The Virgin Widow

by Robyn DeHart, Kat Baxter

Agatha Pennybrook is desperate to regain control of her life. In order to avoid another arranged marriage, she’s set on learning to be the most skilled mistress in London.

Sebastian St. Claire, a bastard by birth, has grown up in his mother’s brothel. He might think he’s seen it all, but nothing has prepared him for the curvy and bold young widow seeking his mother’s advice.

But who better to teach the virgin widow the art of seduction than himself. When Agatha finds out she’s nothing more to Sebastian than a pawn in his plan of revenge, she’s heartbroken because not only did she give him her innocence, she also gave him her heart.

Genres: Historical, Historical Romance

100 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 8, 2024

About the author

National Bestselling author, Robyn DeHart’s novels have appeared in the top bestselling romance and historical romance lists. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages. Her historical romantic adventure series, The Legend Hunters, were not only bestsellers, but also award-winners, snagging a Reader’s Crown and a Reviewer’s Choice award. She had three releases in 2013 and 2014 will see four more, all set in the popular historical romance Regency and Victorian eras.

Known for her “strong dialogue and characters that leap off the page” (RT Bookclub) and her “sizzling romance” (Publishers Weekly), her books have been featured in USA Today and the Chicago Tribune. A popular writing instructor, she has given speeches at writing conferences in Los Angeles, DC, New York, Dallas, Nashville and Toronto, among many others.

When not writing, you can find Robyn hanging out with her family, husband (The Professor) a university professor of Political Science and their two ridiculously beautiful and smart daughters, Busybee and Babybee as well as two spoiled-rotten cats. They live in the hill country of Texas where it’s hot eight months of the year, but those big blue skies make it worth it.

You can find Robyn online in a variety of places.
Sign up for Robyn’s newsletter www.robyndehart.com/newsletter/
Robyn’s website www.robyndehart.com
Robyn on Twitter twitter.com/RobynDeHart
Robyn on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/Robyn-DeHart-H...
Robyn on Goodreads www.goodreads.com/author/show/288853....

What others say about Robyn’s books.
“Robyn DeHart’s vibrant characters sweep the reader into a clever and sensual romp that is not to be missed.” – Julia London, NYT Bestselling Author
“Robyn DeHart proves that falling in love is the greatest adventure of all.” – Teresa Medeiros, NYT Bestselling Author
“Sizzling romance…DeHart makes the romance believable and enticing.” - Publishers Weekly
“DeHart is a genuine treasure.” – Booklist
“Robyn DeHart has become one of my favorite authors…where she shines is in creating character…. DeHart’s romances are tender and adventurous, and funny enough you may laugh your nethers off.” – FreshFiction
“One of the best historical romance authors writing today.” - Shana Galen, National Bestselling Author

Reviews

[Grecia Robles]

Libro corto de romance Histórico.

Agatha es una joven viuda, a la que sus padres quieren volver a casar y ella para no pasar otra vez por la tortura del matrimonio, quiere buscarse un amante que le de el sustento y la libertad, pero para eso tiene que buscar ayuda en temas de seducción ya que nunca concertó el matrimonio y es virgen.

Acude al burdel de una cortesana famosa y conoce a su hijo bastardo y él al escuchar todo decide ayudarla.

Lo que comenzó como un trato, las cosas empiezan a cambiar para ellos porque empiezan a enamorarse hasta que Agatha se da cuenta que solo es un peón para la venganza de Sebastian.

La verdad es una historia corta pero que te ayuda a pasar un rato agradable, eso sí tiene mucho spice

[Kate]

3.5 stars!

Agatha is a virgin widow after losing her much too old husband a month after they married. Never warming his marital bed and worried she’ll be married off to another old man, she decides to learn the art of seduction. If she can learn to please a man and be a mistress then her life will be more free. Agatha seeks the expertise of a woman who owns a brothel and her son Sebastian steps up to be her teacher.

Agatha and Sebastian get hot and heavy fast and it was pretty hot. Despite the fact that feelings aren’t supposed to get involved, there was a passion and chemistry between the two of them that jumped off the pages.

“That’s it, love, you’re almost there. Keep rocking against me. Soak my trousers.”

It wouldn’t be a romance novel without love and Agatha soon finds herself falling for Sebastian. And Sebastian? He is hit over the head with the way Agatha swoops into his life and changes everything.

“I do not ever lose control. But the taste of your sweet cunny drives me to near madness.”

But Sebastian has a secret and Agatha doesn’t know how she can be a mistress or a wife to anyone but the man she’s fallen in love with! Will they get their HEA?

This was short and steamy and I really enjoyed this historical romance novella. Agatha was sweet and naive in the best ways and Sebastian was such a rogue but one that falls hard for his girl. While there were several typos, it didn’t drive me to distraction. I liked this!

ARC provided for an honest review.

[Mephala]

Well... after reading this author's story in the Busty Bodice Club series, I had high hopes for this novella.

Although I know Robyn DeHart faced some hardships and difficulties around the time this book was written, I still must admit it's a bit awkward and rushed.

Novellas tend to have fast paced storylines, but in this one it felt like so much was missing.

Sebastian and Agatha had hardly any real chemistry, even if the sex scenes were pretty spicy and hot. Their interactions hinted at a genuine connection, but that was never fully explored; I'm not certain they actually liked each other.

The revenge subplot felt like an afterthought; again, it could have been a little more developed, but just became a reason for an extremely rushed third act (sort of) breakup.

There was also the problem with numerous typos, awkward sentence structures, and a whole paragraph suddenly changing from third person perspective to first person POV. As the author herself mentioned writing a lot of novellas using first person perspective at that time, I suspect that this book started as one as well.

That was a little disappointing read, especially after reading Curves for the Betrothed Duke that was truly an awesome story.

~3/5 stars ⭐

[Sabrina]

This book was not original at all, it read like the old fashioned romance novels I read in the 90’s/00’s. That’s not to say that this is bad, it’s just not very original. In many ways there is a comfort in reading what you already know and I know many people love that.
Unfortunately, I read this after rereading The Turner Series by Courtney Milan where the tropes are subverted and refreshed and the books are very feminist. Thus, it made reading this novella seem very immature in comparison.

The ML was clearly meant to be a rake without wanting any ties in the world other than his mother or friends. When he was with the FL, of course he suddenly wanted to kiss her desperately even though he never really did that before. Of course, he wanted to not withdraw and risk pregnancy even though he would never do that before. It was a bit trite. He also kept calling her “Little Dove” which felt condescending and he shoved into her the first time without telling her or without giving her time to get used to it which just feels so presumptuous.

I liked the FL, she seemed very naive but that was totally expected of the time. But she had spirit and she was plump, which we the readers heard about a lot. She seemed a bit hard done by but I liked that she tried to take control of her life. Her parents seemed like total turds.

This book was insta-love and insta-lust which is normal for a novella but it took a good 75% into the story to really get why either of them liked each other. Before it was just told to us but not really shown.
Also, I found it really trite that the author had the ML’s brother be in the Pre-Rapaelites, because OF COURSE. It’s just obvious and boring
This was a very quick book to read. A fairly enjoyable few hours. Don’t expect the wheel to be reinvented but that might be what you’re looking for.

Another note to add, I don’t know if this is because I read the ARC, but there were SO MANY grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, wrong tenses used, eye colours mixed up, etc. I counted 21 instances. And this really did pull me out of the story and annoyed me. Considering this book is 96 pages long, this seems like a lot of errors.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bonnie]

Thanks to BookSprout for a copy of this novella and this is my freely given opinion.

This is the short story of a young English woman, married briefly to her husband, an Earl, in a marriage arranged by her parents. But she was widowed shortly after marriage and now that her mourning period is coming to an end, her parents are conspiring to sell her into marriage again. Rather than submitting to their plans again, Agatha considers ways to take control of her own life, to avoid marriage to another contemptible man. One idea under consideration is to become a mistress, and having a choice in protector, rather than being sold into a marriage with no say in the choice of husband.

Except her marriage was never consummated and Agatha has no knowledge of seduction.

Thus, she approaches a notorious madame, and meets with her bastard son, an incredibly handsome and notorious rake, Sebastian. He is immediately attracted to the widow and thinks that if he can teach her passion and sensuality, that he can indulge in his desires and will tire of her, but he finds himself falling for her.

This is a short, steamy story with a lot of potential - I liked the basis of the story and the characters, but the ARC copy I read had a lot of small issues in continuity of the story, errors in words/pacing, holes in the story, and the writing in terms of past tense/present tense. It was often enough to disrupt the enjoyment of the reading and the story needs more polishing.

3 out of 5 (rounded up because I see the potential, but this does need more polishing)

[Suelen]

A Viúva Virgem

Já fazia um tempinho que eu estava querendo ler um romance de época da Kat Baxter que ela escreve sob o nome Robyn DeHart. Quando vi que esse lançamento era um livro único, achei que seria um bom lugar para começar. Apesar da trama de mocinha viúva + busca por amante (resultando num relacionamento puramente físico) não fazer o meu estilo, o fato dela ser viúva E virgem chamou a minha atenção. Sua motivação de procurar um amante visando evitar outro casamento arranjado pelos pais também ajudou a atrair a minha simpatia, e foi assim que vim parar aqui.

Não é que o livro seja ruim, mas carece MUITO de desenvolvimento. Tudo ficou em torno do lance carnal mesmo. Eles não se viam para nenhum outro propósito que não fosse esse, então não me convenceu muito o amor que eles desenvolveram - principalmente o dela por ele. Eles mal se conheciam, não sabiam nada um do outro além do que gostavam de fazer na cama, e isso não é base para o amor imortal dos romances. Para completar, o final foi muito abrupto. Do nada, declaração de amor, pedido de casamento e fim. Zero detalhes de como ficou a situação deles depois, afinal ela era uma jovem bem nascida envolvida em escândalo (a gente supõe, né, pela postura do duque que os pais dela queriam que ela casasse) por virar amante do filho bastardo do duque em questão. Além de Sebastian ser filho bastardo, ainda era filho da cortesã mais famosa de Londres, dona do bordel mais badalado da cidade - e ainda na ativa. Um par improvável para a época, o que me deixou bem curiosa para saber como eles resolveriam essa situação. Bem, não resolveram. Nada foi falado sobre isso, pois o livro termina abruptamente, sem nem mesmo um epílogo. E isso foi frustrante.

No final das contas, o livro acabou sendo mais sobre a mocinha arrumar um amante e seu despertar s3xu@l mesmo (justamente aquilo que mencionei no começo não curtir). Talvez se tivesse mais foco no desenvolvimento do relacionamento deles como casal, mostrado mais deles como pessoa, eu tivesse gostado. Do jeito que foi, não foi pra mim. Uma pena!

[Dr. Lillian]

Agatha was married off to an ill, old man who dies before the marriage could be consummated, and now that she's out of mourning, her parents want to marry her off to the slimy Duke of Lancaster but she wants to remain independent. She decides to pursue a sensual education from London's top Madame, believing she would be able to maintain independence by becoming a mistress, but it's the Madame's son, Sebastian, who offers to teach her. Sebastian is somewhat of a rake, but instalust turns to instalove when he least expects it during Agatha's lessons.

This novella has promise, but needs significant editing to warrant a higher rating. The tense changes from past to present, from third person to first person, and some typos detracted significantly from the story for me and I struggled to stay engaged.

Age gap: Agatha is 21yo, Sebastian is probably late 20s, early 30s - I missed if his age was definitely stated.

