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The Erotics of Charlotte Street #1
Widow in Emerald
A free erotic short story from USA Today bestselling historical romance author Scarlett Peckham.
After the death of her husband, Anne has lost all the things she treasured most: tenderness, companionship, and the private, secret appetites her husband nurtured in their bedroom. She can't bear to face her aching loneliness, for to move on would be to lose him. But when she learns of a discreet club that can fulfill any desire, she begins to have a fantasy she cannot shake: for a lover to bend her to his erotic will the way her husband did, without dampening his memory. To be taken by a stranger she need not ever hear, nor touch, nor see.
After the death of her husband, Anne has lost all the things she treasured most: tenderness, companionship, and the private, secret appetites her husband nurtured in their bedroom. She can't bear to face her aching loneliness, for to move on would be to lose him. But when she learns of a discreet club that can fulfill any desire, she begins to have a fantasy she cannot shake: for a lover to bend her to his erotic will the way her husband did, without dampening his memory. To be taken by a stranger she need not ever hear, nor touch, nor see.
ebook
First published December 24, 2020
About the author
Scarlett Peckham
9 books1,014 followersScarlett Peckham writes sexy, gothic, feminist historical romances about alpha heroines. She splits her time between Los Angeles and the spooky cliffs of Coastal Oregon.
For a taste at her critically acclaimed Secrets of Charlotte Street series, download her free novelette, The Emerald Widow: https://geni.us/EmeraldWidow
To be the first to hear about her new releases and cat photos, sign up for her legendary newsletter: https://geni.us/TheScarlettLetter
For a taste at her critically acclaimed Secrets of Charlotte Street series, download her free novelette, The Emerald Widow: https://geni.us/EmeraldWidow
To be the first to hear about her new releases and cat photos, sign up for her legendary newsletter: https://geni.us/TheScarlettLetter
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 9, 2021
2023 : @scarlett, give us another one of these
2021 : i love scarlett peckham with all my heart and her writing is not only sensual and exquisite, it is also well skilled.
this short story brings you so many feelings, the cold of the street in the winter, the delight of a beautiful velvet coat, the despair of a warm and caring touch, the hardness of grief and the love that remains, the fire of an intimate touch..
in only a few words and scenes, scarlett gave anne a complexity, a depth and feelings that make you eager to know what will happen, how she will find her path and find her happiness.
it's a beautiful (very) short story about lost, warmth and finding oneself again, laced with very sensual and powerful intimate scenes that left you wanting the next story of charlotte street.
2021 : i love scarlett peckham with all my heart and her writing is not only sensual and exquisite, it is also well skilled.
this short story brings you so many feelings, the cold of the street in the winter, the delight of a beautiful velvet coat, the despair of a warm and caring touch, the hardness of grief and the love that remains, the fire of an intimate touch..
in only a few words and scenes, scarlett gave anne a complexity, a depth and feelings that make you eager to know what will happen, how she will find her path and find her happiness.
it's a beautiful (very) short story about lost, warmth and finding oneself again, laced with very sensual and powerful intimate scenes that left you wanting the next story of charlotte street.
December 13, 2021
(4.5) Compact, emotional, romantic, festive, sexy as hell, and you don't even learn the guy's name. A perfect novella.
July 4, 2021
I felt as bound up as Anne when deciding whether to give this book 4 or 5 five stars. 😮
I loved the chemistry, the tension and overall flow of the book. No one can deny that Scarlet has shown off her writing talents in this story. 📖
However, I was not blindsided by the ending, if we're being honest we all saw it coming 😉 That's why I would've liked a little more interaction and banter between Anne and her potential love interest. It would have added that missing element to this story.
If it had that element of banter, hands-down~~ or hands tied~~ this story would have received five stars !! 🌟
Otherwise this was spicy and it was a dish that I wanted more of. ✨ 🌶
I loved the chemistry, the tension and overall flow of the book. No one can deny that Scarlet has shown off her writing talents in this story. 📖
However, I was not blindsided by the ending, if we're being honest we all saw it coming 😉 That's why I would've liked a little more interaction and banter between Anne and her potential love interest. It would have added that missing element to this story.
