Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of The Birthday Present (The Countess Trilogy #3) by Alison Richardson
Historical erotica short story ebook released by Spice Briefs 01 Nov 2009

What can I say?  Sometimes it’s an intriguing writing style that keeps me coming back for more, even when I logically know that a story shouldn’t work for me in the slightest.  Which is why I decided to finish out the trilogy, and get some closure, for Richardson’s lusty, wicked and snobby heroine, Countess Anna von Esslin.

It’s been two years since the events of An Impolite Seduction and Anna is now living in Munich.  What is truly troublesome is that she’s been celibate this whole time.  Part of this is because Anna has found her tastes have grown more refined with age (not just any willing young buck will do), but also because her rival, that low-born Scot, James McKirnan has been steering any man remotely desirable away from her salon.  So she’s well and truly desperate when her cousin Robert offers her a birthday present.  A mystery lover who will only take her while she is blind-folded and who is so skilled that he soon has Anna panting after him.

Yeah, we all know where this is going right?

Richardson’s writing style continues to deliver most of the goods here.  Where there were a few instances of tell over show (especially in regards to dialogue), readers once again get a delightful first person narration from Anna’s point of view, and several wicked observations that induce some laughs.

The characters continue to be somewhat of an issue – most notably Anna.  While I do not subscribe to the school of thought that the heroine has to be “likeable” – there has to be “something” there for the reader to grasp on to.  While the author wraps up the saga of James and Anna in a neat package by the end, I’m still left with the question of why, as the reader, I should care what happens to either of these two.  James at least has moments where he’s not totally debauched and vile – and while it’s certainly historical accurate, Anna’s snobbery and scheming can wear very thin in short order.

At the end of this third and final story, I find myself continuing to ponder this series.  Richardson can write, of that there is no question.  These stories have been erotic, evocative, delightful, and even amusing.  If the author were to publish a full-length novel, or even more short stories, I would no doubt happily buy and read them.  All the while, praying that the heroine will be someone who truly deserves any positive outcomes that play out over the course of the story.  Frankly, I was never sure that Anna did.

Grade: C+

You can read reviews for all three stories by clicking on the series tag.

Summary:

Countess Anna von Esslin has done something very uncharacteristic: she hasn’t taken a lover in over two years! None of the men in Munich meet her standards…especially her rival, James McKirnan.

Then the Countess is given a surprising birthday presents—a mystery lover who will only see her when she is blindfolded. He fulfills Anna’s every desire…but when the blindfold comes off, will she like what she sees?

No excerpt found

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of An Impolite Seduction (The Countess Trilogy #2) by Alison Richardson
Historical erotica short story ebook released by Spice Briefs 1 Oct 09

I’m not above admitting that even when the characters may not hold a lot of appeal, that good writing will keep me coming back for more.  Such is the case with Alison Richardson’s latest Spice Briefs short story, the second in her Countess Trilogy, and the second story to feature the lusty young widow Countess Anna von Esslin.

It’s been three years since the events The Countess’s Client, and Anna has traveled to the English countryside to help her young cousin Charlotte.  Charlotte, the poor ignorant chit, has gone and gotten engaged to a rather dull and priggish Viscount.  Worse still?  The girl is still a virgin!  Determined to set about properly educating the girl (oh, and to attend the wedding), Anna is expecting a rather tiresome visit.  It gets unexpectedly complicated though when she discovers that James McKirnan is her cousin-in-law’s neighbor.  Having ended their affair three years ago in Paris, amid quite a bit of scandalous whispering, Anna is not very happy to see him.  However James has moved up in the world, and is determined to make Anna his – by whatever means necessary.

The problems I had with the first short story in this trilogy are still evident here.  Anna is still an insufferable snob and for the life of me I can’t figure out what James sees in her, other than she’s a spectacular lay and she’s playing hard to get.  James continues to be an uneasy mix – one moment charming and likeable, the next an intolerable jackass.  I’m still trying to figure out why I should care about what happens to either of these two.

