Megan Mulry: Bound to Be a Groom

Sometimes our wildest dreams come true.

In the tumultuous summer of 1808, Spain and England are close to war and four young lovers are close to ecstasy.

To carve out an independent life with the woman she loves, Anna knows she must leave her quiet Spanish convent to become a courtesan. To gain experience, she sets her sights on . .

Sebastian, whose powerful, aristocratic confidence suits Anna’s mercenary goals. But his arrogance masks a craving for submission that Anna instinctively satisfies. Sebastian soon begs for her hand in marriage, even if it means sharing her with . . .

Pia, who trusts Anna completely—with her body and her future—until she learns of Anna’s hasty marriage. Pia questions their commitment to each other as they leave for London to meet . . .

Farleigh, the seemingly feckless duke who thinks he’s over Sebastian, the potent Spanish soldier he bedded two years ago.

What begins as a series of erotic escapades soon evolves into a deep, unbreakable bond. Two men and two women who yearn to explore are about to make their wildest dreams come true.

I got a wild hair to read something different, and this one made a top 10 list on the interwebs…and the GoodReads reviews were positive…so a couple of hours later I had had my first foray into what the author calls “Regency Reimagined.”

Which essentially is code for Regency set erotica. The book opens with the character Anna, who is I guess the main protagonist…or would be if this story actually had a plot. The thinly veiled one hinted at in the synopsis is dropped pretty much within the first couple of chapters.

Anna, a natural child, has been raised in a convent and discovered a passion for a fellow convent dweller, Pia. They have discovered themselves, and each other, in secretive and furtive encounters that bloom into love.

Wanting to be free from the confines of the convent, Anna embarks on an adventure to learn the art of the world’s oldest profession. But that is pretty quickly abandoned after she meets the beautiful, devoted Sebastian who happens to be a submissive and instantly enthralled by the dominant Anna.

He proposes marriage, she agrees, and they go to retrieve Pia and then depart for England.

There is some loose diplomatic action, but it was frankly a little silly and there was so little character development I honestly could care less.

A duke (apparently even erotica is now all-Duke-all-the-time) enters the mix, and the sparks fly as the threesome becomes a foursome.

That’s basically it. There is a HEA, so I guess its a romance, and its set in the Regency so I guess it squeaks by as a “Regency”. Honestly, it could’ve been set at any time or place. That was not critical or even very helpful to the book.

The love scenes were fairly sexy and well written, and I think the author knows her stuff. She also seems fairly sensitive to paying homage to the character’s inner life as they explore their own identities/orientations.

Its embarrassingly obvious to myself (and probably most of you) that I am not super well versed in BDSM or polyamory so forgive any failures in my review. However, I have to say I was actually a bit disappointed. This is my third try at a non-hetero Regency and I wanted to find something that I could recommend to those readers looking for something that speaks more to their own orientation. I can’t say I would recommend this as Regency. That would imply it actually had a plot and some actual connection to the Regency.

However, if you are looking for a cheap thrill (I think it was a $3 ebook) with lots of diversity in partners and some kink, you might enjoy this. Certainly, others I read around the internet did.

5 Stars 3 out of 6 BDSM, polyamory, and a whole lotta love