If it had that element of banter, hands-down~~ or hands tied~~ this story would have received five stars !! 🌟
Otherwise this was spicy and it was a dish that I wanted more of. ✨ 🌶
December 28, 2020
Another beautifully written story from one of my favorite new authors!
As an romance/erotic short, 'Widow in Emerald' didn't disappoint.
The sweet, heart-broken widow Anne buys herself a luxurious green velvet coat for Christmas, and ends up with an additional - and more valuable gift - as well.
5 stars!
As an romance/erotic short, 'Widow in Emerald' didn't disappoint.
The sweet, heart-broken widow Anne buys herself a luxurious green velvet coat for Christmas, and ends up with an additional - and more valuable gift - as well.
5 stars!
December 24, 2021
I don’t even know what to say…this was perfectly lovely and so heartwarming. I want to read it again already! I teared up at the end! So good. So, so good.
This story is an erotic romance, but don't expect anything really graphic or raunchy. The overall mood and style is sensual and emotional. The sex is fairly explicit, but the descriptions are sort of glossed over, too, if that makes sense. I think a slower pace and lingering a bit longer in the intimate scenes would have built anticipation and made the story feel a lot hotter. I thought it was perfect and wouldn’t change it, but, just wanted to warn readers who may be expecting something much more graphic/explicit. To be fair, the book I read before this was Katee Robert's Gifting Me To His Best Friend; so, Widow in Emerald may have just felt tamer by comparison.
Author: Scarlett Peckham
Series: The Secrets of Charlotte Street (Widow in Emerald is connected to this series but can be read as a standalone)
Read Date: December 23, 2021
Genre: erotic historical romance
Setting: London, Christmas, Georgian era, in the 1750’s. (There is no year mentioned in the story but The Lord I Left is set in 1758 so I’m assuming it’s set in the same time period.)
Hero: Unnamed perfect man
Heroine: Anne
Tropes: widowed heroine, stranger sex, Christmas
Format: Kindle ebook (own)—it can be downloaded for free by signing up for the author’s email newsletter on her website
Length: Short Story—page count not listed but based on how long it took me to read, I’m assuming around 50 pages.
Steam Level: 🔥🔥 (2 out of 5) - high steam for a short story <100 pages
Sexual Content:
Content Warnings: grief over the death of a spouse
This story is an erotic romance, but don't expect anything really graphic or raunchy. The overall mood and style is sensual and emotional. The sex is fairly explicit, but the descriptions are sort of glossed over, too, if that makes sense. I think a slower pace and lingering a bit longer in the intimate scenes would have built anticipation and made the story feel a lot hotter. I thought it was perfect and wouldn’t change it, but, just wanted to warn readers who may be expecting something much more graphic/explicit. To be fair, the book I read before this was Katee Robert's Gifting Me To His Best Friend; so, Widow in Emerald may have just felt tamer by comparison.
Author: Scarlett Peckham
Series: The Secrets of Charlotte Street (Widow in Emerald is connected to this series but can be read as a standalone)
Read Date: December 23, 2021
Genre: erotic historical romance
Setting: London, Christmas, Georgian era, in the 1750’s. (There is no year mentioned in the story but The Lord I Left is set in 1758 so I’m assuming it’s set in the same time period.)
Hero: Unnamed perfect man
Heroine: Anne
Tropes: widowed heroine, stranger sex, Christmas
Format: Kindle ebook (own)—it can be downloaded for free by signing up for the author’s email newsletter on her website
Length: Short Story—page count not listed but based on how long it took me to read, I’m assuming around 50 pages.
Steam Level: 🔥🔥 (2 out of 5) - high steam for a short story <100 pages
Sexual Content:
Content Warnings: grief over the death of a spouse
December 27, 2020
THANK YOU SCARLETT PEACKHAM FOR MY LIFE! 4,5 stars.
This is a short story in the Secrets of Charlotte Street series. Anne finds herself unable to enjoy life after her husband's death but a visit to Valeria Parc, a modiste of renown, introduces her to the secret pleasures of Charlotte Street. She wants surrender, she want to desire, she wants to be touched, no matter if it is Valeria herself in a dress fitting or a unknown man with her eyes and wrists bound.
