Without the crudeness it would be suitable for a teenager.
January 12, 2013
This book was actually a bit different than I expected. It is very much like the old bodice rippers from the past. Cole starts out as an anti-hero and evolves into something else entirely. Jolie, though a little shrill for my tastes, still manages to be an engaging character. What I loved was the way the writing continued to move the story forward through some interesting twists and turns. The heart of it is that the heroine was able to basically fully reform the hero by her love. It's a standard romance trope (a la Fifty Shades of Grey). I'm not sure where other reviews (at least the amazon ones) got the idea this was harsh. It's not harsh at all - in fact it falls for me very much on the lighter end of the spectrum. Almost all the sex is fairly vanilla - though there is a small anal scene it's not hard core at all. The business Cole was in, human trafficking, is harsh of course so from that POV I guess I can see it. However .
Overall I did like it - and my rating reflects more my feelings on Cole's evolution and how that occurs than anything else. I also was looking forward to this being a bit more harsh and it didn't have any of those elements on "screen". Regular romance readers who like the heroine reforms the bad boy or evil man should def. pick this one up!
Overall I did like it - and my rating reflects more my feelings on Cole's evolution and how that occurs than anything else. I also was looking forward to this being a bit more harsh and it didn't have any of those elements on "screen". Regular romance readers who like the heroine reforms the bad boy or evil man should def. pick this one up!
April 30, 2013
This is a well written book. There is a warning that in the time when the novel takes place wives and women are considered property and are treated as such. I couldn't bring myself to like the hero because of his past, to me he wasn't redeemable. I couldn't relate to why the heroine would fall in love with him. I kept having to remind myself that she had been abused and he showed her kindness. It is a good book if you can handle hating the hero. That was hard for me reconcile to as a romance.
March 30, 2014
This was my first REAL Bodice Ripper and it was this book that made me a fan of this genre. Jolynn Raymond has a real talent for this kind of work and I hope she continues to write more of them because in this day and age we are lacking them. If we want to find any we have to rely on thrift stores and online markets to find the Vintage Bodice Rippers which can get costly!
September 1, 2015
Lessons of Love has a beautiful cover. The story takes place in Louisiana in the mid-1800s and depicts plantation live along with the total no rights of women of the era. It is a great good vs. evil story with the new young bride being 'good' and the older husband being 'bad'. The conflict was depicted in great detail to make it an interesting story.
May 27, 2016
Worst book ever.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews