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Four all-new hot tales of yore, by the queens of erotic fiction.

USA Today bestselling author Robin Schone shares a tale of a man and a woman in a notorious club, who learn how very dangerous desires of the flesh can be. Claudia Dain heats up this collection with the story of two voyeuristic young courtesans who might just take part in a very public seduction at the theatre. Allyson James has a card-playing, cunning widower and a desperate young widow learn that passion is the ultimate wild card. And finally, Shiloh Walker introduces a short story of a woman saved by a shapeshifter. Now, if only she could think of a way to repay him?

Rarely does such blush-worthy, heated erotica exist-and almost never all in one book.

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

20 people are currently reading
459 people want to read

About the author

Robin Schone

48 books493 followers
USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author Robin Schone writes British Victorian novels about love, the legal & social penalties of Women’s sexuality and the occasional dinosaur. She is translated in 15 languages. The Lady's Tutor is a Cosmopolitan "Must Read" erotic novel. RUSQ (Reference and User Services of the American Library Association) chose Scandalous Lovers to “represent the wide range of historical fiction in romance.” Claims RUSQ: "Robin Schone writes sensual, explicit stories...about characters who are frequently older and less beautiful than most romance protagonists. Her history is impeccable; the storytelling is straightforward but emotionally driven."

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5 stars
105 (26%)
4 stars
113 (28%)
3 stars
122 (31%)
2 stars
38 (9%)
1 star
14 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Profile Image for Daisiemae.
425 reviews159 followers
November 26, 2008
I was so excited to read this book. Private Places is a four author anthology with Robin Schone, Shiloh Walker, Allyson James and Claudia Dane. Honestly I bought the book because I LOVE Robin Schone and Shiloh Walker...well I have mixed thoughts about the different stories. Not all were that great and unfortunately Robin's was my least favorite.
Honestly this is the second book in a row I have read by Schone, and have been disappointed. To me her characters just don't connect well on an emotional level. There just isn't chemistry between them.
Claudia Dane's story left me cold too. I had a hard time finishing it to be honest.
Now Allyson James and Shiloh Walker both wrote stories that I really liked. They were right on with the chemistry, interesting storyline and pacing of the short story. Because of them I am giving this book a 4...too bad I can't rate each story individually...lol
Profile Image for Julie (jjmachshev).
1,069 reviews292 followers
August 2, 2008
Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release August 2008

I confess that the list of authors for “Private Places” intrigued me. I’m familiar with all of them and wasn’t aware that two of them even wrote historical works, much less historical erotica. So I was very pleased to get a chance to review this book. All four stories are definitely historical and all four are also definitely erotic. But each pulled very different feelings from me as you will see.

‘The Decidedly Devilish Duke’ by Allyson James is the first story and I was surprised to find at the end of the book that it was also my favorite. James has taken several different well-used plotlines and combined them into something altogether more fun! He’s now a rich Duke with a bad reputation, but was once a welcomed suitor for her hand. She’s now an impoverished widow with a nasty and lecherous guardian, but was once the most sought after beauty of her season. It wasn’t a misunderstanding that separated them, but rather the immaturity and rashness of youth. Each has learned their lessons well and now they team up (and VERY heatedly I might add) to fight for their own future together. I enjoyed reading of their awakenings—hers is sexual and his emotional—and the author did a fine job of making both seem both logical and almost palpable.

Claudia Dain’s “A Night at the Theater” is a bit darker as she depicts two courtesans with very different backgrounds and very different goals. The majority of the story is the recounting of only one night at a theater when both women begin their quests…one for revenge and one for security, and the mean they choose to seduced to their cause. It’s only in the story’s epilogue that readers learn if either or both were successful. Very deftly written, and the ending portrays a ‘happily ever after’ that departs from the norm. Dain does a fabulous job of fully portraying the natures of her characters; something which many authors just can’t do in the short story format.

I’m a huge fan of Shiloh Walker’s ‘Hunter’ series and “Hunter’s Mercy” was a very interesting look at what life for a Hunter must have been like in colonial times. Did werewolves fight in the War of Independence? How did they survive? What did they eat? How would they keep their secrets? With that era’s emphasis on religion, how would a woman justify her feelings for a ‘monster’? Did Hunters fight British Hunters? A truly fascinating and well thought out look at what must have been a difficult time in the history of the Hunters, and I gobbled every bite of this story.

