Book 1 of 2 in the Villain Duology, a Dark Regency Erotic Romance duet set in the wilds of Scotland. A heartless villain… Daphne into a world of mystery, hatred, and lust.
An indecent proposal…
Thirty days and nights in the bed of the Earl of Hartmoor … this is the price she must pay to learn the truth of the dark lord’s vendetta against her family. Yet, when she accepts the offer, Daphne never expects to find that nothing is what she thought it was, and the truth proves far harder to stomach than she ever imagined.
A cruel desire that holds her captive…
Even as he uses her to exact his final revenge against her family, Daphne cannot deny the way her body reacts to his touch, the way her soul seems to become more intertwined with his by the day. Despite the ruin he has made of her life, she cannot escape that the threads of deceit, desire, and pain have tied them together irrevocably. With her fate now in his hands, she is uncertain whether he will turn out to be the hero who steals her heart, or the villain who destroys her soul.
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If you like erotic read this book ….FREAKIE!!!!!!
I will apologize ahead of time if this sounds like an advertisement for the book. I received an ARC of this book from the author. By the time I was at the 3% mark, the book had me hooked. I HAD to find out where Daphne was heading and what she hoped to accomplish. By the time I made it to 15%, I had fallen in love with Adam, Lord Hartmoor, Sir Hunk, Hart, Heart, Lord Sexy, or whatever pet word you’d like to call him (I have a couple of favorites that I have to keep to myself as my brand of sexy usually gets my reviews censored). Personally, I want to call him to my bedroom and often. That is how incredibly delicious this “Villain” is. And he gets better as the book goes on. So good in fact, that I’m trying to figure out how large the bribe to Mistress Vale has to be to read #2 now instead of having to wait.
Most of the book is set in a Scottish castle, although Daphne refers to it as a palace in a couple of places. I’ve been in a couple of those huge castles, set on bluffs overlooking the sea as to protect them from enemies who would attack them. You will be able to picture the castle thanks to the vivid descriptions of the furnishings and gardens.
Don’t be mistaken, this book is a bit different than Ms. Vale’s other books, but you won’t be disappointed. You can count on an amazingly alpha male, a gorgeous, brave, and incredibly stubborn redheaded woman who is putty in his hands, a share of spanking and punishment, a huge share of hot sex, another huge share of seductive dialogue that leads into the hot sex, and of course, as is normal in Period Great Britain, family problems and the opinions of the “Ton”.
I can guarantee that you will love the twists and turns in this book. The steam literally rises out of the Kindle as you read, and if you can put this down and walk away from it for longer than coffee-brewing time, you just aren’t female. 🙂 This is the guy we all want to ourselves and once again, Victoria Vale has not disappointed. I would recommend this book to anyone over 18 who loves hot, seductive sex combined with an alpha who wants what he wants along with a woman who is quite willing to give it to him in order to extract her pleasure too! Beware that there is erotic asphyxiation, sometimes known as breath play, in this book. I am a huge fan of this type of play, but I know some people are not. You also see the negative side of the Ton in the form of Daphne’s brother who is actually the cause of all that happens in this book. And in addition to all that, Adam is NOT a good guy. He’s a bad boy of epic proportions and just so awfully sexy because of it.
The blurb had me quite excited to read this but, urgh, in the end it was a DNF. I only struggled on as long as I did because it was a group buddy read but even that wasn’t enough to inspire me to complete the book.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, about this story every really engaged me, not the plot, the characters, the setting or the none existent romance. Nor did it ever truly feel historical at any point during the 50% or so I read. It did feel like a continual wash, rinse, repeat of the same thing though, blah, blah, bland. I actually fell asleep reading this, and not in the “because it was 3am and I couldn’t put it down” way
I struggled to buy into the heroine’s decision because she would have literally become a pariah, spurned by all of “polite society”. There would have been zero future for her, other than being spirited away and locked out of sight. Probably in a mental asylum. Nor did I particularly buy into the her teenage explorations either. There was a distinct lack of any emotion other than lust, and even that was lacklustre and barely convincing.
The only positive thing I can say is that the author’s voice was very pleasant and easy to read.
This was a wonderful book with lots of sexy parts and twists and turns in the plot. I listened to it on Audible and the narrator did a fantastic job with the voices. I will definitely listen to the next book in the series.
A very complex and passionate love story of a Scottish Earl’s revenge against an English aristocrat family. Taking the daughter hostage involves punishment in many forms. Taming the beast with in Adam will cost Daphne her heart, but give her soul what she’s been looking for. Recommend reading HART first for additional background to the story. Bondage, spanking and pain may create triggers.
Part one of the Villain Du0logy. Full length ends on cliff-hanger. A real page turner that holds and keeps your attention to the finish and has you wanting part two immediately. Daphne seeks answers to why her family has been ruined by one man. Adam seeks vengeance from the family that has destroyed his stepsister. Will thirty days spent together be enough to slate their quests. I loved this book and relationships in it. Wonderfully told back story and secondary characters, I can’t wait to read their story’s too. This is the perfect historical romance for adults!!
Since this is the first book I’ve read from Victoria Vale, honestly I was expecting a piece of Victorian fluff with a few “naughty” scenes that would’ve been scandalous at the time. BAM!! Welcome to my world now. Confused? Yes, I was pleasantly so as well. The plot is dark, deep, emotional and full of twists and turns. There were characters I loved and those I loved to hate. I’m heading to the next book as it’s already out at this reading. This is an author that is now a new favorite. One that I’ll continue to follow.
Did not finish reading after first chapter.
I liked this book so much I purchased the rest of the series!!!!
Cheesy cover aside, I enjoyed this book immensely. I loved how the “antagonist” was just a master manipulator with a heart of gold. Fantastic Victorian age story. Highly recommended.
Read this within a couple hours. So amazing and cried at the end
O i adored every sentence i read and re-read and read again. This is one of the all time favorite books. Great heart rendering love story that brings hope up from ashes. Never give up on love! Many thanks Ms. Vale please keep them coming
I loved this book! I was a huge fan of Georgette Heyer when I was a teen and now that I am (an informed) adult this book was right up my alley!.
A Villian. A Virgin. Lies. Secrets. Revenge. Because I do not want to give away the story since the excitement of reading this intense story would be diminished, I will just say, holy crap is it good. Adam and Daphne’s dancing around each other and their powerful interludes make you want to keep reading to find out what will happen next. An old castle, hidden passages and dark secrets are brought to life. I need to know how Adam is going to fix this messed up affair.
I received a complimentary copy from the author.
Great book! I loved reading it!!
This book was a different turn on the older classic love stories of the Victorian times. Take beauty and the beast, and fifty shades of grey, shake them together and this is what you might come up with. It was a fun read. I really enjoyed it.
There wasnt a thing i didnt enjoy about this book…..i cant wait to read the next one
Can’t wait till I can get the next book. Fast paced, easy to read.
Too predictable.. The push me pull me got to be too much!
Twists and turns and need to read the next book for the answers. I enjoyed it. Felt bad for what happened to each of the main characters.