The Trouble With Grace : Celeste Moravia Agathe Alain : A prequel to The Spare and The Heir

Lords of Time #4

by Jenn LeBlanc

She had no idea what passion was,
Until she saw them...

Lady Alain needs a husband, and Quintin Wyntor will do just fine.

She plans to offer him a mutual agreement of respect and independence, something any bachelor in England would be happy for.

But she didn't know his mistress would be a mister.

When she sees them together something is stirred.
Desire is ignited.
But she still doesn't want to be touched.

When Calder leaves the country, Quinn is devastated.
He decides to explore his feelings for Celeste to ease his broken heart but in one unchecked moment of passion, mutual need spins out of control and marriage is the only way to protect her.

Celeste knows that Quinn was meant for Calder, but she can't deny the way she feels.


This book is the story of Celeste and has her happily for now.
It is also the beginning of Calder and Quinn’s story which is continued in THE SPARE AND THE HEIR.

This book is an autochorissexual romance (on the asexual spectrum) but contains important pieces of a gay romance.
Both are explicit.

Warning: You’re going to fall in love, and it’s going to hurt.




***This book was edited with input from a professional sensitivity reader in 2018. I have no control of which edition you have, but the new edition will also have back matter referencing the latest book in the series: The Sadist and The Stolen Princess***

Genres: Time Travel, Historical, Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, LGBT, Erotica

313 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2016

About the author

Jenn LeBlanc is a Colorado girl living in a Hollywood world. She writes “wildly original” illustrated Victorian erotic romance.
She wrote, photographed, and published the first ever Illustrated Romance and is Queen Of StudioSmexy.
She loves getting new research books and chatting with readers.
The Rake and The Recluse is the first book in the illustrated Lords of Time erotic romance series.



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Reviews

[Claudie Arseneault · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hey, asexual friends.

Steer clear of this book. I meant to do a full blown, long review with examples of the amisia in it, but to be honest, I don't want to waste my time. This book is built on it. It's in every aspect of its plot, it's in the way the ace & autochorissexual protag sees herself, it's everywhere. Author is right, this is a prequel to the m/m title: our ace protagonist serves as nothing but a prop for angst in the two gay cousins' love affair, her autochorissexualism is mostly boiled down to voyeurism, and the end of the line is that since she could never make a husband happy (because ~sexual needs~ amiright?), she sends her husband away so he can find his (kinda abusive and shitty) partner.

File this under: I read this so you don't have to. Spare yourselves. For more info, head out here: https://twitter.com/ClH2OArs/status/9...

Book also contains a LOT of racism.

[Xan]

Was thinking of reading this because I was excited about an autochorissexual MC. After reading this review discussing the autochorissexual representation, I probably will not be reading it:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Edith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Racist, homophobic, aphobic. Claims to be asexual rep but utterly despises its ace-spec protagonist. Fuck this book.

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, a Black woman on a cover wearing a pink Victorian gown was enough to make me buy this book at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last week. Author Jenn le Blanc even signed it. And there are lots of awesome pictures of the main characters in my version.

Unfortunately, all the high hopes I had for this turned out to be pretty disappointing. The book needed to be more about the heroine Celeste than just using her graysexuality as a plot device to get the hot guys to do the nasty. Not that I'm adverse to historical m/m loving, but not at the expense of the heroine, especially a heroine of color in a Victorian romance, a genre that is normally pretty whitewashed and shouldn't be. I liked Celeste, but wanted to like her more IF the author actually CARED to flesh her out more. Who was she? What was her backstory? I coded her as Afro-British though in the end notes the author writes her family was from Capri, which is in Italy. Would that make her Afro-Italian then? I don't know because she ended up heroine hijacked, which is a crime in the eyes of The Fountain Pen Diva.

As far as the asexual/autochorissexual aspect, I can't speak with authority but it did feel a little meh. It's there. It's important and I wanted to understand it, but it, like Celeste, just felt unfinished.

Then. We. Have. Quinn and Calder. I really really really HATE when two characters who are obviously in love don't freaking TALK like grown ass adults about the situation. And Calder, seriously, I wanted to slap some common sense into him. In fact, all three of these characters could use some of The Fountain Pen Diva's trusty clue bat upside their silly heads. Sit down, talk it out, come to some suitable arrangement, everyone lives happily ever after. The end.

