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Fitzhugh Trilogy #3.5
The Bride of Larkspear
What distinguishes this bed is the woman attached to it--her wrists tied behind her to one of the excessively sturdy bedposts. And this being a work of Eros, she is, of course, naked. My bride does not look at me. She is determined, as ever, to shunt me to the periphery of her existence, even on this, our wedding night. I touch her. Her skin is as cool as marble, the flesh beneath firm and resilient. I turn her face to look into her eyes, haughty eyes that have scorned me for as long as I remember. "Why are my hands tied?" she murmurs. "Are you afraid of them?" "Of course," I reply, "A man who stalks a lioness should ever be wary." "And what does a man do when he has caught said lioness and put her in a cage?" I brush aside a strand of hair that has fallen before her eyes. "He teaches her that captivity can be wonderfully enjoyable."
98 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2012
About the author
Sherry Thomas
38 books6,987 followersUSA Today-bestselling author Sherry Thomas decided years ago that her goal in life is to write every kind of book she enjoys reading. Thus far she has published romance, fantasy, mystery, young adult, and three books inspired by the martial arts epics she grew up devouring. Her books regularly receive starred reviews and best-of-the-year honors from trade publications, including such outlets as the New York Times and National Public Radio.
A Study in Scarlet Women, A Conspiracy in Belgravia, and The Hollow of Fear, the first three entries in her gender-bending Lady Sherlock historical mystery series, are all NPR best books of the year. The Magnolia Sword, her 2019 release, is the first young adult retelling of the original Ballad of Mulan in the English language.
Sherry emigrated from China at age 13 and English is her second language.
“Sherry Thomas has done the impossible and crafted a fresh, exciting new version of Sherlock Holmes. From the carefully plotted twists to the elegant turns of phrase, A Study in Scarlet Women is a splendid addition to Holmes’s world. This book is everything I hoped it would be, and the next adventure cannot come too soon!” —Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author
“Thomas weaves a lush, intricate fantasy world around a gorgeous romance that kept me riveted until the very last page. What a breathtaking journey!” (Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series )
"Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today."—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author
Visit Sherry at her website
Follow Sherry on twitter
Find Sherry on Facebook
A Study in Scarlet Women, A Conspiracy in Belgravia, and The Hollow of Fear, the first three entries in her gender-bending Lady Sherlock historical mystery series, are all NPR best books of the year. The Magnolia Sword, her 2019 release, is the first young adult retelling of the original Ballad of Mulan in the English language.
Sherry emigrated from China at age 13 and English is her second language.
“Sherry Thomas has done the impossible and crafted a fresh, exciting new version of Sherlock Holmes. From the carefully plotted twists to the elegant turns of phrase, A Study in Scarlet Women is a splendid addition to Holmes’s world. This book is everything I hoped it would be, and the next adventure cannot come too soon!” —Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author
“Thomas weaves a lush, intricate fantasy world around a gorgeous romance that kept me riveted until the very last page. What a breathtaking journey!” (Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series )
"Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today."—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author
Visit Sherry at her website
Follow Sherry on twitter
Find Sherry on Facebook
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
April 11, 2016
Yowza. It's a good thing I don't want any more children because my ovaries imploded while reading this.
For anyone who doesn't know, this is an erotic novella to accompany Thomas' Fitzhugh trilogy. I didn't particularly care for the first book in that series, and I skimmed the second because the premise made me want to roll my eyes, but the third was, in my opinion, quite good and definitely worth reading. This novella is just the extremely spicy icing on the cake that is David and Helena's salacious sexcapades. It's quick, it's hot, and if you're in the mood for something like it, you can't miss with this one.
For anyone who doesn't know, this is an erotic novella to accompany Thomas' Fitzhugh trilogy. I didn't particularly care for the first book in that series, and I skimmed the second because the premise made me want to roll my eyes, but the third was, in my opinion, quite good and definitely worth reading. This novella is just the extremely spicy icing on the cake that is David and Helena's salacious sexcapades. It's quick, it's hot, and if you're in the mood for something like it, you can't miss with this one.
September 15, 2020
David Hastings's unpublished erotic story, "The Bride of Larkspear," is secretly an ode of unrequited love for Helena Fitzhugh. It read more to me as experimental fiction from Sherry Thomas, and on its own, it has little value other than pages and pages of sex. Not being a reader of erotic fiction, I predictably found my mind wandering. As a result, the scenes with Helena playing fetch with David's dog were my favorite. I liked David Hastings in Tempting the Bride, but here I struggled to connect with either character, as David takes advantage of his marital rights over Helena to tempt her to fall in love with him during the course of a very active sex life. I never really did see why Helena would love him based just on the actions in this book. When she does finally confess her love for him, it was as much a surprise to me as it was to David. Unfortunately, I found this novella boring and didn't feel it offered much to the overall Fitzhugh series.
June 3, 2021
In Tempting the Bride, the third full-length entry in the Fitzhugh Series, the hero wrote an erotic novel for the heroine. It's excerpted at length and even acted out, so when we got to the end of the book and saw that the novel had been written and was for sale in an eEdition, we had to buy it.
David wasn't kidding when he said this was an EROTIC novella. Do we recommend reading it on its own? Maybe, if you're into a long erotic fantasy written from a man's perspective. Definitely, if you loved David in Tempting the Bride and want to get into his head.
While we didn't find the book particularly titillating (although we're not saying it's not), we thought it was fascinating from the perspective of an extended writing exercise. Let's just say that although we knew Sherry Thomas wrote it, the book is absolutely great when considered as a further exploration of David's character.
11-Word Summaries:
Laine: Lady forced to marry enemy falls for his seduction and stories.
Meg: Some brides are unwilling when forced to marry their childhood nemesis.
David wasn't kidding when he said this was an EROTIC novella. Do we recommend reading it on its own? Maybe, if you're into a long erotic fantasy written from a man's perspective. Definitely, if you loved David in Tempting the Bride and want to get into his head.
While we didn't find the book particularly titillating (although we're not saying it's not), we thought it was fascinating from the perspective of an extended writing exercise. Let's just say that although we knew Sherry Thomas wrote it, the book is absolutely great when considered as a further exploration of David's character.
11-Word Summaries:
Laine: Lady forced to marry enemy falls for his seduction and stories.
Meg: Some brides are unwilling when forced to marry their childhood nemesis.
January 20, 2016
3.5 Stars. While I did enjoy this hot read, I just wished the c word hadn't been used with such abandon. I don't consider that necessary for an erotic novella, but that is probably just me.
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October 19, 2012
My review contains spoilers and they're are mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...
“The Bride of Larkspear” by A Gentleman of Indiscretion was fantastic. This gentleman just made me all hot and bothered, and then, also made me squirm and laugh at the same time. I’m so please to report that this short erotica made me a very happy woman. You might not find plot depth, per say, because it wasn’t meant for something like that. The Bride of Larkspear: A Fitzhugh Trilogy Erotic Novella was all about the raw fantasies of Hastings aka David about Helena. His love letter to her, meant to convey what he couldn’t speak out loud.
For those who don’t know, “The Bride of Larkspear” is a part of ST’s Fitzhugh Trilogy, a story within the story. Its manuscript was handed over to Helena by David on book 2, Ravishing the Heiress for publication, though I never really thought ST would publish it separately. This novella plays a vital role in David and Helena’s relationship in Tempting the Bride. I have some very fond memories of the trilogy wherever this erotic story was involved. I don’t really care what others thought about the whole matter but I was impressed beyond words and ended up thinking,what a gesture!
David is a masterful artist (and a sexy sexy man too), who has a very fertile imagination; dirty ones, good ones you name it. *winkwink* An example of the former you’ll find in this story. David also writes and illustrates children’s short story. Tempting the Bride has some beautiful scenes describing his drawings for children and for his daughter Bea. Anyway, the only thing this novella missed IMO was the erotic sketches done by David, that were supposed to have accompanied the story. Even without those, I had NO PROBLEM knowing what was going on in his head though and I enjoyed every freakin’ moment of it!
If you’ve read David and Helena’s relationship as it was narrated in the trilogy, you’ll see the comparisons and the similarities in this story. Lord Larkspear marries his bride without her consent. His bride has been in love with a man who can’t be of any good to her and made mistakes that lead to this marriage to save her reputation. But Larkspear himself has been in love with his bride forever, since before their marriage. His lady, of course, never gave a sh*t about him, or so she has always showed him up front. Now that they’re married, howbeit reluctantly, it goes without saying that sparks still fly. Larkspear still lusts after her like a loco, loves her with a brimful of heart. Even though it’s his bride wants him in her bed, on the outside of it, she is a b*tch of the first order, always taunting him, throwing barbs at him, demeaning him. It’s as if she lives to torment him and he likes to fight back just as dirtily... fights that apparently lead to some naughty games.
Wouldn’t you want to know what Larkspear does to ‘convince’ his bride of his love?
READ IT NOW!!
The story has some superbly hot sex scenes, and every time I remembered that this was David writing his fantasies, I got... umm, as I said, hot and bothered. Lol But this story also portrayed the yearning of a soul, trying to reach out to his love of life and scenes that connects you with his yearnings. There were some beautiful scenes too that touched my heart (with Larkspear’s dog Grisham and the scene where he tells a tale to his bride, of a country named Pride and the meaning behind it). I couldn’t help but feel for David. If you’ve read my review of Tempting the Bride, you’ll know that I loved that book, mainly because I fell madly in love with David. So there was no way I wasn’t going to love this erotic novella that is essentially all him.
ST exceeded my expectations I must say. I already knew she can write something fierce but she passed gracefully with the sexy love scenes and Larkspear/David’s dirty talk (gosh, those were just... yum!) that I crave in an erotica. My verdict, ultimately, was that ST should definitely write some erotic romances someday, especially EHR, since IMO these days, it’s hard to find excellent writers/stories of this genre. Trust me, I’ve tried many authors, and can count the names of the very few I genuinely adored.
4.5 hot stars from me! *sigh*
“The Bride of Larkspear” by A Gentleman of Indiscretion was fantastic. This gentleman just made me all hot and bothered, and then, also made me squirm and laugh at the same time. I’m so please to report that this short erotica made me a very happy woman. You might not find plot depth, per say, because it wasn’t meant for something like that. The Bride of Larkspear: A Fitzhugh Trilogy Erotic Novella was all about the raw fantasies of Hastings aka David about Helena. His love letter to her, meant to convey what he couldn’t speak out loud.
For those who don’t know, “The Bride of Larkspear” is a part of ST’s Fitzhugh Trilogy, a story within the story. Its manuscript was handed over to Helena by David on book 2, Ravishing the Heiress for publication, though I never really thought ST would publish it separately. This novella plays a vital role in David and Helena’s relationship in Tempting the Bride. I have some very fond memories of the trilogy wherever this erotic story was involved. I don’t really care what others thought about the whole matter but I was impressed beyond words and ended up thinking,what a gesture!
David is a masterful artist (and a sexy sexy man too), who has a very fertile imagination; dirty ones, good ones you name it. *winkwink* An example of the former you’ll find in this story. David also writes and illustrates children’s short story. Tempting the Bride has some beautiful scenes describing his drawings for children and for his daughter Bea. Anyway, the only thing this novella missed IMO was the erotic sketches done by David, that were supposed to have accompanied the story. Even without those, I had NO PROBLEM knowing what was going on in his head though and I enjoyed every freakin’ moment of it!
If you’ve read David and Helena’s relationship as it was narrated in the trilogy, you’ll see the comparisons and the similarities in this story. Lord Larkspear marries his bride without her consent. His bride has been in love with a man who can’t be of any good to her and made mistakes that lead to this marriage to save her reputation. But Larkspear himself has been in love with his bride forever, since before their marriage. His lady, of course, never gave a sh*t about him, or so she has always showed him up front. Now that they’re married, howbeit reluctantly, it goes without saying that sparks still fly. Larkspear still lusts after her like a loco, loves her with a brimful of heart. Even though it’s his bride wants him in her bed, on the outside of it, she is a b*tch of the first order, always taunting him, throwing barbs at him, demeaning him. It’s as if she lives to torment him and he likes to fight back just as dirtily... fights that apparently lead to some naughty games.
Wouldn’t you want to know what Larkspear does to ‘convince’ his bride of his love?
READ IT NOW!!
The story has some superbly hot sex scenes, and every time I remembered that this was David writing his fantasies, I got... umm, as I said, hot and bothered. Lol But this story also portrayed the yearning of a soul, trying to reach out to his love of life and scenes that connects you with his yearnings. There were some beautiful scenes too that touched my heart (with Larkspear’s dog Grisham and the scene where he tells a tale to his bride, of a country named Pride and the meaning behind it). I couldn’t help but feel for David. If you’ve read my review of Tempting the Bride, you’ll know that I loved that book, mainly because I fell madly in love with David. So there was no way I wasn’t going to love this erotic novella that is essentially all him.
ST exceeded my expectations I must say. I already knew she can write something fierce but she passed gracefully with the sexy love scenes and Larkspear/David’s dirty talk (gosh, those were just... yum!) that I crave in an erotica. My verdict, ultimately, was that ST should definitely write some erotic romances someday, especially EHR, since IMO these days, it’s hard to find excellent writers/stories of this genre. Trust me, I’ve tried many authors, and can count the names of the very few I genuinely adored.
4.5 hot stars from me! *sigh*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2022
Este es un divertimento erótico à la Thomas, o sea, por muy explícita que se ponga, no se desmelena. No se puede leer independiente de la trilogía Fitzhugh. Como es una historia erótica, encontrarás una escena de cama tras otra. Con bondage y la habitual tríada: vaginal-anal-bucal. Se supone que esta es la historia erótica que David, el protagonista de la novela Tempting the bride, le enseña a Helena y reproduce un poco su misma dinámica emocional: ella no lo ama, él a ella sí y sabe que le puede destrozar el corazón con su desdén. Es imposible leer esta novela sin tener presentes a David y Helena. Leas lo que leas primero, a una de las dos cosas le quitas el misterio: o a este relato, o a las novelas.
Reseña algo más extensa, en mi blog.
Reseña algo más extensa, en mi blog.
April 26, 2019
Unrequited love of a lovesick gentleman--my guilty pleasure when it comes to romantic plots. In most HR novels I've read, the hero is usually the proud man who needs all the understanding and patience that a lady can give. So it's quite refreshing to have a hero that's doing the opposite. Well, David was a prick on the outside at first, but the turmoil beneath is just so endearing to read that I've grown to quite love the man. This book, by the way, is his love letter to Helena (from the book, Tempting the Bride) written in the most perverse way possible.
January 15, 2017
casually bringing hate fucking to a whole new level.
April 21, 2023
Don’t read this until you’ve read Sherry Thomas’ Tempting the Bride. I don’t think it works without it. (Hence the four instead of five stars.)
But if you HAVE read it, then it DOES work. 🥵
Super hot, super twisted.
But if you HAVE read it, then it DOES work. 🥵
Super hot, super twisted.
July 12, 2024
Rating: 5/5
Perfect. No notes. Must be read after Tempting the Bride to fully appreciate what Sherry pulls off in 80 pages. A story within a story within a story that is wildly hot and deeply romantic.
Perfect. No notes. Must be read after Tempting the Bride to fully appreciate what Sherry pulls off in 80 pages. A story within a story within a story that is wildly hot and deeply romantic.
September 23, 2020
First, I really adore Sherry Thomas and her novels. I adore her historical romances AND I adore her mysteries. In fact, I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of her Lady Sherlock series which combines historical "almost" romance with a female Sherlock Holmes (and since Holmes was my first literary crush in 7th grade I went into it originally skeptical...consider me converted).
Second, I really enjoyed "The Bride of Larkspear" BUT I would not recommend this very short story by itself. I would only recommend reading it AFTER reading Tempting the Bride. Now, I LOVE "Tempting the Bride." I've read it a few times but for some reason I overlooked the fact that this story within the story was available all on its lovely own. As a compendium of sorts to "Tempting.." I would highly recommend it. In "Tempting the Bride," this short story is given to the h by the H as a "smutty love letter." Is it smutty? Yes. Is it a love letter? Yes, as it describes the H's feelings for the h and his hopes for an HEA for them. He just happens to use erotic storytelling to get his message across.
I think what truly impresses me is that the author created such a well developed H in "Tempting the Bride" that even though you get only a few snippets of "The Bride of Larkspear" in it, she actually did write the full story out all on its own. SERIOUSLY impressed. Plus, there's something very appealing that an author took so much time and thought with her writing and shares it with us. I consider it such a gift.
So overall, definitely a must read but only if you've read "Tempting the Bride" and you are not offended by erotica.
Second, I really enjoyed "The Bride of Larkspear" BUT I would not recommend this very short story by itself. I would only recommend reading it AFTER reading Tempting the Bride. Now, I LOVE "Tempting the Bride." I've read it a few times but for some reason I overlooked the fact that this story within the story was available all on its lovely own. As a compendium of sorts to "Tempting.." I would highly recommend it. In "Tempting the Bride," this short story is given to the h by the H as a "smutty love letter." Is it smutty? Yes. Is it a love letter? Yes, as it describes the H's feelings for the h and his hopes for an HEA for them. He just happens to use erotic storytelling to get his message across.
I think what truly impresses me is that the author created such a well developed H in "Tempting the Bride" that even though you get only a few snippets of "The Bride of Larkspear" in it, she actually did write the full story out all on its own. SERIOUSLY impressed. Plus, there's something very appealing that an author took so much time and thought with her writing and shares it with us. I consider it such a gift.
So overall, definitely a must read but only if you've read "Tempting the Bride" and you are not offended by erotica.
February 22, 2018
Historia corta con una tremenda carga sensual y sexual. Pero también con un toque emocional que por momentos me dió tristeza porque refleja la desesperación de Larkspear que no puede lograr aquello que más anhela en la vida. Se lee fácil y rápido aunque es necesario tener a mano algo con qué refrescarse cuando la temperatura sube 😝 El único " pero" de este relato es que a veces las escenas eran demasiado descriptivas ( eso de leer sobre fluidos corporales no es lo mío ) en cuanto a los cuerpos y sus partes , tamaños , formas , texturas y yo soy de las que prefieren que algunas cosas queden libradas a la imaginación 🙈😝 Tres estrellas y media para Larkspear y su novia.
January 26, 2024
The Bride of Larkspear is the erotic novella penned by David, Viscount Hastings, in Ravishing the Heiress and Tempting the Bride. It’s his erotic imagination of what he'd like to have happen if he needs to *rescue* Helena from ruin from her affair with Andrew Martin. So David is the groom, Helena the bride, and we begin with Helena tied to a bed for their wedding night.
It's a 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 novella with an HEA, best read immediately after Tempting the Bride. Sherry Thomas made even me blush a little with this. Helena calls this smut in Tempting the Bride and its absolutely A+ smut.
It's a 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 novella with an HEA, best read immediately after Tempting the Bride. Sherry Thomas made even me blush a little with this. Helena calls this smut in Tempting the Bride and its absolutely A+ smut.
July 14, 2023
I feel like this novella is the result of Sherry Thomas becoming irritated by so many people complaining about her lack of spice. So she just decided to create Spite Smut. Does it work? Maybe a little too well? I hated the guy, despite knowing him and his motivations. Stop touching your wife. Is that a glass… what? Oh my good lord Jesus.
October 25, 2024
A lord gives his lady a story he wrote about how he wishes their relationship to be. Very romantic! But racy.
October 20, 2012
As a companion to Tempting the Bride, this is somewhat interesting. On its own, however, definitely not my cup of tea. I did like that it was the hero/Hastings narrating, though, since I liked him quite a bit in Tempting the Bride.
I am not generally a reader of erotica, so I really can't say how this compares at all. But it did have two things I definitely dislike: dirty talking and "back door" action.
If Hastings actually gave this to Helena to publish, and if on her sporadic readings of it she'd come across certain passages, wouldn't it have given away his feelings? Because it was pretty obvious who the people were once you got past the very beginning. (And Helena did read sections of it.)
As Hastings' fantasy, you see where he gets all the pieces from. As a work of its own, though, it's somewhat dubious. I really don't get why the bride would have changed her feelings to Larkspear. Sure, she lusted after him, but I didn't really see any love.
(Also, the text seems to be somewhat different from the excerpts in the previous books. Hmm...)
I am not generally a reader of erotica, so I really can't say how this compares at all. But it did have two things I definitely dislike: dirty talking and "back door" action.
If Hastings actually gave this to Helena to publish, and if on her sporadic readings of it she'd come across certain passages, wouldn't it have given away his feelings? Because it was pretty obvious who the people were once you got past the very beginning. (And Helena did read sections of it.)