Which probably leaves you, gentle review reader, wondering why the heck I read this story when the continuing characters didn’t gel for me the first time around.  Well, I’ll tell you.  Richardson has a delicious writing style.  Anna is, on one hand, all about societal class structure and her station in it, and on the other hand, deliciously scandalous.  I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at several moments over the course of this story, ranging from Anna’s opinion on why men seem to prize virginal brides so much (two words: performance anxiety) and how she wriggles out of a sticky situation at the end of this tale.

I’m still not willing to shout from the roof-tops and recommend these stories wholeheartedly, but darn if the writing style and Anna’s scandalous lifestyle don’t keep me coming back for more.  It’s like a trashy night-time soap opera set in Victorian times.  No wonder I’m hooked.

Grade: C

Summary:

“There is nothing in the world less appealing than a chaste young man.”

At least that’s the opinion of Countess Anna von Esslin, who is shocked to learn her cousin has gotten engaged without a single taste of passion. But while the Countess arranges her cousin’s seduction, she is also reunited with James McKirnan, a man intent on seducing her. And James is certainly far from chaste…

No excerpt found.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian’s review of The Countess’s Client (The Countess Trilogy #1) by Alison Richardson
Historical erotica short story ebook released by Spice Briefs 1 Sep 09

I’m a complete sucker for historically-set erotic stories.  Which means I do a lot of impulse buying.  This first book in what is being dubbed as “The Countess Trilogy” was the type of story that started out good, got really intriguing, and fell totally flat by the ending.  I’m still not quite sure what to make of it, but I know enough to say it didn’t really work for me. 

Anna von Esslin is the daughter of a Prussian army general, a young widow, a countess, and incredibly horny.  However she’s well aware of the double-standard that women must endure when it comes to sex.  Men can whore around all they want, brag up a storm about it, and no one shuns them.  Oh no.  But if you’re a woman?  You have to be discreet.  Your very existence depends on it.  Which means hooking up with men who will not brag about the interlude (yeah, good luck with that) or men no one will believe if they do spill the beans.

She’s in Paris visiting with her cousin, and is very bored.  But she hits upon an idea.  Her cousin is a regular visitor to a brothel and all the girls there are sick to death of servicing an uncouth, boorish client.  Anna is so desperate, she agrees to take the man on.  Not realizing, of course, that the Scotsman, James, while being of lowly birth, is actually moving around quite freely in some of her social circles.  He thinks she’s a common whore, and she thinks he’s a mere mechanic.  When the truth comes out, it makes for some unpleasant surprises.

While I found the writing style very engaging in this book, and Anna’s attitude towards sex deliciously scandalous, I have a hard time reading about snobs.  Anna, her cousin, pretty much everyone in this story is a snob.  Certainly this is very historically accurate, but even so, it’s hard to give a damn about the main character when she’s such a selfish snobbish bitch.  James worked a lot better for me, but I tend to like guys with dirt under their nails, and I felt sorry for him getting roped in with this woman who ultimately sniffs haughtily at him and acts as if he doesn’t matter in the least.

I was very curious to see how it would all turn out, but the ending takes a bit of a bizarre turn, James takes an “unlikeable” turn and I felt like it didn’t truly end at all.  Nothing is resolved in the least, and I found it all really unsettling.  Also, I can’t seem to find any “clues” as to where this story is going to go.  Since this is a “trilogy,” are Anna and James going to be in the next two stories?  Or is the author going to move on to different characters?  Honestly, with the way the ending is set up, it could go either way.  As it is, the author doesn’t have a web site (Grrrr!), so I’ll have to wait and see in October when the author’s next Spice Briefs, An Impolite Seduction is released.

Grade: D+

Summary:

“The practice of genuine virtue leads to a life of odious boredom.”

So feels widowed young countess Anna von Esslin, who is denied her normal erotic pursuits while staying with relatives in Paris. Without her usual opportunities for pleasure, the countess resorts to visiting a local brothelbut not as a client. To get the satisfaction she craves, the countess must masquerade as one of the girls….

No excerpt found.