Tropes: Curvy heroine, instalust/instalove, teach me, virgin heroine

SFCP (safe for childless people); main characters do not get pregnant/have a baby.

I received an ARC version of this book from Booksprout in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

[Jen Wyatt]

This book has much to offer - a curvy widow looking for a way to escape a forced second marriage, a roguish young man who wants to help, and plenty of naughty encounters between the two of them.
The love scenes merit a solid 4 out of 5.
The plot leaves a bit to be desired because one would have to suspend disbelief at some of the twists. I would have liked for the "road to coitus" to have been a little more developed, and for there to have been more character development and buildup of sexual tension between the two characters.
However, if you're not hung up on the details, this is a sexy romp and fun way to pass a few hours!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Stacie Irwin]

This was a fun and different storyline. It was a widow who lost her husband after only a week of being married and he was already sick at the altar. She’s now looking to be forced to marry another man by her parents, and she wants to try and find her own way. She looks to learn about seducing men from a popular lady, but the lady’s son ends up offering his help as a tutor. This was a bit different than the normal HR plot, so I enjoyed that. I also liked the main characters and found them interesting and engaging.

This was a novella, so there was a lot to pack in. I did feel like there was more to figure out about why her parents were so aloof and unfeeling toward our heroine. I understand the Ton could be distant from their children, but I felt I wanted to know more background at the end of why they were so cold and unyielding with pushing her to the duke. Maybe I wanted to see more confessions from them directly (even though we did get some confessions from the mother.)

SLIGHT SPOILER! I also felt the scene where the duke and Sebastian finally met and had their scene fell a little flat for me. I felt like the duke face up the girl (and the other item that would come with the girl) too easily. For a man that was painted to be cruel, he ended up rolling over too easily for me. Again, I think it’s partly because it’s a smaller book and all I want to see can’t be smushed in. I also felt things ended rather quickly and abruptly. I prefer having a slow ending to gather a bit of how their life is panning out, but again, personal preference.

As a FYI, this story was more insta lust. I had a bit of a hard time realizing how the two grew so close so quickly to the point of wanting to marry, but their passion was fun to read.

My biggest qualm was the grammar. There were many places where the verb tenses changed regularly and I found it hard to concentrate as it threw off the flow of reading. There were also a fair few misspelled words or possibly autocorrected words that were scattered about.

Nevertheless, I do want to commend the author on a fun and different story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[booka_holicme]

I just finished reading this novella and I'm just writing a rough review.

Well, the story starts with a widowed young maiden, who's being forced by her parents to get re-married for securing her future but being a naive, obedient girl her entire life she decides to choose her independent life.

Being a virgin and having not experience on making love, she decides to learn the art of seduction and lovemaking from a well known brothel lady. While arriving there, a young handsome man offers her to teach the art of love and she couldn't deny. Days pass by untill she discovers herself falling more for this young man.

On the meanwhile, her parents, chose a handsome renowned Duke for their daughter's hand.

But, the mystery is yet to discover, when she finds out the identity of the Duke.

This is such a fast yet great read. I received this ARC book 3/4 days ago. And I totally recommend this sweet yet spicy, novella for those who are lovers of historical romance.

The characters are so well built and I personally loved the character of Violet, Agatha's best friend. I mean we all deserve besties like her. Agatha's character was kinda sweet innocent girl who wants to explore herself but knows nothing from where to start. This is where Sebastian enters in the story and teaches her, what she's capable of. He made her feel the way nobody could.

There was a particular spicy scene, where they goes to a theatre and....🤭
And there in the presence of everyone Sebastian goes down on her. I blushed so much reading this chapter.

Now there's another para which made me blush more hard,
"He carried her straight to bed where they stayed for nearly two days. And every time he released inside of her, knowing—and perhaps wishing—there was a chance of a baby."