The reason I'm giving this three stars is for the gorgeous photographs in the book. I wish this could have been more. Celeste deserved more than to be a pretty placeholder.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read because I was intrigued by the premise of an MMF historial with an ace heroine.

Me: Gosh, those are some anachronisms. I mean, I don't usually mind anachronisms, but that's a bit much.
Side character: "Grace, I must ask you: were you born in this century?"
Me: WAIT WHAT

Turns out there's time travel in this series. As I haven't read the others and thought I was getting a straight-up Regency, I was totally, hilariously blindsided by this. Heads-up, fellow readers!

[Jess Michaels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I loved this book. Jenn always write really different romances and this one is different and amazing and wonderful. Now I must go read Quinn and Calder's book ASAP!

[Romancing the Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Lori
Book provided by the author

This is not your typical romance where the man and woman fall in love and have a story to their happily ever after. This book takes some twists and turns and is not at all anything that the reader would expect. There is also elements of m/m romance involved in the plot as well. I'm stating this upfront right away not to deter the reader, but because I don't want the reader buying this book with one expectation and having a completely different one and possibly being disappointed or upset because it's a twist and totally unexpected.

I was surprised by how erotic this book was and I don't get surprised very easily. This romance eventually receives its happy ending, but its going to take a while to get there, but I was satisfied with how this book ended and how I felt while reading this book. I felt like the characters got to tell their story and the reader understands the characters better because of the story.

I don't understand the whole time traveling element within the story, however despite saying that, I think it was so cool that the author put these kickass, forward thinking women within a time period where that kind of behavior is strictly not allowed, and these women are able to flourish and find their way during this era.

Calder and Quinn, their story needs to be told yesterday because these two men burn up the pages as well as the sheets and are just smoking hot men.  Calder is alpha male, dominant, and has a take charge persona.  Quinn is more docile, gentle, and needs direction in order to make it through life. Despite these qualities, or because of these qualities, he's the perfect man for Celeste because he won't demand much from her, and really intuitively understands her feelings and makes her feel safe.

Celeste is a complex character. She's just starting to understand herself. She's shy and akward, and just wants to be left alone to pursue her interests and live a quiet life. Underneath all that quiet timidness, there is a woman that she just met in this book. A woman who has some capabilities of passion. I liked how Celeste made her discovery into passion and felt safe while doing it.

This book was hot, it was different, and it was good. If the reader isn't afraid to discover a new kind of romance, give this book a shot and I hope that you enjoy it.

[Monica **can't read fast enough**]

I'm not going to rate this one because I only made it as far as realizing that the male lovers are cousins. I don't read incestuous books as entertainment. If I understand correctly they may be as close as first cousins, but I am not going to be reading far enough into it to find out. There is also a large printing error in my book that really threw me for a loop and I had to go back and check to make sure that I hadn't lost my mind and lost my place in the story. This is what I get for buying a book solely on it's cover.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first I gave it four stars but upon reflection (you know, not at 1am) I'm not really sure it holds together that well. Also the gray-ace rep is... Well, not my flavor of gray ace but it seems a bit off. (Am echoing actual autochorissexal folks here.)

Plus, where's my book about an ace dude facilitating a relationship between two women?

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book specifically because it's a prequel to the next book, which I really wanted to read. I can't say I was actually all that interested in Celeste's story, but given the description, I felt I needed to read this before getting to Calder and Quinn's book. Not surprisingly, it took a while for me to get into this story. I have not read the other books in the series, though the series name does give an indication that there is some kind of time travel element. The anachronisms, especially in word choice, threw me off and pulled me out of the story, but that probably wouldn't have happened if I'd read the other books first. I also thought the setting seemed off for the time period. The setting is late Victorian period, but it felt more like the Regency period, especially at the beginning. If you're setting your historical book in the Victorian era, it's not a good idea to open at a ball. It puts the wrong image in the reader's head. The only indication during that scene that it wasn't regency was the mention of bustles on women's dresses. Overall, I'm kind of meh on this one, though it eventually grew on me.

[Casse NaRome · Rating 5 out of 5]

I toyed with giving this book 5 stars and maybe I will. There were parts that confused me, infuriated me, and sometimes just made me go huh? But don't all books do this?