Robin Schone’s writing usually pulls a love/hate reaction from her reader. This story is no exception. I’ve read all of her novels and many are on my ‘keeper shelf’. While this book will find a place on that shelf, her story isn’t the reason why. “The Men and Women’s Club” is a short story connected to her last book “Scandalous Lovers”. Readers who didn’t read that story will likely be left confused and unhappy with this story. I read “Scandalous Lovers” and still I’m uneasy with this story. The tone and sexuality portrayed are very dark indeed and could be uncomfortable for many readers. The love and caring I expect to find with a hero and heroine were buried so deep, it would be very easy to miss it completely. This is NOT light reading and continues down the path her last couple of books began. I hope other fans enjoy it as I didn’t.

Well! All in all, I’m glad I read “Private Places”. Allyson James and Shiloh Walker’s stories entranced me and Claudia Dain’s story amused me. All the stories were very sexual in tone and I was glad to be sitting in a nice, cool room when I finished the book! All four authors are well established in their genres and this book will be a welcome addition for their readers.
Profile Image for SuperWendy.
1,099 reviews266 followers
September 24, 2018
I unearthed this from the depths of my TBR and it was definitely a mixed bag (but then most anthologies are IMHO). I did not like the Allyson James story, which has not aged well. The hero fled England to spend time in Turkey and now he's back all bronzed and "exotic" looking - and trailing a string of "he had his own harem!" rumors behind him. The heroine is a widow but of course her sex life with her late husband HAD to be uninspired because, you know, we need to keep her just innocent enough for the hero to teach her in the arts of lovemaking. Ugh. No.

The Claudia Dain story has a good concept but all the characters talk in circles and I'm just enough of a prude to not be convinced that one of the heroines finds her love match with a guy who is already married. But don't worry - because his wife conveniently dies in the final chapter so we get a "happy ending." Ugh. No.

I liked the Shiloh Walker story the best. The hero is a shapeshifter returning from the Revolutionary War to look out of the heroine, per her late brother's (his BFF) request. After her husband was murdered by "monsters" she's taken to becoming an amateur hunter - having learned to track and shoot thanks to tagging along with her brother and the hero when she was a kid.

The Robin Schone story does not stand-alone AT ALL and it's rather unsavory (the heroine is the victim of parental sexual abuse and work place sexual harassment ; the hero learned he liked pain with pleasure in boarding school) but Schone writes with such maturity that I found myself sucked into this story. It's also the most "challenging" read in the anthology in terms of societal mores and norms. But again, it doesn't stand-alone AT ALL.

This anthology had some moments but generally meh all the way around.
Profile Image for Caroline.
Author 3 books50 followers
January 31, 2019
It Lays a Person Bare

Robin Schone is an artist. I wish she would write more. As it is, I am forced to re-read everything.
Profile Image for Cindy.
939 reviews19 followers
March 6, 2009
Historical anthology with heavy breathing. The Shiloh Walker story was interesting, a paranormal [werewolves:] set just after the American Revolution. My favorite story was the Allyson James' 'Decidedly Devilish Duke' - set in the Regency with a hero who doesn't want his heroine just lying there and thinking of England... One of the most interesting bits to me [as a long time Regency reader:] was the actual explanation of the game piquet and what the terms meant. You hear them scattered around Regency novels all the time, this time you actually followed along the game...
Profile Image for Minna.
2,683 reviews
January 11, 2018
Another anthology... another mixed bag.

The first story, the Decidedly Devilish Duke, by Allyson James, I was surprised to find I enjoyed. Especially surprised as I've read a couple of Allyson James' full-length books and had been distinctly... unimpressed. Granted, they're paranormal (dragon) romance, but her writing style in those books is COMPLETELY different. Perhaps historical romance suits her better? At any rate, four stars for this story. It was the most romantic one of the bunch.

The second story, Night at the Theater by Claudia Dain, was what I came to the anthology for. I LOVE Claudia Dain, who writes forthrightly about mistresses, something that absolutely happened at that time but that most women today find repellent. Not that I want my husband to take a mistress, at all, but I do find her writing to be excellent and her stories enjoyable. Romantic? Ehhhhhhh, not really, but enjoyable? AbsoLUTEly. Nothing satisfies quite like devious, half-feral Sophia Dalby taking down another haughty, smug, privileged toff. Five stars for this one as a STORY, not so much as a romance. It definitely made me want to go re-read Claudia Dain's Courtesan Chronicles series.