I would highly recommend everyone to give this beautiful novella a small try❤.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marion Löw]

How To Become A Mistress

I enjoyed this quick to read novella. It has a nice instalove plot. The characters are very likable, their mutual attraction is palpable from the start. I also liked Agatha's determination and candor and Sebastian's playful yet serious tutoring. There are quite a few hot love scenes.
Some of the supportive characters are likable too and I really hope that Sebastian‘s twin and his „bastard“ friends will get their own stories.

Agatha Pennybrook has been widowed for two years, but unfortunately her deceased husband did not leave her much money. When her parents want to arrange another marriage for her with the Duke of Lancaster, Agatha decides to become a mistress instead. In this way, she retains her freedom and still benefits from the protection and money of a man. However, as her marriage has not been consummated, Agatha has no experience in carnal pleasure. Without further ado, she decides to seek professional help from a brothel owner, but ends up with her handsome son Sebastian St. Claire, who is more than willing to teach her about carnal desire.

Sebastian is the illegitimate son of Agatha's future husband who never claimed him publicly. When he meets Agatha in his mother's brothel, he is immediately attracted to her and offers to tutor her how to be a mistress. The fact that this arrangement may also annoy his father is a pleasant side effect...

All in all, an entertaining and steamy quick read!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jayne Butcher]

When she was nineteen, Agatha’s parents married her off to a man forty years her senior. He died a week after their wedding. Then it was two years of mourning. Now her parents a getting ready to force her into a marriage with the dreadful Duke of Lancaster. Her best friend Violet, with whom she has been living, suggested that if she did not want a husband she needed a benefactor. She could become a mistress. Since Agatha’s marriage was never consummated, she needed advice, and who better to give it than Lady LeBlanc, the madame of London’s most nototious brothel. While there pleading her case, Agatha met Sebastian, Lady LeBlanc’s son. He offered to give her lessons. The lessons are decadent and steamy, and unexpected feelings develop. When the Duke of Lancaster rears his ugly head, he is determined to undermine Agatha and Sebastian’s relationship. His comeuppance was quite enjoyable. I love that Sebastian gets swept away by a woman who is innocent and built fuller than what Society deems appropriate, and that he can be serious one minute and playful the next. This story is a fun read and Sebastian is definitely a sigh-worthy bad boy who loses his heart the perfect woman for him, a virgin widow.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rose Seals]

So well written, full of love, romance, revenge, intrigue, steam, society and twists. Agatha is a young woman who was married off to an old man by her parents. After a very short time, her husband dies and leaves her nothing but to return to her parents. So again they try to marry her off to another old man- a Duke. Never telling her parents that she was still a virgin as her husband was to sick when they married. She lives with a friend , Violet, who lets her stay there but feels that she needs to live on her own and have some control. Agatha decides if she becomes a mistress then she doesn't have to marry and have some control of her life. She makes plans to go to a brothel for lessons on how to become a mistress, it's there she meets Sebastian. Sebastian and his twin brother are the bastard sons of the brothel owner and the same Duke she is to marry. She offers herself up to him so she can learn how to become a seductive mistress. He jumps at the chance to help her and likes the idea of what she has to offer. Lots of steamy scenes between them as they fall in love. Sebastian has to save her from this marriage. What a fantastic story, hope to read more about his twin. Would strongly recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Curvy Girl Book Nerd (Jen S)]

The Virgin Widow is a short and steamy, instalove, OTT, curvy girl gets her hunk, historical romance. Agatha is a curvy virgin Widow. She was married off at 19 by her parents to a 59 year old man who died the week she was married before the marriage was consummated. Now, the 2 year grieving period is over, and Agatha's parents plan to marry her off again to an older Duke. Sebastián is the hunky bastard of a madam, and the man Agatha is to marry. Agatha wants to control her own destiny and decides she'd rather be a mistress, but she needs to learn how to seduce a man. She visits the brothel to speak with the madam and meets Sebastián who is taken with the curvy beauty. He offers to give her lessons in Seduction. He wants to keep her away from his father. But the two fall in love. But what happens when she finds out who Sebastián's father is? Will she feel betrayed? Their chemistry was hot 🔥 hot 🔥 hot 🔥 and after a little angst, we got a very happy ending. This was my first Robyn DeHart novel (although I am a huge fan of her alter ego, Kat Baxter 😉), and I absolutely loved it! Now, I need to read others.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lana Birky]

