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Escravos Da Luxúria (2014)

by Kate Pearce(Favorite Author)

3.97 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Quinta essência

series

House Of Pleasure

review 1: I just could not get into this book. I expect some shock value from this series, but this one kind of veered into what-the-fuckery. Anthony was just too deeply and profoundly confused, and Marguerite wasn't much better. Their motivations were all over the map, their actions did not always seem to make sense, and it made them hard to relate to. The whole book was like an itchy sweater that didn't fit. I realize that the protagonists aren't supposed to be a perfect couple with a tidy HEA, but that wasn't really the problem here. The problem was that they did not entirely make sense as a couple or as individuals. Even at the end of the book I was thinking that Anthony would probably be happier with Gray and Marguerite would probably be happier with a guy that didn't wish she ... morehad a penis.
review 2: This is Anthony's book, and it's a doozy. Marguerite, Madame Helene's daughter, whom we met briefly in the previous book is our featured Heroine. And how the two get together is interesting... Marguerite's brother Christian (one of the twins) asks Anthony to squire the widowed Marguerite about town; she's been hiding away these past 2 years and needs to get out. Anthony has finally decided that he needs to face himself and his sexuality - that since Aliabad raped him in book 1 to get back at his half-brother Valentin, Anthony has tapped into his dark side, thinking that he needs to be forced and to have pain to enjoy sex. Anthony has been the pet of Lord Minshom, spending most of his time on the 3rd floor of the Pleasure House - the floor of BDSM, where anything goes. Most of that time, he's been in the punishment corner, where chained, he agrees to willingly take whatever anyone dishes out to him, for as long as they wish or last. It's a dreadful way to live. We've seen Anthony still chained there or sleeping in that corner long after the sun's come up, discovered by Madame Helene. She's worried for him. Peter's worried for him. Even Val's worried for him. But Anthony won't talk to anyone about what's really bothering him. We have to suspect that some of his public school upbringing is part of Anthony's psyche, too. Seems as if rape used as power plays is or was common amongst the house boys and even the tutors/professors - and Anthony obviously saw his fair share of the bullying power plays and rape.But Anthony has also had to deal with being the 2nd son of the 2nd wife. When his brother Valentin (11 years his senior) was taken from a ship and presumed dead, their father remarried after the tragedy killed his first wife. By the time Valentin (and Peter) were rescued from sexual slavery in a Turkish brothel and returned to England, their father had remarried and now had another son - Anthony. Anthony has always felt second-best. He's done his best to be whatever his father or his half-brother needed or wanted to try to earn their affection - to buffer between them. But no one seems to think that Anthony is capable of doing anything on his own. He feels as if he's always been an afterthought... subject to others' whims. And because of some conversations with Peter, Anthony is starting to question his own sexuality. Why does he return again and again to the vicious, sadistic Lord Minshom? Why does he allow himself to be so brutally used and abused? Does he deserve or require pain to get off?Marguerite may be Helene's first child, but she's the product of her mother being given to the guards at the Bastille. Her aristocratic father bargained for her life, but the price was Helene's innocence. No one knows who Marguerite's father is. And growing up in a nunnery in France didn't help; everyone there knew of her heritage. Her mother left her there to get an education, thinking it was kinder and better for her than to bring her to England, where her mother eventually opened the Pleasure House. And Marguerite was able to "mother" her half-siblings, the twins. But as they grew up, she realized she was displaced, not only by their mother, but by the twins discovering their father Philip, now a titled member of the English aristocracy. Marguerite had nothing of her own. She's a bastard child, product of rape; what family wants her to marry their son? So when Lord Justin Lockwood wooed her, she fell in love with the idea of love - the idea of a family; except that Justin couldn't quite leave his BFF and lover, Harry, behind, going so far as to invite Harry on the honeymoon. But within a month, Justin and Harry took part in a duel over Marguerite, where Harry shot and killed Justin, then fled the country. Marguerite doesn't know the full truth of what happened or why, but she's got a secret guilt about how she acted during that time that still plagues her. She feels second-best, too, and as with Anthony, she's embraced it - felt it was a just punishment for her so-called crimes.The aggravating part is that it takes so darn long in this story for us to really get anywhere. Anthony and Marguerite are attracted to one another right off, but neither is sure why. And both are afraid that it's not lasting. Lord Minshom doggedly pursues Anthony, shocked that he would dare to leave him (Minshom) and refuse to submit to his cruelty and domination - sexually and mentally. In fact, Minshom's taking a hit on his credibility, which is partly why he's doing his best to not only interfere, but exacerbate the issues, questions, and problems between Marguerite and Anthony. Because, you see, Minshom is distantly related to the Lockwood family, and he was familiar with Justin's and Harry's relationship; he also knows that Justin's family didn't know (or at least acknowledge) his sexual preferences or immaturity. And when Minshom realizes that Marguerite is desperate for answers from Lord Harry, he's got his trap set. Because the only Lockwood family member who doesn't treat Marguerite like dirt is Justin's younger brother, who has a bit of a crush on her. So Minshom ensures that she's invited to a country house party hosted by the younger brother and his wife; Marguerite believes that Minshom has found Harry and is arranging for her to see him to get her answers. But because she knows of his pursuit of Anthony and because he's already tried something on her, she doesn't trust him. And so she invites Anthony to accompany her - thumbing her nose at the Lockwoods and bringing protection against Minshom.In a shocking series of events, Minshom returns home with his tail tucked between his legs; Anthony and Marguerite continue their sexual relationship, but neither thinks the other wants anything more than sex; and Marguerite finally confronts Harry and learns the truth. Can Anthony tell Marguerite the full truth of his sexual depravity? Can Marguerite confess what she thinks is her guilt and sexual depravity with her marriage? Will Minshom come back to exact revenge upon them both? Or will they both be exposed to the ton at large?-------------It seems as if these books are going to be painful... tough subjects, tough situations. And, per usual, the men are stuck in either gay or bi-sexual relationships, while the women despair of their man's love. While "double-standard" was practically invented in this era, the author seems to perpetuate that double-standard within her own writing. It's not that I object to men being bi-sexual, but I really thought that perhaps Anthony's experiences were more of a result of force and his guilt and confusion rather than a true sexual preference. And I have to say that I was more than a little disappointed to discover that the author fully intended to keep Anthony as a bi-sexual man - man who "couldn't deny" that part of his sexuality.And the brief mentions of Peter are without Abigail (previous book, too), so that I wondered what happened. Until Val, trying to have a heart-to-heart with Anthony reveals that Peter still frequents his and Sara's bed... and sometimes Abigail, too. WHAT? That was a stunner. And left there, just like that.I only give this book 4-stars because I was truly wrapped up in Anthony and Marguerite, and I truly hated Minshom. It was nice to see Major David Grey again, and he did help Anthony overcome his "addiction" to Minshom and provide some very interesting scenes with Marguerite and Anthony. But I was aggravated by the way the author painstakingly drew filling in the gaps of the story.The next book is Minshom's, and I'm not sure that I care about his story; I sure can't see him as any sort of "hero", romantic or otherwise. less

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