As Hastings' fantasy, you see where he gets all the pieces from. As a work of its own, though, it's somewhat dubious. I really don't get why the bride would have changed her feelings to Larkspear. Sure, she lusted after him, but I didn't really see any love.
(Also, the text seems to be somewhat different from the excerpts in the previous books. Hmm...)
October 7, 2012
Lo que realmente me encanta de este libro es la declaración de amor del escritor que supone hacia su editora, el hecho de que la escriba porque no puede decírselo de otra forma. Adoro haber tenido la oportunidad de leer la carta de amor que le dedica, escondida como siempre tras un intento de irritarla, porque tanto la historia en sí, como los dibujos vuelven a ser otro intento de tirarle de las trenzas, dado que ese niño grande en que se ha convertido no parece ser capaz de demostrarle sus sentimientos de otra forma. Es en el tercer libro de la trilogía, en Tempting the Bride, donde conocemos lo que realmente ocurre cuando llega el momento en que ha de casarse con ella, pero lo que me enternece es el final romántico que él inventa para ellos. El final de una larga historia de amor no correspondido, disfrazado y transportado de nuevo en una caja que sabe que ella no abrirá. Los protagonistas como el escritor de este libro me conmueven especialmente :)
October 15, 2012
A nice extra to the Fitzhugh trilogy, a very steamy "fantasy" written by the Viscount Hastings to the object of his unrequited love, Miss Helena Fitzhugh. Trying to provoke a reaction from her, he writes an erotic story that he asked her to publish.
Works as a fun companion to Tempting the Bride. Obviously not for the shy, this really does get a lot more graphic than your standard romance novel.
Works as a fun companion to Tempting the Bride. Obviously not for the shy, this really does get a lot more graphic than your standard romance novel.
January 31, 2022
Even though erotica is not really my thing, this one deserves 4 stars and if nothing else, because I am in awe of the exercise for Sherry Thomas.
To write a book of a book as one of her characters is great. So, this is book is mentioned not only in Ravishing the heiress, but excerpts of it in Helena and Hastings's story in Tempting the bride.
I've read a lot of bad reviews on David and Helena, but I loved them, with all their flaws, so I loved this insight into David's twisted brain.
I really liked it and it's such a weird novella that is a testament to how much I enjoy her writing.
To write a book of a book as one of her characters is great. So, this is book is mentioned not only in Ravishing the heiress, but excerpts of it in Helena and Hastings's story in Tempting the bride.
I've read a lot of bad reviews on David and Helena, but I loved them, with all their flaws, so I loved this insight into David's twisted brain.
I really liked it and it's such a weird novella that is a testament to how much I enjoy her writing.
October 5, 2012
4.5 stars
I loved this in the context of the Fitzhugh trilogy. The only thing that puzzles me is that if he gave THIS book to her, then he was in reality revealing his true feelings to her, which I don't think we really know in the other books. I don't think the excerpts in the trilogy show us that aspect of this book. I may have to reread them to see how this fits in. Did he just assume she hadn't read it?
I loved this in the context of the Fitzhugh trilogy. The only thing that puzzles me is that if he gave THIS book to her, then he was in reality revealing his true feelings to her, which I don't think we really know in the other books. I don't think the excerpts in the trilogy show us that aspect of this book. I may have to reread them to see how this fits in. Did he just assume she hadn't read it?
May 20, 2015
I just love Hastings... Who wouldn't? Sexy, gorgeous and irresistibly cocky, with so much tortured love and tenderness hidden inside. Don't miss this steamy little romance... *sigh*
September 1, 2022
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. I think if I judged this to the standard of other HR I might give it 3 stars. It’s told entirely from the male character’s point of view, we’re not told much about the characters beyond these events, and I didn’t care that much for the heroine. But as a story written by the hero of the previous book based on those leads, with the purpose of seducing that heroine into reconsidering the hero in a different light through erotic fiction, none of that bothered me as much. Then naturally it would be told from the hero’s perspective, (both because that’s the one he knows, and also because that’s the one she needs to be made aware of). So as an addition to that book, rather than a stand alone, I’m rounding up. The feelings of the hero are beautifully described, it’s very easy to feel for him. And the steam is a little on the racier side. It was easy to read and easy to recall when I had to set it aside and then picked it up again.