The third story, the Hunter's Mercy by Shiloh Walker, was ok, but I didn't really warm to Mercy. The connection between Mercy and Jack seemed tenuous at best, and it wasn't all that romantic either. 2 stars, and only that because the time period and setting were so unusual and enjoyable. [Revolutionary War-era America.]

The last story, by Robin Schone, was a huge miss for me. Not romantic in the least. The two protagonists each had some major issues and, while I fully support people working through their issues, it sure does not make for a romantic SHORT STORY. The sexual encounters felt like a combination of therapy, punishment, and clinical experiment. As a reader I am not sure I've ever felt more detached from the main characters. 0 stars. I will likely actively avoid Robin Schone's work hereafter if this is a representative example (and from ratings I've apparently given two of her other books, it likely is).

I'm counting this book towards the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge since I may as well get a reward for slogging through the last horrid story, in the category "book with alliteration in the title".
1,254 reviews1 follower
January 5, 2016
these stories for the most part were meadiocre at best and dreadful at worst so ill do each story seperately. The decidedly devilish duke (1st) was actually pretty good something i wouldve read full length. it had enough romance to make it sweet and solid characters with real issues that worked out in a very good way. a night at the theatre (2) had way too much going on i had to keep going back to the start to figure out who was who, there was just enough backstory to be confusing(make a huge point out of two characters disliking each other but not say why wtf?!), and largely unrealistic. first of all i cant imagine a titled man would just up and decide to marry a prostitute just because...and a crazy one at that. second you love your wife but two seconds later youre sleeping with a seventeen year old...in public? no.
hunters mercy (3) was eh it might have fared better as a full length but that mightve just made it worse. i like paranormal stuff and the characters were decent. i liked the twist about her husband but overall for some reason this story fell flat for me other than the end being quite touching. the last story was absolutely awful. im no historian but i strongly suspect this one couldve used more research. the story had pretty much no point but to have really awkward sex scenes where i wasnt even sure what they were doong in. this need far more plot line and less robotic sex
overall a disappointment
Profile Image for Shelly.
311 reviews5 followers
October 22, 2011
I had this sitting on my nightstand for over a month, and couldn't summon the muster to go on. The first story was bad enough, so I didn't want to bother.

The Decidedly Devilish Duke
by Allyson James

★✩✩✩✩

Well, I think we're off to a rocky start with this anthology. I've not read anything by James, but after this, I don't think I want to either. The short story was all over the place and I often found myself wandering from the book, thinking if this is what's being published now, surely I could do better. The story of Amelia, who despised Michael, but married him anyway because she still loved him, even though they hadn't seen each other in 10 years after leaving things badly, well, it's just as convoluted as the story. He's a bad man, no he's a good man, no, he's just a weird man. She's a doormat, no she's not a doormat, no, she's just plain stupid. I hope this anthology is a case of from bad to good. This first story was awful.

Profile Image for Kay Pratt.
62 reviews1 follower
July 5, 2013
This book was a great was a collection of risqué erotic romance stories that are simply great reads that make awesome night stand stories. I really enjoyed all of the stories (something that I cannot always say). In Claudia Dain heats up this collection with the story of two voyeuristic young courtesans who boldly orchestrate a seduction in a public theater. Allyson James tells of a card-playing widower who rescues a former sweetheart (a desperate young widow) from loosing a card game where she is the prize only to learn that passion is the ultimate wild card. And finally, Shiloh Walker introduces a short story of a woman saved by a hot shape shifter, and how she repays him. With four steaming short stories, by talented authors, this is nightstand reading that won't put you to sleep.
Profile Image for Kerry.
1,077 reviews5 followers
November 3, 2014
You know the book is good when the first chapter of the first story you're pulling your am down going "yes". Four great stories from four great authors. Not one story disappoints its audience from The Men and Women's Club were trail is a result of exploring desires; A Night At The Theater in which between sweet revenge and goals come to the surface; The Decidedly Devilish Duke in which a man loses a woman years before and is determined to win her back, anyway he can and last but not least Hunter's Mercy is about a man who has a secret, a promise to keep and a destiny of protection he must uphold. When it comes home before him how does he heal the one person who needs it and win acceptance?
Really enjoyed this book and a great read for anyone.
Profile Image for Beth.
4 reviews
January 28, 2010
The book contains 4 short stories. Shiloh Walker and Allyson James have written two excellent stories the other two...well, two dark and one read like a zork game the other like a argument instead of intrigue. I Loved Allson's male hero and her lead woman was perfect and who could resist smearing chocolate!!! But, Shiloh Walker's retreat into the world of shape shifters and rogue werewolf's was very similar to the Twlight series, just set in the civil war era....but, still worth reading...I give the two stories a 4 the others...well if your really bored
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kathy Davie.
4,876 reviews737 followers
Read
January 7, 2016
Claudia Dain's "A Night at the Theatre" was good. Set in 1782 England, it may be the most realistic approach to how theatre was viewed/used in the time period although, I suspect, this story's version is a bit more overt than the reality.