I hate stupid misunderstandings all because characters won't communicate. NEVER in my life has this happened to me or anyone I know, which why it always makes me angry when it happens in books. Communication people! Also I hate when characters can't explain themselves. They act like they can't say the words. Celeste did this a lot. JUST SAY EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE THINKING. Use those words if you can't find any other.
I'm completely in love with Quinn. Calder brings all the vulnerable angst swoon. Celeste is the gentle strength.

I did enjoy reading a story about a character on the ace spectrum. YES! All aces rejoice. It was done fairly impressive by a non-asexy. And it was a heteromantic character at that, which is extremely rare in the fiction world.

I love this book. Although I have all of the series on my kindle and on my TBR list, this was the first book I've read by the author and I'm impressed by the author's writing style and ability to suck me into the story so quickly and thoroughly. I also appreciate the respectful representation of the asexual community.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I want a well-researched completely different read I reach for a Jenn LeBlanc book. I adore this series. This is not your typical historical. The Trouble With Grace: Celeste Moravia Agathe Alain takes a young woman, Grace, who was born in 1978 back to the past to inhabit the body of 10 year old Celeste Moravia Agathe Alain. She is now a young woman reviled by her own family because of her bi-racial coloring who needs to marry to escape. The problem is she doesn’t wish to have sexual relations with anyone. Quintin Wyntor seems like the answer to her prayers as he is in love with Calder St. Cyr. This book is Grace’s story and it sets up Quinn and Calders tale. Which I am now anxiously awaiting. This book like all the others in this series defies labels. It is a historical/time travel romance with m/m elements. This is not your mother’s historical. This is a sexy convoluted tale of self-discovery. Bring on THE SPARE AND THE HEIR.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally get it now why the author pushed back the story of the guys in this story in order to get to the gal in this one first. She had to. Seriously, in order for the next story to become, this story had to be told. Celeste is A M A Z I N G. This is one of those reads where you need to set aside the time to just sit down, your favorite drink by your side, maybe a snack, and just dive in... and stay there until the finish. Jenn LeBlanc just gets emotion, and it pours out with a purpose here. Damn good read. Amazing characters. And the trouble just is nothing but a thing.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I jumped in to this series in the middle, so I don't know the characters as well as someone who read it in order. That said, it made me WANT to go back and read the rest of the books in the proper order, as well as read the next one to find out what happens next. I loved all the characters and look forward to catching up.

[Beverly Diehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celeste/Grace is a woman with dark skin in ?Victorian? ?Regency? England. She may be a time traveler, or, perhaps, mentally ill. She's in need of a husband - and she's asexual.

I have never read an erotic romance with an asexual heroine (or actually, any kind of novel with an asexual main character), and it's handled brilliantly. How do you negotiate a marriage when you don't want to be touched? Except sometimes, platonically.

You find a man who is more interested in another - wait, another man? Quinn and Calder heat up these pages like nobody's business, and as the author makes clear, their Happily Ever After isn't reached in these pages, though Grace gets hers.

Recommend.

In passing, I think we should all use the word "cockstand" for morning wood, much more often.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the whole series actually.
I admittedly don’t know much about asexuality or this particular form of it (autochorissexual) but I enjoyed watching Celeste bloom. I believe all these books are a fresh new look into historical romance albeit with a tinge of fantasy and sci-fi. . I do recommend reading the series from the beginning so you can understand it all. There are some interesting elements but they oddly seem to make perfect sense.
There are so many different forms of sexuality and relationships. I love seeing them all so beautifully illustrated in this series so far.
Overall, l enjoyed the pure love that Celeste has for Quinn and how he returns it.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Trouble With Grace

Pore Grace was thrown to the past as a little girl. She couldn’t see her mother or father. Only the ones that said they were. Later in life she realized she wasn’t Celeste as she was told but really and truly Grace. Jenn Leblanc is a wonderful author that put people into the past from the future. But oh my goodness she also puts people up against each other and some people with shinning love.

[Leah]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Shelby Sigrist · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredibly gripping, couldn't stop reading!

[mrs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace needs to stop and let that man have her.

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

https://aspeccharactersoftheday.tumbl...

[Kristīne Vītola · Rating 1 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...