p9780373605262

Cover comment: Like most Harlequin Spice covers, I love this one. Except for the fact that Duchess Camille looks younger here than the “gray streaked 40″ she is in the book, it’s a lesson on how to do sexy without crudity or nudity.

Word on the Web:

Romance Reader At Heart, mostly positive

Good and Bad Books, C-

Fun factoid: Victoria Janssen has published erotic short stories under the name Elspeth Potter

Setting: I have no idea. Pre-Victorian, anywhere from 1600s-1800s, French locale, possibly Savoy or Monaco?

Main Characters: See book title, and add two loyal eunuchs.

Plot: Duchess Camille escapes the evil Duke Michel, and, along with her gang of loyal servants (see main characters), embarks on a journey to seek the aid of erstwhile lover Lord Maxime, with several stops along the way, each of which provides an opportunity for sex.

The Racy Romance Review:

The term “erotica” is not very precise. Here’s the RWA definition:

Stories written about the sexual journey of the characters and how this impacts them as individuals. Emotion and character growth are important facets of a true erotic story. However, erotica is NOT designed to show the development of a romantic relationship, although it’s not prohibited if the author chooses to explore romance. Happily Ever Afters are NOT an intrinsic part of erotica, though they can be included.

I’ve posted before about how lame this definition is, because in my opinion, it’s not erotica if the narrative of the sexual journey isn’t designed to sexually arouse the reader. So, for example, a fictional account of a woman who survives sexual assault may well meet the RWA definition without being erotic in the least.

This book, which I’ll refer to as The Duchess, for short, is definitely erotica. There’s lots of sex in this book, among many different characters, including group sex, voyeurism, light BDSM, m/m, f/f, etc.  Almost none of it involves romantic love, although some of it involves friendship.

The Duchess is pure fantasy. Everyone is ready to have every kind of sex at any time, with anyone, and does. You’d think a duchess who is running for her life from her murderous husband’s thugs wouldn’t have the time or inclination to conduct a hands on inspection of every brothel in her duchy along the way, but you’d be wrong. She even has eunuchs, castrated sexual servants, which contributes to the fantasy quality of the book, as the use of eunuchs is ahistorical in this context.

In some ways, despite the sexual sadism of the Duke, this book offers a very positive view of sex. Sex is the go-to coping strategy for most of life’s problems: Need an heir? Feeling stressed? Husband trying to kill you? Lonely? Bored? Want to show someone you have power over them? Need a place to stay for free? Want to escape those thugs? Need a favor? Want to convince someone to ally with you? Want to thank someone? The answer is sex, sex, sex, sex, and more sex.

The sex scenes were presented very naturalistically. No seduction, no sexual tension, no transcendent sex for these folks: it’s very “let’s go” and very matter of fact. Here’s an example. Sylvie, the maid, is kind of like a pornographic version of the Renee Zellweger character in Cold Mountain:

Sylvie thought [the duchess] looked melancholy. They would have to perform well, for her. “Henri!” she barked. “Come here and fuck me. Or have you forgotten where to stick your cock? It goes in this hole, here.” She gestured with her hand, then held her labia open.

After a moment’s hesitation, he grumbled. “Orders, orders, orders. Will nothing make you leave me alone?”

“No,” she said. “Stop malingering.”

With so many pages devoted to the sex, there was not much in the way of character development, or plot for that matter. The book opens with a scene in which the Duchess copulates with Henri, the stable boy, to secretly produce an heir for her evil husband. Here’s a passage from when Henri is being shown into the duchess’s rooms for their assignation:

The room was incredibly bright from a chandelier bristling with lit candles and crystalline droplets of the clearest glass he’d ever seen. the light reflected almost painfully from the white marble floor. The walls were hung with tapestries, leaflike patterns of blue and gold, dazzling his eyes and muffling sounds. He felt as if he’d stepped inside a jeweled box, like the one in which the duchess had kept the bridle ornaments for Guirlande. Though for all its intricate glamour, the room felt too still; its air had the faintest dusty smell of disuse.

The only romantic element in the book is Henri’s slavish devotion and infatuation with Camille, and her insistence on remaining closed off to him, which he eventually attempts, with some success to break down. I think with more pages devoted to their backstories and inner lives, and more time spent together out of the sack, their relationship could have been quite compelling.

Janssen shows courage here, because Camille is not only older, she’s — for the time — old. And Henri is not only 20 years Camille’s junior, but he’s not an alpha who chooses servitude, a la  Joey Hill’s The Vampire Queen’s Servant. With apologies to Huxley, he’s maybe a Delta, a very good egg without unrealistic hopes who knows his place. This is truly a relationship of unequals, in and out of bed.

Another interesting feature of the book, to me, was Camille’s unique situation. Camille is very unlike aristocratic heroines of other books I have read: she has a gaggle of minions whom she rules imperiously but not tyrannically. Her main aim in the book is deposing her husband and ruling her duchy, not falling in love, and although she does come to trust Henri, that never changes. Often when women enjoy this kind of power in erotica or romance, they are evil.

It’s difficult for me to say if this book will work for erotica lovers. I don’t see why it shouldn’t, although I thought the fantasy sex elements (the duchy being a giant sex club) did not jive so well with the emotional ones (How can Camille remain strong while opening her heart to her stable boy). But, not being an erotica lover, if I had my druthers, I would cut about 80% of the sex and rewrite this as an erotic romance with a strong focus on Camille and Henri’s relationship.  I felt the author’s voice was very unique, and if she ever decides to write a book like that, I will definitely check it out.

Note: A more formal discussion of gender relations in this book is here.

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