Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Romancing Mister Bridgerton (With 2nd Epilogue) by Julia Quinn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


1) This author is either a) very obsessed with breasts or b) assumes every man is super obsessed with breasts (for various reasons I'm leaning towards a). I say this because this is the fifth book I've read by this author and all of them (with the possible exception of the first book, which I need to go back to reread my review to see if I indicated anything) have had men obsessing over fondling, licking, and sucking breasts. What, I notice certain things.

2) Somewhere during certain revelations I wanted to kick Colin very hard in the groin and close the book - never to reopen it. Happily those feelings subsided but . . . mmphs.

3) All of the Bridgerton children are adults now (including Gregory and Hynacnith (whose name I can never spell), though Gregory is off . . um . . somewhere in this specific book; oh, and this is the first time that I learned that Francesca also got married at some point - I looked to see if I read a book out of order - no, apparently I hadn't. it was a brief marriage that lodged her with a family in Scotland, but her husband has been dead now for a short while. She is mentioned but if she had any words in this book, I seem to have overlooked them. Everyone else, including Daphne from the first book, make appearances (some much larger than others).

4) So. Fourth book, I'd say 4 down, 4 to go but as I already noted, one of the four to go already got married, and is now a widow, so 4 down and 3 to go with another one going to have another crack at potential happiness (I assume). Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinthia are left to find matches.

As can be seen from my rating and my lack of careful thought out review, I liked this book the least of the ones by Quinn that I've read.

Oddly, things went about how I expected, including the big reveal (there's a big reveal in this book). That big reveal was why I was actually excited to read this specific book, but alas.





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Doctor's Orders edited by N.T. Morley

Doctor's Orders: Erotic Tales of Extreme Medical Power Play by N.T. Morley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


N.T. Morley - Exam Room 3
MFF, Doctor/patient play (obviously), examination/inspection/fondling, humiliation, bondage

A woman goes to a doctor's office wearing just a raincoat, shoes, garter belt and stockings. Then sits in an exam room without her raincoat. Sitting in the stirups. Waiting for the doctor. When he arrives she tells him that she wants a full exam. He takes in her nudity, and obvious arousal, he smiles wickedly.

Based on 'the photos she'd sent' this isn't actually a woman visiting a random doctor.

She complains of 'hypersexuality'. He replies with a 'I'll be the judge of that.'

The doctor appears to be vaguely limited in intelligence. What with his reply to the woman's hypersexuality self-dignoses. In which he says 'A word to the wide, Miss - . . .' Ah. It is possible that he is being mean. Maybe the lead female is actually fat. Hadn't gotten that impression before now. So the woman is fat, or the doctor is lacking in some intelligence.

When the woman wouldn't stop moaning an lunging at him, the doctor restrains her. With various bondage items, ball-gags padlocked, collar (again padlocked), leash - padlocked to a chair (lots of padlocks here - the padlock industry must make a fortune), straps on legs, writs, padlocks added. etc. Then knees padlocked to straps as well - spread wide (When it turned out she could still close her knees).

Ah - the doctor, after asking the female nurse to join him, looked to see if the woman gave the 'safeword' finger thingie. So - a) safewords in use; b) this is in fact a preplaned bondage session.

(pffts - a) 'No need for lube' - doctor to nurse - location 152; b) 'Then Jessie felt Marie's lube-slick fingers coming out of her' - patient (Jessie) and nurse (Marie) - slick fingers, sure, lube - slick? - location 160. - oh, the 'lube' is 'natural lube' to be used to help with 'anal play'. I suppose an argument could be made there. Though . . ..)

Rating: 4.23

December 10 2016

Managed Care by Corey Claire
MFM

A story about a nurse who provides 'special care'. And the person who finds her very naughty for doing so.

*shrugs*

Rating: 2

December 10 2016

Medical Attention by Skye Black

already read - had given it a rating of 4

White Coat and Stethocope by Ronald Keller
MF

huh - 'osteopathy a branch of medical practice that emphasizes the treatment of medical disorders through the manipulation and massage of the bones, joints, and muscles.' Hadn't realized such a branch existed.