November 11, 2017
4 satiny stars!
Theme: erotica, Victorian setting, fiction from fiction, writings of Lord Hastings (Tempting the Bride)
Now, I say that I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I know that erotica and pornography have a fine line and sometimes it's up to the reader which is which. Personally I like my eroticas to be written like this (hellew Story of O and other Erica Jong's writings haha).
The only drawback maybe for me is this is too short - I wanted to know more about Larkspear and his bride - - the beginning and all. I know that this is based on Lord Hastings and Helena's story or rather the former's fantasy (and product of unrequited love). But when I read the Bride of Larkspear, I felt that this is another character - not Lord Hastings at all.
Theme: erotica, Victorian setting, fiction from fiction, writings of Lord Hastings (Tempting the Bride)
Now, I say that I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I know that erotica and pornography have a fine line and sometimes it's up to the reader which is which. Personally I like my eroticas to be written like this (hellew Story of O and other Erica Jong's writings haha).
The only drawback maybe for me is this is too short - I wanted to know more about Larkspear and his bride - - the beginning and all. I know that this is based on Lord Hastings and Helena's story or rather the former's fantasy (and product of unrequited love). But when I read the Bride of Larkspear, I felt that this is another character - not Lord Hastings at all.
January 5, 2022
Holy moly, this novella is 🔥🔥🔥. For those who read Tempting the Bride, this novella is essentially (and certainly read as) the H/h's love story, retold. It is Hastings love letter to Helena, and the melding of erotic and emotional story-telling is one of the best I've read. Sherry Thomas managed to make anal sex the emotional apex of true love, honesty, and vulnerability. I rarely get this when reading such short work, but I definitely got all the feels! Of all the novellas in the Fitzhugh series, I think this is arguably the best.
While it can be read as a stand-alone, I'd recommend at least reading Tempting the Bride first. It helps give further depth and explanation to this novella's characters.
While it can be read as a stand-alone, I'd recommend at least reading Tempting the Bride first. It helps give further depth and explanation to this novella's characters.
April 20, 2019
This novella was written to accompany Ms. Thomas’ Fitzhugh series. It is written as if it had been written by one of the characters in the series to tempt another character. It’s definitely steamy and as always the quality of Ms. Thomas’ writing. Unfortunately it has been several years since I read the Fitzhugh series. This novella on its own didn’t work for me. The dynamic between the characters was troubling. If you’re going to read this, read it with the other Fitzhugh stories.
March 7, 2024
I literally cannot believe Sherry Thomas wrote this, a fictional work featured in the Fitzhugh Trilogy. It is extremely high heat, so if doors blown all the way off the hinges romance is not your thing...skip this one. My only tiny regret about this is that I wish it had been dual POV (makes sense in the context that its not, but I live for dual POV and missed it here).
October 23, 2017
My bride does not look at me! Why??
Hastings the sexy, gorgeous and cocky who has so much love inside him for Helena.
He could just tell her how much he loved her. But he give Helena a erotic story to publish to provoke her.
I must say a short steamy romance not for the shy.
Hastings the sexy, gorgeous and cocky who has so much love inside him for Helena.
He could just tell her how much he loved her. But he give Helena a erotic story to publish to provoke her.
I must say a short steamy romance not for the shy.
December 17, 2018
I really enjoyed this. Though, I almost wish there had been pictures like there was in the book!
It is a rehashing of Tempting the Bride, but it's supposed to be to an extent. It is his love letter to her.
I really did enjoy it. (Sadly I wish my review was better, but I read it weeks ago)
It is a rehashing of Tempting the Bride, but it's supposed to be to an extent. It is his love letter to her.
I really did enjoy it. (Sadly I wish my review was better, but I read it weeks ago)
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December 27, 2023It was a bit confusing, trying to figure out where this fits in… a short but quite steamy story.
The transformation from apparent disdain to maybe love on the part of the heroine was a bit unexpected and rushed.
An intriguing story.
The transformation from apparent disdain to maybe love on the part of the heroine was a bit unexpected and rushed.
An intriguing story.
September 27, 2024
The most delectable morsel to devour after reading Tempting the Bride. I enjoyed every steamy second. Seriously, for maximum enjoyment read that book first, and then enjoy this for a book dessert. Sherry Thomas of course is a genius.
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