Miss Emily Price is in desperate need of funds. With her family estate mortgaged and her young brother not yet of age, it falls to her to save her family from financial ruin. What is a lady with no title or connections to do? Auction her virginity at one of London’s most notorious brothels.
Heir to a baronetcy, James Hughes has always been caught between two worlds. His fortune and education help him pass for a member of the ton but his career as an engineer and his family ties stop him from actually becoming one. Quiet and serious-minded, he knows he needs to marry into the peerage for his sake, as well as, his family’s. But when he finds himself by chance at an auction in London’s infamous Scarlet Salon he throws his ambitions to the wind to bed the lovely Miss Price.
It doesn’t take long for Emily to lose her heart to her dry-humored, generous benefactor. But when their affair goes public in one of the most scandalous newspapers in town, Emily must decide if she must cast her feelings aside and leave James to pursue his societal ambitions, and James must decide if family and duty are worth giving up the chance of love.
Scandal, manipulation and ambition hinder the lovers’ path to happiness. Only they can decide if love is worth fighting for.
A good old fashioned virgin auction! Boy, hadn’t read one of those in years. In fact, I struggle to think of them all (so if you can remember some, tweet them at me @Regency_Reader). This was tasteful, however, and set up an interesting meet for the H/H.
Emily Price is a financial wizard and holds a lot of guilt over the massive debt of her stepfather. Realizing all the dibs are in, in desperation she seeks out the madam of the exclusive Scarlet Salon to auction off her maidenhead with the caveat that she is also interested in pursuing something long term with her winner.
She gets a makeover and some training from the other ladies of the Salon and then sends her mother off to Bath to stay with a relative.
Emily is a typical hist-ro heroine…smart, beautiful and scrappy. I found her to be likeable, if not relatable, and although she doesn’t have a huge character arc I was still invested in her HEA.
I don’t want to give a ton away, because the way Wilde handles the material was interesting and a little surprising. The hero is what you expect from hist-ro. Handsome, wealthy, smart and tender-hearted. He is neither beta nor alpha, existing in that unique space between. He has a bit more of a character arc, but not much.
The plot is pretty simple, with a secondary romance built in that I enjoyed, and some interesting characters. A couple of mildly villainous plots and some gossip create interesting conflict for the H/H and kept the pace fast.
Wilde gets some historical details wrong. The banns, for instance, had to be read on three consecutive Sundays not two, and some of the language (especially contractions) were just off. I also think the sleeve on the gown is leaning a bit medieval, and the prices at auction were a bit bonkers…But I don’t think these misses will take a way from most readers enjoyment, as even Regency stickler me just raised an eyebrow and moved on.
I think with some more research, Wilde could be a great historical romance author.
There are a lot of intimate scenes, mostly vanilla but with some mild fetish play (like costumes or roleplaying) that won’t be for everybody. There are also some mentions of sexual violence, and a few other mentions of assault, that aren’t for readers who may find that difficult material. Despite being sold at auction, Wilde gives Emily enough agency that it doesn’t feel uneven or problematic…but that was my take/sensitivity level and may not be everyone’s read.
It was lighter on word count, and so easy to breeze through in a couple of sittings. I did feel engaged the whole time, and although wouldn’t necessarily read this title again would be interested to check out more from the author.
4 out of 6 A sexy romance featuring a virgin auction
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Brothels, mistresses, kinks and more | |
| Intimacy | |
| Lots of intimate scenes. Mostly vanilla variety | |
| Violence | |
| Some descriptions of rape, death and other violence | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Perfect for mature readers who like a lot of steamy action. | |
*A review copy was provided by the author. No other compensation was received.
