Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Flower Arrangement by Adelaide Cole (no author site found)
Historical erotica ebook short story released by Spice Briefs 1 Mar 09
While perusing the eHarlequin ebook site, Flower Arrangement caught my eye for a couple of reasons: 1) It’s a shorter read, and I’m a bit of a ‘ho for short reads; and 2) it’s an erotic historical story set in 1903 London. When I actually opened the story to start reading, I noticed a couple of things. First, when they say Brief, they mean it; this story clocks in at 27 pages on my Sony Reader. And second, the story is strictly erotica. Anyone hoping for an “erotic romance” is going to be sorely disappointed.
Emma is an independent-minded girl with ambition. Selling flowers on street corners had been a somewhat lucrative gig, until her supply dries up. So she lands herself a job as a maid in an affluent household where she hopes to save enough money to open her very own flower shop. She quickly develops a lustful crush on the man of the house, Master Riggs, and assumes it’s strictly a one-way fantasy. Imagine her surprise with the handsome master takes a shine to her, and proposes an “arrangement.” Satisfy his carnal desires and she’ll be that much closer to realizing her dreams.
Basically what we have here is the 1903 version of the young woman who works as an escort to pay for grad school. It’s hard to not think of Emma as a prostitute – because essentially she’s trading her sexual services for money and a ticket to a better life. The story did supply my one basic requirement for erotica – and that’s that the heroine has control over her own destiny. Certainly Emma enters into this adulterous affair to “get ahead” [Gwen ed.: heh] – but one never feels like she couldn’t have told Master Riggs to go screw himself, that she couldn’t be bought. Emma wants to have some fun with the man, and why not use him to get where she wants to go?
And that’s going to be the stumbling block for a lot of readers. If you’re looking for a (very) quick, hot read that’s straight-up erotica, this story is certainly going to fit the bill. However, if you’re a reader who needs the romance to go along with the hot sexing? Yeah, keep on walking. Nothing to see here.
Grade: C
Summary:
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London, 1903
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Emma is a maid with ambition. She dreams of opening her own flower shop one day, determined never to lose her independence…or the pleasure she finds in lifting her skirts for a handsome boy.
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Emma also dreams of what it would be like to share that pleasure with the master of the house—a fantasy that Master Riggs apparently shares. For when hears about Emma’s plans, he proposes an arrangement: he will help Emma achieve her ambition if Emma will help satisfy his desires in exchange…
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No excerpt found.