In just a few pages I could feel how Anne was feeling, how desperate and alone she was, her need of comfort and touch. That's how good Scarlett Peckham is! I really hope she turns this in another series exploring bits and pieces of Charlotte Street. And btw, I've been reading a bit on the relationship between hunger for food and desire so it was most pleasing to have a scene about that.
This is a short story in the Secrets of Charlotte Street series. Anne finds herself unable to enjoy life after her husband's death but a visit to Valeria Parc, a modiste of renown, introduces her to the secret pleasures of Charlotte Street. She wants surrender, she want to desire, she wants to be touched, no matter if it is Valeria herself in a dress fitting or a unknown man with her eyes and wrists bound.
In just a few pages I could feel how Anne was feeling, how desperate and alone she was, her need of comfort and touch. That's how good Scarlett Peckham is! I really hope she turns this in another series exploring bits and pieces of Charlotte Street. And btw, I've been reading a bit on the relationship between hunger for food and desire so it was most pleasing to have a scene about that.
October 4, 2021
Widow in Emerald is an erotic short story that is part of Scarlett Peckham’s Charlotte Street series/universe that centers around a BDSM/secret whipping club. This ebook read is free (at the time of me reading it) from the author’s website. I love everything SP has written and couldn’t wait to read another delicious story in this series.
Anne is widowed and missing her husband (which let me just say I love reading a romance where the first marriage was actually good). Anne misses the tenderness, the companionship, and all the private, secret appetites her husband nurtured in their bedroom. She got a puppy to keep her company but as time passes she also just wants to feel again, but is also afraid to move on and lose memories of her late husband. While getting fitted for new dresses and a coat, she hears about a secret club where any or your fantasies can play out… Anne ventures to Charlotte Street and has the encounters of her dreams, wrists bound and eyes blindfolded so she won’t know who is giving her pleasure.
This was short and steamy and exactly what I expected/wanted it to be, I loved it!
Anne is widowed and missing her husband (which let me just say I love reading a romance where the first marriage was actually good). Anne misses the tenderness, the companionship, and all the private, secret appetites her husband nurtured in their bedroom. She got a puppy to keep her company but as time passes she also just wants to feel again, but is also afraid to move on and lose memories of her late husband. While getting fitted for new dresses and a coat, she hears about a secret club where any or your fantasies can play out… Anne ventures to Charlotte Street and has the encounters of her dreams, wrists bound and eyes blindfolded so she won’t know who is giving her pleasure.
This was short and steamy and exactly what I expected/wanted it to be, I loved it!
October 29, 2023
I really enjoyed reading about Anne’s journey of healing after her husband’s passing. We need more romance and/or erotica stories where the heroine’s 1st marriage was actually healthy! I love these short stories. Hopefully we get more soon!
April 15, 2021
The writing is so utterly sensual and evocative it leaves the reader breathless. I absolutely love this author . The very best author in this genre.
October 5, 2022
Anne and some random guy. A very quick novella. Steamy AF. She’s a widow and lonely but she loves her husband and doesn’t want to betray his memory. A dressmaker somehow realizes she hasn’t been touched and needs to be gives her info about a brothel she can go to and have any desire met. She decides to go but she doesn’t want to see or hear the man she’s with. She doesn’t want to have to talk to him and tell him what she wants. She wants to be tied up and be submissive. Her first time there she is blindfolded and tied but but calls off when she starts thinking about her hubby. She decides to go back and try again because her needs haven’t been met (even after jumping a pillow over and over again). Round 2 she gets off but then calls off after he goes for the stick in. Despite this she still wants to return. Third time was a charm. Handcuffed to the bed he Fs her over and over. She gets off over and over. Afterwards he holds her and she feels warm and comforted. The sessions are only supposed to be an hour but they’re together over 4 hours (it was Christmas Eve so guess it was a present). The next morning she sleeps in but is awoken by her dog that needed to go for a walk. They are walking to the market and run into this man that they have seen on a bench in the park on their morning walks. She trips and he catches her. She realizes from the feel of his body and how he holds her wrist that he is the man she was with. “Hi, my name is Anne”. A quickie read with sex with a stranger.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2022
I wasn’t lying when I said I was speeding through these Christmas novellas on my kindle. This was another free Christmas read I’ve acquired over time and not got to reading. Scarlet Peckham has managed to capture the steamy romance of this series even in this short read. Annie found someone she connected with without even realising. I liked seeing her taking her first steps to move past the loss of her husband. Grief I’d never easy but it was sad to see her life on pause when you could see she was ready for someone new in her life. The fact I got all that in the few pages we were given shows the skill the character was written and the plot developed. I also now want to reread this whole series.
