Sarah Mac’s Reviews > Love's Burning Flame > Status Update

Finally. The tedious China portion comes to an end—now moving on to Baja California via Spanish trading ship. 😶 This book is tragically schizo. The good parts are good, but the tedious parts are so flat + wooden.

‘Never had she felt any cloth so deliciously soft & erotic, & she was thankful that she had been given no undergarments to interfere w/ her enjoyment of her new robe. The entire gown was so light that she felt as if she were naked, & that sensation, too, increased her sensuousness.’ ….Chinese harem slice-of-life. 😂

‘Because she had displeased the Tsar, two men were dead: her father & an innocent youth whose only fault had been his sympathy for a sorrowing woman. Each move of her body, every breath she took, reminded her that they were gone.’

‘Tanya let the words flow over her. Somehow, even w/ her newfound realism, she had expected more. There was no concern in her Queen’s voice for the suffering her favorite Lady had experienced. There was no objection voiced that a man should be free to deflower any woman he chose without being punished. Catherine was outraged b/c her son had taken something—something—that belonged to her.’

‘She had a natural curiosity regarding the “evils” that so terrified her nurse, & now she would have an opportunity to learn exactly what they were. And she would not be hindered in her investigation by a protective father or a motherly companion. She could not deny it; she felt more anticipation than terror as the carriage rolled through the streets on its way to the grand court of the Empress.’

‘Catherine’s appearance reflected her royalty as well as her age. Of moderate height, slightly plump, she bore herself nobly. Yet years of indulgence had taken their toll, dissipation had dulled her eyes, & her expression was more sensuous than regal.’