Dangerous Desires by Julia Templeton

COPYRIGHT: 2004
PAGES: 226
SETTING: Historical - Regency Era
TYPE: Erotica
SERIES: No
SENSUALITY Hot

REASON FOR READING: Read somewhere that this book is a very hot regency.

SUMMARY:[from the publisher]

Rochford Manor, outside London, 1810:

When her dying father entrusts her to the care of Dominic Santrell, one of London's most infamous rakes, Arlie Whitman is thrust into a world of elegance and privilege she had never imagined. But her initiation into society is nowhere near as frightening as the powerful desire she feels for Dominic himself. The dark and dashing earl claims that she needs a husband, but Arlie knows she needs only Dominic.

Dominic had vowed never to marry. In his experience, love was, at best, an evening's pleasure. Yet the parade of young men courting his ward is unbearable. Arlie's innocent beauty haunts his dreams. The passion they share cannot be denied...

But desire can be dangerous.

THOUGHTS / OPINION:
DD was my first book by Julia Templeton and I was very disappointed. She tells a story very well but there were numerous problems that just kept adding up until I was thoroughly disgusted with it. I had heard such good things about it too *sigh*. First strike against it was the age difference between the hero and heroine. DD is a ward/guardian story; she is 17 and he is 33! From the very first scenes Dominic's mental lusting for Arlie just gave me the creeps. Dominic is a rake determined never to marry so he sets out to launch her in society and find her a husband. He provides her with lessons in deportment, etiquette and a new wardrobe. But this was Regency England and no mention is made of a FEMALE chaperon. I never thought I was a stickler for historical accuracy but this just set off the alarm bells in my head. I have read hundreds of regency romances from Heyer to Balogh and this premise was not right. For a young female to live under the same roof with a non-relative bachelor would cause a huge scandal in London society but in DD society didn't blink an eye. There were other scenes that creeped me out too, like Arlie catching Dominic and his mistress together. And for a virgin, Arlie was way too knowledgeable about sex.

Gradually, Dominic's lust gets away from him and he seduces Arlie, they have lots of hot sex. Then he convinces her to becoming his mistress and he sets her up in a house. She sits around waiting for him to 'visit' her. She was a real doormat even allowing for her age. He's determined never to marry until the very end when he finds out she's pregnant (duh!) then he marries her. The End. I can't believe I finished it. Lots of hot sex scenes but I couldn't care less. Blech! Templeton's writing style has potential but I think that if she wants to write in the regency era she needs to do more research because there were numerous scenes that just didn't seem to fit the attitudes of the time. I'm not that picky about historical accuracy but this book just seemed way off and it pissed me off.

GRADE: D+

PS: What is wrong with those reviewers over at Amazon? Almost everyone gave it 5 stars. Except for Mrs. N. Burgess (Suffolk, England) who gave it 1 star:

Having bought and read this book, I wonder if my copy does not belong to some alternative reality. The previous reviewers have commented on historical aspects of the story and character developement. Well, the authors knowledge of english social history at the time (1810) is so bad as to be non-existant. For a start a single man would have instantly employed a chaperone when acquiring a female ward of marriagable age, and once an unmarried woman became a mistress she would not have been received in society, she certainly would not have become friends with a Peeress. On a plus point the book did make me laugh though that was probaly not the reaction looked for. If you want fluff, sort of Barbara Cartland with sex, this is for you, if you want history read something else.

Very funny. I wish I'd read this before I bought this piece of work.