Allyson James' "Decidedly Devilish Duke" was good. Set in 1835 England.

Robin Schone's "Men & Women's Club" took a decidedly intellectual approach to sex.

Shiloh Walker's "Hunter's Mercy" is part of her Hunter series.
Profile Image for MELISSA.
59 reviews
Read
November 4, 2010
So far I have read The Decidedly Devilish Duke...set back in 1835 and about a love that is lost and then found 10 years letter..set in London..one of my fav book settings...very hot and I loved it! Looking forward to the next short...I finished the other 2 shorts and I liked them all...very steamy!
Profile Image for Bridget.
1,242 reviews24 followers
April 26, 2011
I like reading anthologies to try different authors. Shiloh Walker wasn't a good as I expected, but Robin Schone has never disappointed me. Allyson James is OK, but Claudia Dain's writing pleasantly surprised me. Overall, good reads.
Profile Image for Mollie *scoutrmom*.
938 reviews38 followers
March 19, 2011
In a word: lame. The best of it was The Decidedly Devilish Duke by Allyson James, a decent 3-star read. The rest could have been written by a teenager with a warped libido. I'm glad I got this for $2 secondhand, otherwise I'd be angry at myself for having spent the $14 cover price.
Profile Image for Victoria Vane.
Author 54 books541 followers
Read
November 8, 2011
Loved
A NIGHT AT THE THEATRE by Claudia Dain = 4 Stars wildly entertaining. The shoe was completely on the other foot where seduction is concerned as two worldly women for completely different reasons set out to seduce their chosen man. Loved it.
Profile Image for Adriana.
696 reviews135 followers
July 24, 2012
Private Places

A Night at the Theater by Claudia Dain
3 Stars-I enjoyed this short story.

The Decidedly Devilish Duke by Allyson James
3 Stars-I enjoyed this short story.

The Men and Women’s Club
3 Stars-I enjoyed this short story.

Hunters’ Mercy by Shiloh Walker
I didn’t like it.
Profile Image for Deborah.
53 reviews4 followers
December 26, 2012
5 stars to the 1st story "the devlish duke" by Allyson James
about former lovers reunited at a card game where the stakes were her being the prize.
the other 3 couldn't really compete after that and were a bit of a let down.
Profile Image for Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ TrixieTracy Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ.
120 reviews30 followers
April 27, 2015
Four historical novellas, all very different from each other although equally average reads.

The Decidedly Devilish Duke...3 Stars

A Night at the Theater...2.5 Stars

Hunters Mercy...2.5 Stars

The Men and Women's Club...3 Stars
Profile Image for Dori.
9 reviews6 followers
September 3, 2008
This book sucked. I got it on vacation and finished it in about an hour as I skipped most of it.
Profile Image for Penny.
441 reviews32 followers
January 6, 2009
I recommend skipping the last story. It's really awful.
Profile Image for Dannielle.
429 reviews24 followers
did-not-finish
April 22, 2011
I really enjoyed Allyson James' and Shiloh Walker's stories in this book. I couldn't get into the other too. Not my normal time periods, but I was still able to enjoy the stories.
Profile Image for Amy.
13 reviews2 followers
September 28, 2009
In one word.. Horrible. I didn't even finish reading the first chapter. And I can normally make it through the worst of books. Just not my genre.
30 reviews24 followers
May 28, 2009
Allyson James' The Decidedly Devilish Duke = 3
Claudia Dain's A Night At the Theatre = 4
Shiloh Walker's Hunter's Mercy = 3
Robin Schone's The Men and Women's Club = 4
Profile Image for Pamela.
10 reviews5 followers
October 18, 2009
This book showed me I need to stop reading trash! But I can't help it :/
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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