Author
Touched by a Demon, Book #3
Reviews of Touched by a Demon Book #1 and Book #2
Heat Factor: Lots of hard nipples and clenching thighs, but there’s only one explicit sex scene at about the midway point. Then the morning sickness begins.
Character Chemistry: Lust, longing, and ten thousand years of hurt feelings.
Plot: Samael and Lilith plan a conference with the heavenly delegation.
Overall: Loved the first half, thought the second half was…ok.
My First Smut is a recurring feature where we talk about our formative smut experiences. These short confessionals may include such details as: What book did you read? How old were you? Were there other people involved? What made the experience special? What role does smut play in your life?
This week, romance author Jeanne Oates Estridge talks about the influence of E.M. Hull’s The Sheik.
My first smut was the original bully romance, The Sheik, by E.M. Hull. Published in 1919, it was later made into a movie. A silent movie, starring Rudolph Valentino.
By the time I came across it, nearly fifty years had passed since its debut, but it was still scandalous, at least to thirteen-year-old me. I gobbled it down in a breathless afternoon.
The story revolves around Diana Mayo, a young Englishwoman whose parents died when she was an infant. Her 19-year-old brother, not sure what to do with a girl child, took the easy route and raised her as a boy. Utterly fearless even as a small child, and she grew up strong-willed, independent and totally unaware of the limitations of being female.
When she turns twenty-one, she decides to make a trip into the desert, accompanied only by a caravan of hired locals, despite dire warnings from pretty much everyone.
The night before she leaves for her month-long sojourn under the stars, a male friend asks to kiss her. She replies, “No. That’s not in the compact. I have never been kissed in my life. It is one of the things I do not understand.”
Ahmed, the titular sheik, is actually the son and heir of a British earl with a propensity for domestic violence. His very pregnant wife escaped into the desert, where she was rescued by a gentle sheik who protected her and raised her child as his own. After learning the truth of his heritage, Ahmed vowed to make an Englishwoman suffer the way his mother suffered.
Cue Diana Mayo. On her second day in the desert, her caravan hands her over to Ahmed, who hauls her back to his encampment and forces her to become his mistress.
“Why have you brought me here,” she asked, fighting down the fear that was growing more terrible every moment.
He repeated her words with a slow smile. “Why have I brought you here? Bon Dieu! Are you not woman enough to know?”
My little adolescent heart raced. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
By today’s standards, the book is dreadful. It’s racist, misogynistic, elitist, stunningly non-consensual, and, even though the door (or tent hanging, as the case may be) remains firmly closed, pretty salacious. It ends, as all romance must, with the couple living happily together (although it feels like Diana has to get an emotional lobotomy, giving up all her courage and independence, to make it work).
To this day, dark romance is a guilty pleasure of mine. I trace that back to reading The Sheik when I was young and impressionable.
Thanks to Jeanne for sharing! Apparently you can get The Sheik for only 99¢ on Amazon, so maybe we’ll have to read the book that launched a thousand Harlequins.
Jeanne’s latest book, The Demon’s Secret Baby, released on Tuesday. Holly really enjoyed the first two books in the series, and is excited to read it! Watch this space for a review coming soon.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, every Saturday in March we’ve prepared a Saturday Smutty Six list of some of our favorite heroines.
This week: Artists
Agatha’s primary concern is her printing business, but she’s also an engraver, and there’s nothing you can say to convince me that she’s not an artist. (We also highly recommend the first book in this series, which deals explicitly with questions about what “counts” as art as opposed to work or a hobby – and whose art is therefore celebrated.) This wonderful slow-burn epistolary romance between two middle-aged women is thought-provoking, heartfelt, and so sexy. (Full Review)
Vanessa monetized her artistry by setting up a business designing book covers, tattoos, and pretty much whatever else anybody wants drawn. While a lot of the story is centered on Aiden and the world of football, Van makes a place in the world that she’s always wanted for herself with her art. (Full Review)
Former model turned fashion photographer Anya thinks she already has her HEA when the book opens. After all, she and Zac are happily married with a cute baby. Turns out, the HEA gets even happier *waggles eyebrows* when they invite Cal to join them. All jokes aside, while this sexy menage focuses more on Zac and Cal and their joint musical career, the group also prioritizes Anya’s ability to continue working as the mother of a young child; we desperately need more of this in romance (especially all those romances that end with a marriage and a baby). (Full Review)
Fiber arts! So cool! Jerusha is already selling her work for thousands of dollars per piece when she moves in next door to Karl, but she’s excited about studying for her MFA and creating new pieces that are ultimately included in a gallery showing of her work. (Full Review)
Julie serves drinks at the cider bar to pay the bills, but she makes jewelry for happiness. Her non-traditional, non-9-to-5 lifestyle is a stressor in her life, because it’s a point of contention between her and her family, but it’s also not something she’s willing to let go of. (Full Review)
Struggling painter Keeffe comes by her artistic talent honestly: her mother was a sculptor, who was, perhaps, divinely inspired. Too bad Satan is trying to collect all of Keeffe’s mother’s sculptures, and Keeffe is the only thing standing in his way. Enter Bad, Certified Cinnamon Roll Demon, also known as the Demon of Sloth and the head of hell’s technology department. There’s some body snatching, an art commission, a beautiful date reenacting Keeffe’s favorite painting (!!!), nuanced portrayals of lay Catholicism, and lots of demonic shenanigans. (Full Review)
It’s Halloweekend! We had a fun few minutes talking vampires and witches and demons (oh my!) on our text chat, so we thought we’d share some fun, possibly suspenseful, probably delightful, definitely a little bit ridiculous, but not especially spooky books today. If you’re in the mood to read for the holiday, we present The Smut Report’s 2020 Halloween recommendations without further ado.