Right, so, a doctor is dating someone. She drops by near the end of the day. Ends up in a paper gown in an exam room waiting for her boyfriend to find her, then tells him that she's there for her exam.

And so, he gives her one.

The doc tells her that she has priapism (persistent and painful erection of the penis).

Rating: 3.3

December 10 2016

Examining Gilly by Naomi Taylor
MF, spanking

The woman has gone to the doctor because she's had a tingling in her bum for a longish time. And she's embarrased by it (and or having to mention it). The tingling/itch/etc. grows and grows, and itching doesn't help, though slapping can cause temporary relief.

And so the doctor goes about 'curing her' by spanking her. Right-o. hmms.

Rating: 3.65

December 10 2016

Shock Therapy by Natasha Ray
FF, MF, Shock therapy

A female doctor (who the author felt the need to linger on how cut her top was, and how tight her pants were) is running an experimental test into using shock therapy with couples. Oh, and apparently also important, the doctor is very very short.

'She stood there, legs slightly spread, displaying to the young graduate student that the swelling, pink mount of her sex was shaved smooth as Patrick Stewart's head.' - squeaks. *reading read reading, description of woman's 'mount' . . . reading 'Patrick Stewart's head'. squeaks - giggles uncontrollably*

Oh for fuck sake. 'Normally inclined to be intimate only with women, Dr. Quarry nonetheless found her gaze lingering unbidden over the quite impressive length and girth of the older man's package' - a) yes an overly large penis might be worth taking a moment to examine, clinically I suppose; b) later words seem to lead to why I said 'oh for fuck sake', the part wherein the woman who is only intimate with women, is apparently turned on by an overly large penis (you know, the part where she's becoming breathless and picturing mounting the fucking thing). Because, as we all know, what women really want are really huge dicks. For mounting. And sucking. Because . . . something something all women want dicks in them. mmphs.

Rating: 3.83

December 10 2016

Overall rating of 3.502



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An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If we had half stars, I'd probably give this one at least 4.5. Have to think about it more to see if I up it any more than that.

This is the fourth book I've read by Quinn, and the first that involved someone outside the norm - a love interest found among the servant class (though there is a story there). Oh, and a bit of Cinderella retelling stripped of the magic parts.

Quite neat in its way. Also neat to actually see some more of the family members start to show up and let their specific characters shine a little bit. Like Eloise, Fran... um, whatever the F's name is; and of course Benedict shined the most of the 'less known members' since he was one of the two main characters in the book. Colin, Anthony, Daphne, Hyancinth(sp?) and Violet also showed up - while Gregory was off at Eton.



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An Offer from a Gentleman: Epilogue II by Julia Quinn

An Offer From A Gentleman: The Epilogue II by Julia Quinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A little additional story about the couple, eh? From the original book? Yet the story is about Sophie's non-blood sister, Posy Reiling, finding a love match. Seems to be breaking that 'so you wanted to watch more of this couple . . here! Enjoy!' that marks a break from the book as originally released and second epilogue.

Except.

Except that the love match is watched through the eyes of Sophie and Benedict. Mostly through Sophie's eyes.

Good enough little story. I'd probably have rated it lower if it had just been offered out there by itself without the connection to the Bridgerton series, but it wasn't so that probably means I might have overrated it. Perhaps.



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The Lavender List by Meg Harrington

The Lavender List by Meg Harrington

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was quite interested in this book when I first noticed it (I forget when and where that was). Seemed quite intriguing, with a relatively obvious vibe of 'Agent Carter' sprinkled through the book description. But.

That 'obvious vibe' turned out to correspond to what was found in the book - at least for the first 46% of it. Whereupon the book leapt forward in time onto a side track I didn't expect or want.

Man I hate when the condescending asshole man ‘wants to protect’ his ‘love’ so he ‘doesn’t allow’ (as if that’s his choice) a woman to do something . . . like say dangerous (in a particular type of book that ‘dangerous’ part might be ‘getting out of bed while pregnant), fun, risky, whatever. Occasionally it’s worded in just the right way with just the right characters so that it is less annoying.