This was a very steamy story & couple; but with that being said I enjoyed the change of pace & I loved the sizzle between the couple. Agatha Pennybrook is a widow & her husband died before their marriage was consummated - now, she wants to learn everything there is to learn about pleasures of the flesh & to be able to care for herself as the most skilled mistress in London. Agatha goes to meet with the most successful brothel madame in London, Lady LeBlanc, & there she meets LeBlanc's son, Sebastian St. Claire, who has grown up in his mother’s brothel. When his mother excuses herself from the room, he makes arrangements to call upon Agatha, because he can teach her so many things. Their relationship was far more than either one of them expected & there were some of it was very witty & humorous, I found myself laughing out loud. This was a steamy, spicy read, that I thoroughly enjoyed! I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Jenifer]

An interesting concept that a widow could still be a virgin, but that's how this story starts. And she's about to be married off again by her parents to a man she despises. Therefore she's determined to become a mistress, but she needs lessons. Sebastian more than happily fills the role of teacher. And Agatha is a more than willing student and very responsive to lessons.

This is a pen name for one of my fave authors of contemporary romances, and this book is much spicier than those books, and I loved it. I also loved the time period it was set in, as it's after the regency period but still has the feel of that time period with the proper etiquette and such. It definitely whet my appetite for more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jordan Fiest]

I loved The Virgin Widow. Agatha is a strong, resourceful woman who just wants to determine her future without needing a husband. She was already married, albeit for a short time, and has no desire to do that again. She wants to be a mistress, but needs to learn how to be one. In comes Sebastian, with his idea he can teach her how to be a great mistress. But feelings enter the partnership and secrets are revealed which causes some drama for this couple.

I loved their relationship together. The feelings were felt off the page. There were some intense moments, but all resolved well enough.

[Jess]

I actually enjoyed this story especially as I am a huge fan of historical romance. Agatha and Sebastian had the chemistry needed to make this story work. While Agatha's plan was way off for the times it made for a good read. Sebastian fell in too deeply despite being the experienced one. This story read well with a villian, and hero. I however did not like how rushed the ending felt. It was completely over in one paragraph and could have been done better in my opinion. Still a good read and definitely do recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Julie]

I admit it - I have never had any desire whatsoever to read a historical romance. Being familiar with this author though, I decided to give it a try - and I LOVED it! The main characters were Sebastian and Agatha. They were both wonderful! Agatha is in a troubling situation and seeks help from Sebastian’s mother but one look at Agatha and Sebastian decides that he will help her.
There were so many steamy parts! Though, Agatha and Sebastian believe that their arrangement is purely educational, they both develop feelings for each other. There is a twist though which could affect their relationship.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jeriann Fisher]

A Nice Romance

First, let me say that I did enjoy this romance. It is of a widow who is still a virgin thanks to her husband being more ill than she had realized. He seems to have passed away a week after they got married.

Sebastian Is the son of a whore who takes it upon himself to teach Agatha the seductive and sensual arts so that she can become a mistress and avoid being forced to marry again. Of course they end up falling in love with each other. It is a quick read.

Why 3 stars? The story suddenly takes a leap into 1st person present tense at odd moments. So, it's needing another round of significant editing. If it gets that I will raise my review rating.

[TheBodiceRipper]

I really enjoy this author’s books under her other pen name, but this one was full of so many typos and grammatical errors I could barely get through it.

Point of view switches from third person to first person and back in the space of a couple paragraphs. Numerous sentences that start in past tense end in present tense. There are sentences that just plain don’t make sense, either because they are missing words or the word order is reversed. And the attempt at a historical writing style sounds more like an American butchering an English accent.

Whoever paid to have this book copyedited should get their money back!

[Linda]

Agatha Pennybrook was wed to a man who was forty years older when she was only nineteen. The man died five days later. It has been two years and her parents want her to marry the Duke of Lancaster. But Agatha wants none of it. She wants to be her own woman and decides to be a mistress. How does she become one? She visits a local madam where she meets the madam’s son, Sebastian St. Claire. He volunteers to teach her and does. He falls in love with her and she falls for him. Her parents are getting ready to turn her over to Lancaster when he grabs her. She will not be marrying Lancaster. She belongs to Sebastian.

[Rainbowlovesbooks]

This is the first historical instaromance story I've read. It's not a genre I'd normally look for, but knowing the author from her other work as Kat Baxter I thought I'd give it a try. I wasn't disappointed.

Historical, instaromance in which a man of questionable parental responsibility (unclaimed by his father) offers to help a widowed virgin. Written in the style of dual pov, steamy scenes, virgin female lead, alpha male, instalove, pure love with a happy ending.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[EM]

This was an enjoyable read, there was great chemistry between Agatha and Sebastian, however it wasn't all smooth sailing and that helped to make the story. I really enjoyed the humour and Agatha's best friend. There was good steam and a bit of uncertainty with regard to how matters would all turn out for Agatha between a possible arranged marriage to a horrible Duke vs becoming a mistress vs the feelings she was developing for Sebastian.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Constance M.]

I enjoyed this. Not the intellectual, see me for my brain type, but a definitely enjoyable read.

While I know that even today, arranged, transactional marriages are still prevalent, that does not make it a wonderful thing. Seeing how young people were manipulated by parents who sought to increase their fortunes is often sickening. Most times, the person (usually the daughter) was trapped into a situation she didn’t want.

I enjoy reading about the times when the plans are foiled, especially for love.

[Karen]

She Wanted to Control Her Own Life

Agatha wanted some experience to become a mistress and Sebastian was more than willing to give her that and more but when it came to giving her up, could he and defy the father who would not recognize him?

A hot steamy, swoon-worthy read, two heart meant to meet and be together.
Loved It!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rachel Crider]

Such a sweet story full of romance and plenty of spice. Reading about Agatha and Sebastian falling in love was a delight. I love the virgin FMC and more experienced tutor MMC trope. There were some typos in the book and a few continuity errors, but overall nothing I couldn’t get past. I’ve read almost all Kat Baxter’s books but this is only my second Robyn DeHart book. Will definitely read more from her!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Plainfilm]

Wait, I can have historical versions of Kat Baxter?!?
Sold, I'm all in.

Some love for the curvy girls? Check
Spice/extra steam? Check
Quick evening read? Check
Interesting plot to back out all up? Check
A sprinkling of humor? Check
Wanting to catch up on this author's entire catalog so far? Check, but alas I need some sleep.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Peggy]

Agatha Pennybrook was wed to older man who died shortly after the wedding, and before the wedding could be consummated, thus the title. Left with little money and trying to avoid another arranged marriage, Agatha decides that she wishes to be a mistress. Since she wants to be the best possible, she meets with Lady LeBlanc, madam of the most successful brothel in London. She meets the madam’s son Sebastian, who for reasons of his own, decides he should be Agatha’s tutor in the pleasures of the flesh. This is a wonderful story with wit, humor, comeuppance for greedy parents, revenge for an arrogant duke, steamy romance, and an excellent chance for happily ever after.
I received an ARC of this book via BookSprout and voluntarily reviewed it.

[Lisa]

I love Agatha. She knows what she wants and sets out, determined to get it. She works hard and studies and goes for it. I love Sebastian because he is silly enough to believe he can associate with Agatha and come out unscathed. I love their chemistry and passion. I love his mother and Agatha's friend Violet. This story is quick and quirky and quite fun.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.