The Earl and the Governess: An Erotic Romance

by Alison Shaw

Rafe Gaines Fairburn, the Earl of Langham has a shocking reputation, one that he is most proud of. He has bedded all the most comely wives and widows of the Ton, most of the whores in London, many a servant and even his own valet. But when he meets Charlotte Kemp, a governess to his cousins, he finds he has met his match and he has the challenge of his life on his hands.

WARNING: this erotic adventure does not shy away from graphic description of many delicious sex acts, and uses filthy language with abandon. If you are offended by flagrant disregard for historical accuracy then also stay away!

Genres: Erotica, Menage

ebook

First published September 22, 2013

Reviews

[ᑭᑌᑎƳᗩ [Punya Reviews...] · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

Hmmm, where do I begin about this book?





Let me just tell you that if you want to read about real rakes, you’re in for a treat. The Earl and the Governess is an Erotic Historical Romance by Alison Shaw. There are two rakes in fact, cohorts in their mutual pleasures. There is an Earl of course, the hot H of our story, Rafe; one of those aforementioned rakes. There is also a beautiful governess, Miss Kemp or Charlotte... and then, there is Rafe’s gorgeous valet Eddie, the other rake.

TBH, I think this book should’ve been titled ‘The Randy Rides of Rafe and Eddie’. (Oh, don’t look at me, just came to me as I started writing this review! Lol)

Rafe is the young Earl of Langham who has been with many, many women (and a few naughty men) in and around London and far and wide. His ‘reputation’ inside a lady’s boudoir (among other places) always precedes him wherever he goes. Apart from those wide varieties of partners, Rafe also enjoys being with Eddie whose skills comes ‘handy’ when he needs it.

One day, Rafe finds that a governess is appointed for his orphaned young cousins. Even though he’s been eying the older sister of those boys, Sophia (since she’s a virgin, hence quite unattainable), very soon Rafe’s attention shifts towards the beautiful governess with the thoughts on how to have her.

Charlotte, on the other hand, just fell for Rafe, his manly beauty and sexyness on spot. There was no escaping that! She’s a sensual creature, though I didn’t think she was slutty. There was something about her I liked immensely. Charlotte was introduced to sex by her ex-employer, who had even shared her with a few other men. She loves sex and misses it ever since leaving the other household but she’s not sure if an involvement with Rafe would be the thing to do seeing how, on the outside, she’s the most prim and proper governess available out there! And this is what drives our randy hero crazy, shagging the prim governess (he did make good on his promise quite a few times :p).

But Eddie is another matter entirely. He’s a f*cking machine, I have no other name for him. He just enjoys it, likes to give it rough and to perform. He’s been with many women. As for men, I think it’s only Rafe he’s been with. They do share a special bond of sort that not many people know of. At one point in the story, when Charlotte asks for ‘it’ from him (when she finally gives into her bodily cravings, thinking Rafe is way out of her station), Eddie gives it to her without any hesitation. As I said, no question asked sex... Sometimes he likes to perform with a woman just for Rafe, who enjoys watching him and joins in if he feels like it.

As you can surmise, there are a LOT of sex in this book. M/M, M/F, M/F/M you name it, it’s here.

✔ Rafe with other women, including widows, upstairs maid etc.

✔ Rafe with Eddie (though M/M is mainly centered on oral, other actions are just hints)

✔ Eddie with Rafe (same as above)

✔ Eddie with other women, including the same upstairs maid and some prostitutes

✔ Eddie with Charlotte

✔ Charlotte with Rafe (finally!!)

✔ Charlotte with Eddie and Rafe... (you bet!)

✔ Rafe and Eddie with other women/prostitutes, again... (don’t ask me to elaborate, as you can see these two are mainly governed by their d!cks. lmao)

But the most important thing was, I enjoyed almost all the sex scenes in this book, even though I hardly read ménages. I believed in Rafe, Eddie and Charlotte’s chemistry when they came together in passion, which mattered to me here. I also liked the writing, the author being a new-to-me one because it reminded me a lot of Lisa Valdez’s writing; very raw and direct, no hide and seek so you can expect a lot of dirty talking.

I was pretty much sure of a 4+ star rating, until the last couple of chapters where:

# It’s revealed that our randy hero is scared of his mother who has been whining to him about getting married. One look at the girl of his mother’s choice, a daughter of some titled man who later turns out to be one of Eddie’s past lovers and Rafe immediately begins lusting after her. He then even manages to get caught with her because... yep, he let his d!ck govern him again, Charlotte be damned! He didn’t even go through the marriage but Charlotte was hurt and left her job. It wasn’t revealed where she went but we keep seeing more of Rafe’s antics.