‘Obviously enough’, the preceding paragraph doesn’t apply, right? I mean, we are talking about two women here, not some alpha male caveman type pounding his chest while grunting ‘me man, you woman’. I’d say ‘to be fair’ things were worded differently here (not that that was necessarily better (view spoiler)[initially indirectly worded as ‘you can come work for us as a spy, but no funny business – like having a girlfriend; or have the girlfriend but don’t be a spy’. And Agent Carter chose being a spy (hide spoiler)]). Except – later, when people talked about it, they reverted back to ‘I didn’t want you in danger’ type of talk. And the characters didn’t fit.

They really really didn’t fit. For that ‘you weak woman, me strong women, me protect you, you cower over there and hide. Listen to me! DO IT!’ type of thing. For one, the one doing that ‘I strong woman’ came from a privileged pampered background – and developed into a legitimately capable strong woman with fighting skills. What about the ‘weak woman, do what I say?’ part of the equation, a real damsel in distress type, right? Um. No. A highly skilled multiple bank robber as a teenager. Not exactly a cowering wilting flower of delicacy who needed to be protected by someone self-sacrificing themselves for love by leaving their life. For fuck sake.

Got distracted there. Let me see if I can get back into this review thingie.

1 – Story about Laura Wright who worked for the OSS in France leading a resistance group. The war is over now, though, the OSS is disbanded, and women are no longer needed or wanted in the spy force (and, growing more apparent, in the work force). Just like Agent Peggy Carter, Laura Wright also left the war having left behind a ‘love of her life’ type person – shockingly, both Carter’s and Wright’s loves were/are men (though only Carter’s ‘love’ is a superhero (Captain America).

It’s 1946 and Wright now works in a bomb factory (I’d the idea she was a manager or . . . um . . . something like that). She’s from Connecticut. With a New England kind of accent. She lives in a large building in New York with a bunch of other women. And, as the book opens, she is asked by one of her old colleagues to do something spy like. She also has a friend who lives in that same building, and who works in a dinner that Laura likes to visit. And has a French ‘friend’ (instead of English, like on the TV show). But that prologue part, that ‘as the book opens part’, is the only point during which Laura has a point of view until much later in the book, about half way through she begins to have her side of the things pop back up again. The first half (and half of the second half) of the book is from the point of view of that friend that works in the dinner.

2 – Amelia Maldonado is a ‘struggling actress’ who works at a diner, lives in building filled with women, and has connections to the mafia – family connections. Her point of view appears throughout the book (except in the prologue), though alternates with Laura’s point of view at times in the second half.

3 – This POV choice – having the story from Amelia’s instead of Laura’s point of view for the 1946 part of the book, means that there are a lot of ‘Amelia noticed that Laura had another bruise . . . Amelia noticed that Laura was sneaking out of the building . . .Amelia noticed another bruise when she saw Laura the next day . . ‘type of stuff going on. As in, while there was action going on, the only part the reader knows about directly is when Amelia herself is in on the action. This does occur, just less often than the actual spy.

4 – The book takes place in 1946, then somewhere around the half way point, leaps ahead to 1952. With some huge changes having occurred to the two lead characters during this six year break from the reader’s eye.

The book started off interestingly enough, but then we got out of the prologue and suddenly everything was from the waitress’ point of view. That was . . . well, I could live with that. Watching as Amelia tried to figure out what was going on with Laura, why she kept getting beaten up (and having some rather interesting ideas that were reasonable but wrong). Investigating. Cleaning a diner. Trying out for acting roles. You know, just living life in the late 1940s.

I was somewhat less excited about how the book turned, though, at roughly the 46% mark (somewhere after there). Had an initial wave of dissatisfaction with what was going on when the world changed to the 1950s, but there was enough to keep my interest and keep me reading.

So – the long and short of it is – it was neither as good as I was hoping when I first heard of the book; but it was also not as bad as I thought it was going to be after that ‘deep wave of dissatisfaction’ overwhelmed me at the half way point.

Rating: 3.33

December 9 2016




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