Lord Savage by Mia Gabriel

 I'd never felt so vulnerable, at once both lost and found, as I now did sprawled across Savage in this foolish throne-chair. His strength was my solace, my comfort, and there was nothing better than hearing the beating of his heart beneath my ear.

Once trapped in a loveless, pleasure-less marriage, Evelyn Hard leaves her home in New York for the glittering ballrooms of London. However, when she arrives she meets the Earl of Savage, a dark, powerful man who seems to live up to his name, despite his noble trappings, a man who possesses her with just one look. Soon Evelyn finds herself pulled into Savage's world—a world of passion unlike any she has ever experienced. Evelyn's heart is captured with no hope of escape. But can they overcome the tortures of the past together?

Savage never imagined someone like Evelyn walking into his life. As soon as he sees her he knows he must have her, no matter the cost.

Well that wasn’t quite what I anticipated when I picked Lord Savage as my historical romance read for the month … and no that is not a complaint. I’m much more accustomed to the demure historical romances in which an unmarried female alone in a man’s company is cause for scandal if he’s not a blood relative. But I must admit that I found this work of historical erotica to be a rather stimulating example of the sub-genre. Of course, we still have the trappings of a typical historical romance with the aristocracy, the sheltered heroine, the titled rake, the villain, and the gossiping servants, but the bulk of the book takes place during a hedonistic week in the country in which the Protector “schools” the Innocent (a newcomer to the parties) on the pleasurable delights of the human body.

I found that having an American heiress as the sheltered heroine to be a delightful twist and that despite having been married, she was still quite innocent when it came to sex, but I suppose that’s what happens when a 17 year-old is married off to her father’s business partner who is 40 years her senior. As for the manner in which Eve first encounters Lord Savage, let’s just say that it set the tone for the remainder of the book. Lord Savage, of course, is all that I would expect from the hero in a regency romance – arrogant British nobility with just a bit of an edge that makes him irresistible to all women – in short, a rake. Because of the nature of “The Game” there is a LOT of sex in Lord Savage, which is why I would categorize it as erotica.

While the sex is most definitely hot, it is the developing relationship between Eve and Lord Savage that has me ready to read the next book in the trilogy now. Speaking of, this is a trilogy and while the ending is not a cliffhanger per se, I was unprepared for it thus making it a definite “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” moment. Initially I was rating this as a four-star read, but it is has become clear to me as I wrote this review that I will definitely reread Lord Savage again as I await the release of book two.  Well done Ms. Gabriel and please write quickly. 

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