# Rafe did such stuffs a couple of times, making me think if his words of love were just those, words. Was Charlotte just another convenient lay and nothing else? The way he was, I didn’t know what to think but I did believe that Charlotte fell in love with him. It made the whole matter worse. I thought even Eddie was better than Rafe in his own way and he cared for Charlotte.

# When Charlotte was nowhere to be found (c’mon did he even look for her?) and Rafe jilts his bride on the altar, he and Eddie go back to their old ways. *sigh* I felt annoyance brewing at this point.

# Don’t expect HEA, It’s rather HFN. Charlotte returns in the end because she couldn’t stay away, also because she was pregnant (no idea whose baby though, Rafe’s or Eddie’s). It was planned that they’d leave for France but there was no talk of marriage. So we can pretty much expect a very open relationship here. This didn’t make me happy. I’d rather these three stayed together, with Charlotte married to Rafe or something like that.

But if you’re not bothered by these things and looking for something decidedly naughty, go ahead and give it a try! 4 stars.

[mer · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 50%. Oct 14, 2013

This is an honest review. You've been warned.

I was in the mood to read erotic. So I picked this one.

At 1%
Fornication begins. Already???

Rafe with one woman I forgot who she was and her name. And then with another woman, again I forgot who she was and her name. Yeap.


At 9%
Rafe and his cousin. INCEST. Erkkk



At 14%
Rafe and his manservant, Johnson.

Damn that man named Johnson was hot alright.

At 15%
Rafe meets girl named Charlotte and she's a governess. He wants her so badly but he can't have her because she is seeking for husband. She wants him too but she can't because Rafe said he doesn't do permanent. You see, this two has no connection whatsoever except for lusty lust.


At 21%
Voyeurism. Johnson and a maid. Rafe just watching.

Oh well it was interesting experience for me anyway.

.....

Then, it turns into endless sex.

Rafe and whoever.
Charlotte and Johnson. Ohhh you surprise?
Again voyeurism.
Menage.
Rafe and Charlotte are trying to resist each other.

.....

At 50%
And then... he finally fucked had her! Huh...


I guess this book wasn't for me. Read on your own peril.

[Isle Scarlett · Rating 2 out of 5]

perhaps lust... the only people in love with each other was Johnson and Rafe as they were incapable of being apart.. everyone else was just fodder in their sex schemes... the HEA didn't make any sense... all the characters were nympho/ sex addicts... the genre of ménage has become more male focused and the female counterpart isn't necessary.. so perhaps some better labeling in the future might save disappointments... this story is really about two men in love and their sexual exploits... the title should really have been the Earl and the Valet..

[Kate* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the dirtiest book I've ever read and I loved it. If you want to read erotica (smut) with the pretense of a plot in a historical era, this book is for you. I would've enjoyed more of the emotional and tying up loose ends, but the book would've been considerably longer. The POV was a little odd because you get two chapters with the same thing happening from the hero, then the heroine, which would've been great if it was more revealing about the emotional aspects of their relationships. I also feel like the ending was concluded too fast and the situation resolved too easily compared to the rest of the writing in the majority of the book. When you read this book, keep in mind the synopsis and intended purpose and audience and don't expect something it's clearly not.

[Clémence · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the dirtiest books I ever read! Every chapter has a sex scene but you get to know the characters and love them. I loved the ending!

[Jazzysmum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a what the fuck did I just read book and not in a good way.
Nobody was likeable and I have to agree with another reviewer, its title was not apt perhaps The Earl, His Valet and Their Whore?
I am surprised that the Earl and Eddie didn't have their own brand of STD or Syphillis.
The same goes for the Governess, who did more with the earl and his valet than she actually did Governessing, that seemed to fall to the hapless older sister who had a lucky escape from the Earl's attentions!

Don't get me wrong I love a good bodice ripping romp full of lust and such things but this was basically about infidelity - which is not my cup of tea.

Much of the storyline was silly especially with earl and his Mr Darcy moment.
not on my to read again list.

[Mina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one on BooksieSilk as it was published in installments. I loved it because the writing is fun, direct, and hot. But I was reading for the romance, not the erotica, so I bailed when it looked like The Earl and The Governess weren't going to have an HEA. Having read the spoilers for what does happen, I'm not sure I'll go back, because I was reeeeeeeeeally emotionally invested in Charlotte and Rafe as a couple (though I grew to like Johnson too! I mean, he's just too sexy not to like...but then ymmv). All that being said: Alison Shaw is great, and this story has some really good chapters!