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Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Theme: Marriage of Convenience, Mistaken/False Identity
Archetype: Beta
Awhile ago, Sarah interviewed Eva Leigh on a podcast, and Leigh said she was working on a book that involved a vicar hero and a heroine who wrote erotic novels. When I heard that I was like “OMG I need this thing in my hands right now!”
Well, Temptations of a Wallflower is out now and it’s just as good as I’d hoped. It’s a very meta story–a romance novel about the importance of romance novels and women having the language and ability to discuss their sexuality–but it’s also just an enjoyable read.
Lady Sarah Frampton, daughter of the Duke of Wakefield, is known as the “Watching Wallflower.” Despite her standing and wealth, she’s nearing the point of spinsterhood, preferring to observe society rather than engage in it. The truth is that Sarah is also “A Lady of Dubious Quality” as the author of erotic novels that are flying off the shelves. She carefully guards her identity for fear of ruining herself and shaming her family.
Her latest work, The Highwayman’s Seduction, has seriously fucked up Jeremy Cleland’s life. Jeremy is the third son of an earl and has done what’s expected of him and gone into the church. He’s not sure he’s meant to be a vicar, though. His father, the earl, is a pseudo-moralistic shitbag who wants Jeremy to find out who The Lady of Dubious Quality is so she can be publicly humiliated and destroyed. Jeremy thinks this is nonsense because it’s just some erotic books, which he happens to have secretly read and enjoyed, but his father dangles money in front of him which will allow Jeremy to leave the church and find out what his true passion is.
While Jeremy is in London searching for The Lady, he meets Sarah at a garden party and they hit it off. Both of them are introverts, restrained and intellectual, but both have some serious needs going unmet and are secretly yearning for sexual and emotional connection. Since he’s so far beneath Sarah in station, there’s no possibility of a romance between the two, but they can’t stay away from each other. Jeremy is a beta hero–he’s gentle and thoughtful, and he never veers into alphahole territory. He doesn’t think about kidnapping or ruining Sarah so he can be with her. For the most part, he doesn’t even dream that they could be together — it’s Sarah who puts the wheels of their romance in motion.
So the conflict in this novel comes in two forms: 1. Jeremy is beneath Sarah socially making it impossible for them to be together and 2. Sarah can’t tell Jeremy that she secretly writes erotic novels. Honestly, I’d read a book where a vicar and a duke’s daughter fall in love but can’t marry because of station even without the secret author conflict.
There’s a really interesting exploration of the characters’ sexuality that goes on in this book. Sarah is a virgin, but she’s read enough “French novels” to write about sex in detail. Jeremy has only had sex once before. Both of them are inexperienced, but they still want rich sexual lives. Neither of them is uneducated or naïve. When they do have sex, it’s not perfect the first time, but it improves. Jeremy uses techniques that he learned from Sarah’s novels (although he doesn’t know they are hers) to bring her to orgasm. They also talk a lot, and communication about needs and desires is a huge part of this book. It was such an interesting departure from the rake who is good in bed because he’s smexed eleventy billion women. I’d rather read about a beta-hero who did some studying to learn his technique, quite frankly.
Sarah also flat out addressed the BS double standard that comes into play when women write about or talk about sex:
“Not merely sex, but women finding sexual fulfillment, finding themselves through the expression of their bodies. We’ve been taught, us females, that we aren’t supposed to know what we want , that men are supposed to guide us in everything sensual and earthy–but why? Why can’t we know what we want, what we desire?”
“I don’t know,” he said tightly, after a pause. “Fear of Eve, I suppose. Of women.”
“If we women had as much knowledge as men, it makes us both stronger. It doesn’t take away power–it adds to it.”
We’ve talked a lot here at SBTB about how depictions of women finding their sexual agency, especially when written by women, are viewed as scandalous, smutty or trashy. It’s right in our name. And it’s a load of bullshit. Denying women the ability to talk about their sexual identity, desires, and health without being stigmatized for it is a mechanism of control that benefits no one. And here it’s being called out in a romance novel. Like I said, meta.
Temptations of a Wallflower is very very sexy (people talking openly about sex and finding what works for them together is sexy) and it’s also very smart. There were a few things I still wanted, though:
Overall, I found the third book in the Wicked Quills of London series to be eminently readable and very hot, and I highly recommend it.
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O, I CANNOT WAIT for my library hold for this to come thru. I have had it on hold for at least a month. 😉
I was eyeballing this one at the bookstore last night. Guess I’ll have to go back and get it now. Beta heroes are my catnip, and I’m all for introvert characters, too. Woo!
Hurrah! This is the book I’ve been on tenterhooks about the whole time I’ve been reading the series. I can’t wait to pick it up!
Very strong interest in this one. *sigh* the TBR is getting worse and worse!!
Thank you Elise, I am thoroughly intrigued. All kinds of catnip for me especially since I’ve been picking up more historicals of late.
I have been hungry for Beta heros instead of the usual alpha manwhores with oodles of sex under their belt and think I have exhausted most of the good ones 🙁 I went right onto Amazon and bought the book. Thank you so much for the recommendation
I’ve been searching for HR without the usual rake/scoundrel hero, so this sounds right up my alley!
Yes, I like the idea of a beta hero who wants to study how to perfect his technique. Thank you Elise, I have a few questions. If he’s the son of an earl and she’s the daughter of a duke, surely they’re from the same social class, aren’t they? Was there some other reason for the gulf in station? And since when did reading ‘French’ novels equip a virgin to write about sex ‘in detail’? Was she convincing as a talented writer of erotica? Or was her popularity down to shock value? And finally, the language you quoted sounds contemporary. (Anachronisms are a pet peeve of mine.) ‘Sexual fulfilment’ and ‘finding themselves’ – not likely to be Regency. Is this Victorian/Edwardian, perhaps?
Argh, so excited for this as well! I hope it stays cold and rainy this weekend so I can justify staying in to read this and the new Elizabeth Essex.
I agree, the vicar hero and the erotic author heroine set off a lot of catnip bells. Though I keep getting plots confused between this series and Caroline Linden’s Scandals series – who knew the Regency had so much underground erotic literature?!?
Caroline Linden’s Scandal series is far and away a better series with a similar “secret female historical erotica writer” plotline.
I also adored that the vicar’s curate happens to be black! (And gets the position after Jeremy leaves)
I am almost finished reading this wonderful novel, I agree it is refreshing to read about a bridegroom who has not been around the block. I really liked how both main characters had each others back when dealing with their suborn fathers. Why should Jeremy destroy his marriage because his wife wants a writing career based on saucy books? It is sad he left the church. I thought he made a decent vicar.