Ruby -- the proprietress of Madame Rouge' House for Gentlemen of Taste -- is quietly relaxing when a large and very angry man bursts into her parlour. Captain Derek Price, an American sailor, is furious because he paid one of Madame Rouge's girls to meet his first mate outside the bordello and she didn't show up. Meeting customers outside the premises is not something that is done at the House. Ruby tries to appease the Captain, and his suggestion is that Ruby herself could repay him in kind. Ruby does not mingle intimately with her clients; she is but a woman of business. But Ruby finds Captain Price very attractive, just as much as he finds her alluring, and she decides she might indulge herself, for once, solely for pleasure.

REVEALING RUBY was a revelation to me, and I found that this type of historical erotica makes more sense to me than a lot of sex in some historical romances. REVEALING RUBY does not pretend to be anything else than erotica, and yet it is a refined, sophisticated and tasteful historical romance as well. Ms. Kent does not present the House as sordid nor as a paradise: it's how Ruby makes a living as well as something the men want. I love how the author takes care with historical details, such a modern luxury of the era: the shower bath. I absolutely loved the dichotomy between Ruby at work and at play; it felt very realistic. Derek and Ruby are compelling characters, not your usual types of heroes; I thought it made a nice change from rakes and duchesses. The mood is very seductive but still playful, and the sex scenes are scorching hot.

REVEALING RUBY is a novella and the second instalment in the Bound and Determined series; it can easily be read as a standalone although It would have helped at the very beginning to see a place and date mentioned; I had to guess a bit. REVEALING RUBY is superbly written, moves along quickly; it's a very enjoyable read. Ms. Kent was a new author to me but I am very much looking forward to the next book in that series! Very well done!

Book Summary

Unmasked by smoldering desire, a rigidly disciplined madame gives in to the ultimate temptation in Lavinia Kent’s seductive new eBook original novella.

As the proprietress of London’s most discreet house of pleasure, Madame Rouge—Ruby to her clientele—prefers to keep her own company. The first rule in her establishment? She never, ever personally entertains the customers. However, the tall, dark, and provocatively tattooed American sailor who shows up on her doorstep makes Ruby wonder whether some rules were made to be broken. If she indulges, even just once, Ruby’s loyal patrons might get the wrong idea. If she doesn’t, she may never stop fantasizing about where that tattoo leads. . . .

No complications: That’s all Derek Price, captain of the Dawn’s Light, asks of his consorts on shore, and he’s willing to pay handsomely for the favor. But of all the women at Madame Rouge’s, the one he wants is the only one he can’t have, for any sum. Derek is not a man with an abundance of patience. However, for a night with Madame Rouge, Ruby, whoever she is, he’s willing to make those lush curves and sapphire eyes come to him.