December 27, 2020
Such a slim novella but it gave me such a clear picture of Anne, of the hunger (and conflict) you can feel when you begin to come alive again after losing someone you love. I love erotica with intimacy and, as in this story, when people have their needs and fantasies met with care. I only wish it wasn’t over so quickly.
January 10, 2021
Peckham packs a lot into a very short story. Anne was heartbreaking and I love that she was able to take the steps she needed to heal from her husband's death. The ending isn't so much as HEA as a 'good things are ahead' sort of ending. Not quite a true romance as the relationship does not take the forefront by any means.
January 16, 2021
3.5
I loved the role silence played in this short novella, and how the male character was able to convey so much without a single word, as did she. I would have loved to see them more at the end, in the open. Definitely a good tease to the Charlotte Street 23 series (which of course I've just started)
I loved the role silence played in this short novella, and how the male character was able to convey so much without a single word, as did she. I would have loved to see them more at the end, in the open. Definitely a good tease to the Charlotte Street 23 series (which of course I've just started)
February 15, 2021
By far, my favorite erotica to-date.
In just 29 pages, Scarlett Peckham had me emotionally invested in the character, routing for her, and then glad for her at the end. (It’s erotica, so not a classic HEA.) I’d happily read more of these characters!
This story is for anyone who wishes SP’s novels were more explicit. Your wish has been granted.
In just 29 pages, Scarlett Peckham had me emotionally invested in the character, routing for her, and then glad for her at the end. (It’s erotica, so not a classic HEA.) I’d happily read more of these characters!
This story is for anyone who wishes SP’s novels were more explicit. Your wish has been granted.
December 31, 2020
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Enjoyable and oh I wish there was more of it! Very similar to a story I read on an erotic website years ago and haven't been able to find it again since. Lovely to have this one dropped in my inbox.
Enjoyable and oh I wish there was more of it! Very similar to a story I read on an erotic website years ago and haven't been able to find it again since. Lovely to have this one dropped in my inbox.
April 23, 2021
4 stars, but I'll give it 3 here because it was too short. Its a short story I know. But I NEED more. At this point I dont know if Im living or just reading Scarlett Peckham books. Because I've read every single one of them in the past week & IDK what I'm going to do next.
January 23, 2026
This novella was fantastic. The characters were so interesting and well done even though it was so short. Anne was so genuine and the spice was SPICY. It would be 5 stars if it was longer. I would riot for more of Anne and “MMCs” story and more and of Valeria’s as well.
December 28, 2020
This was an amazing erotic novella about a recently widowed woman who craves submission. It made me cry! Scarlett Peckham is so damn talented.
February 2, 2021
Love this series so hard!
February 10, 2021
VERY neat.
February 19, 2021
Hot!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
May 11, 2021
Unbelievable thoughts thank you 😘😘😘
Read
February 26, 2022About 50 pages. I liked to imagine the unnamed master was master Damian 😈
August 4, 2022
Lovely freebie short
November 21, 2022
Newsletter
Just kinda sad...but good anyway.
Just kinda sad...but good anyway.
December 29, 2023
Liked it, it did what needed to be done. Haven’t finished a book in a minute now and I’ve read book 1 and 3 from this world so I know I love this authors writing.
January 3, 2025
4.5
One of the best, fully realized shorts I've read in a long time. Only took off half a star because of a few typos.
One of the best, fully realized shorts I've read in a long time. Only took off half a star because of a few typos.
December 29, 2020
@ god why am i [redacted]
February 4, 2021
*fans self* This was hot. And consensual. And safe for the heroine with a hopeful (if not totally an HEA) ending.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews