EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN - Jess Michaels
Avon Red
ISBN: 978-0-06-128394-9
November 2007
Erotic Historical Romance

English Countryside & London - 1817

Miranda Albright has a dirty little secret. Every summer for the past three years, she has watched her neighbor, Ethan Hamon, the Earl of Rothschild with his various mistresses as they engage in sexual intimacies Miranda could never imagine. She watches as Ethan pleasures his lover of the moment with no shame. Ethan is well known for having no scruples and only cares about sex and the pleasures a woman can bring him.

But the summer of 1817 will change Miranda’s life forever. Her father has died and left her mother and sisters with a mountain of debt. Mother Albright spends money like there is no tomorrow and expresses her wishes for Miranda’s sisters to have their Season in London. She assumes Miranda is a lost cause on the marriage market because Miranda has gone through too many seasons to count with no man to interest her. Miranda has no idea where to get the money her mother thinks they have. That is, until Ethan arrives again for the summer season. This gives Miranda an idea, and she goes to see Ethan.

Ethan has noticed Miranda in the past, but since she is a virginal miss, he leaves her alone, only caring for the company of widows and disillusioned wives. But when Miranda comes to him asking for his help in a monetary way, he decides Miranda will pay off her debt. Ethan wants Miranda to be his lover for three months, since he is without a woman this summer. At first, Miranda is appalled, but since she has always fantasized herself as one of Ethan’s lovers, she gives in and decides to let Ethan be her first lover because she is a spinster and will not marry.

Ethan opens Miranda’s eyes to a whole new world of sexual pleasure, and to a closeness she has never felt before. But the secrets and the hiding Miranda must do starts to take a toll. And Ethan is beginning to feel more for Miranda than just a female body to warm his bed.

If you are looking for erotica, EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN is the book to read. But, if you are wishing for a story of undying love and passion you may be surprised, because Ethan and Miranda’s affair is more about lust and releasing their frustrations. I felt most of the scenes between these two characters were cold, and it took me some time to believe that they would end up together and fall in love. But it was refreshing to read about a heroine who is not so innocent in the ways of sex. Miranda is a bit of a peeping tom and makes no excuses about her spying on Ethan. Ethan on the other hand is not as multi-dimensional as I had wished, but he serves his purpose, especially when teaching Miranda the sexual ropes.

Even though Jess Michaels’s writing has its moments that erotic romance fans should enjoy, I would caution that if you are looking to read a sweet love story, this may not be the one to satisfy those urges. But if you like a heroine who finally brings the one man she has longed for so long to his knees, EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN is the one to pick.

Kate Garrabrant