As usual, clicking the title will take you to the Amazon page…
Belial knows that he’d be a natural as the Chief Executive Demon of Hell…all he has to do to prove his worth to Satan is sway God’s chosen one to the path of darkness. Easy, right? Wrong. Dara immediately knows that Belial is not really a sexy doctor. The back and forth between Belial and Dara as they navigate the path between good and evil makes for a really satisfying romance. Bonus points for a hilarious depiction of hell as the worst corporation ever.
This is a classic, sexy fated mates but with lots of corpses and limbs being torn off and blood squirting and stuff. There’s a sort of mystical world being built here with plenty of interwoven backstory and darkness, but there’s also a lot of rebirth and love. If you like everything paranormal and adore your happily ever after with a side of despair and a sprinkling of neck snapping, you’ll love this spooky, sexy story.
Alexia Tarabotti’s lack of a soul has always been a real trial to her, in no small part because it keeps her under the eye of Lord Maccon, gruff and messy alpha of the local werewolf pack and head of BUR (Bureau of Unnatural Registry). When a vampire tries to bite her without consent, violating all the rules of appropriate vampire etiquette, Alexia finds herself in the middle of a BUR mystery. Read for the most nonsensical and entertaining voice in a steampunk Victorian world.
If you’re curious about the Immortals After Dark series but aren’t ready to commit to a full-length book, start with this one! It’s book .5 in the series and features a vampire who really wants to find his bride (who will start his heart beating again) and a valkyrie who kills vampires as a hobby, so she’s got no problem getting all the sexytimes she needs from him and then ending him (maybe literally?) when the time comes. Things get spicy when immortal takes on immortal.
So this one isn’t your usual ghosts and goblins type fare, but we do have a book packed full of absurdity and steamy scenes. Riley is divorced (and completely screwed over), living in a house with a bunch of elderly roommates. Plus, one of her elderly roommates gets murdered, and here’s where it gets absurd–she’s psychic, and because she tried to warn the guy AND the police, she’s now on the murderer’s radar. Enter Nick Santiago, private investigator. (I so want to make a joke here, but I’m a very strong woman.) Nick’s job is to solve the case, but he can’t really do it without Riley’s help–and he ONLY works solo. This book is absolutely hilarious, and so well done…it’s a completely fresh and sexy romance packed full of wild capers, perfect for a stress-free Halloween.
This book is utterly ridiculous. The hero is a ghost named…HARDWICK DE STUDLY. And he makes a deal with the devil that means he can finally rest from his hundreds of years of haunting the earth, if and only if he can manage to not get a single boner for a year and a day. Too bad Cilla shows up at the castle he has decided to haunt. Is this book very silly? Yes. Are there glaring plot holes and bits of complete nonsense? Yes again. Has Holly been using it as an in-joke with her husband for the past five years because it is just that delightful? Yes, yes, YES!
Mood: Erin texted Holly and Ingrid, saying she wanted some sexy doctor smut. It might be because she’s feeling withdrawal from binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy. It might be because she wants all those hard-working medical professionals to have a HEA, especially in these pestilential times.
In case you are also feeling the doctor mood, we present a short list of sexy doctors, all approved as excellent reading by The Smut Report.
We are also taking suggestions (because Erin is still looking), so if you have a favorite romance featuring a doctor (or a nurse or a magical healer), let us know in the comments!
Jason Garcia is a classic romance novel doctor: high-strung, emotionally distant, and extremely competent. So when he finds someone who challenges his set idea that monogamy is not for him? Swoon.
Trisha Raje is the best neurosurgeon pretty much ever, and she knows it. Bedside manner, schmedside manner; who cares if she’s nice if she just saved someone’s life? Her lack of interpersonal skills extends beyond the hospital, which makes for an excellent enemies-to-lovers storyline based on so many misunderstandings.
Drew Nichols is a pediatric surgeon. It has very little to do with the story, but the “Aww” factor of Drew’s being a pediatrician smooths out some of the rough edges of his emotional constipation as he figures out that Alexa is his forever love.
Doctors are not the only sexy medical practitioners! Nurse Dara Strong runs a clinic caring for the marginalized members of her community who have nowhere else to go – which makes her a perfect target for Satan, who loves corrupting do-gooders. Bonus points for a sexy demon who poses as a sexy doctor.
Gotta be sure to include at least one historical romance for our Regency Readers! (It’s a Victorian, sorry Regency Purists.) Garrett Gibson is the first and only female doctor in England (bad-ass). After saving Ethan’s life in one of the most dramatic moments, the two of them fall in love while also solving a Dramatic Murder Plot.
Erika Sheridan is an extremely successful surgeon, and it’s no surprise, since it’s her whole identity. When her head of surgery–the father she’s been trying to impress–forces her to take a vacation, she begins to realize that success might be more about balance and happiness and less about work accolades.
Honorable mention: A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan, which features a doctor with a lot of love and a terrible sense of humor who finally decides to risk it all for the woman who’s held his heart for ages in this emotional holiday novella.
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