The Forbidden Bookshelf – Review: TEACH ME by Cassandra Dean

TEACH ME
By Cassandra Dean
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Release Date: Feb 2012
Length: 85,000 words

Ever curious, Elizabeth, Viscountess Rocksley, has turned her curiosity to erotic pleasure. Three years a widow, she boldly employs the madame of a brothel for guidance but never had she expected her education to be conducted by a coldly handsome peer of the realm.

To the Earl of Malvern, the erotic tutelage of a skittish widow is little more than sport, however, the woman he teaches is far from the mouse he expects. With her sly humor and insistent joy, Elizabeth obliterates all his expectations and he, unwillingly fascinated, can’t prevent his fall.

Each more intrigued than they are willing to admit, Elizabeth and Malvern embark upon a tutelage that will challenge them, change them, come to mean everything to them…until a heartbreaking betrayal threatens to tear them apart forever.

This book took me quite a few chapters to get in to, sadly the intro was a little slow but as I got to about 1/3 of the way through, it started to pick up & I was hanging to go to bed so I could curl up & read some more!

Lonely widow at just 28, Elizabeth comes along to learn about the pleasures of the body & pays a handsome amount to a brothel owner for them to find someone to teach her – along comes James Malvern, Malvern to everyone. He is Earl of Malvern house, a bit of a playboy who has been raised to believe that he should always remain single to be able to enjoy as many women as he pleases, whenever he pleases.

I wasn’t so keen on Elizabeth to begin with, simply because she seemed to constantly be asking what i thought were stupid question but I grew to enjoy her quirkiness, she was full of curiosity, she asked whatever came to mind without thinking first (which of course didn’t go down well with a woman in that era) & she was such a bubbly woman – even though she was a little clueless but you cant really blame her for that since it’s set back in the day of ‘Proper Ladies’.

Malvern on the other hand was very arrogant & sure of himself but he was a very good teacher. I loved reading about his curriculum when it came to giving her, her lessons on carnal pleasure. He started slow expecting the little ‘mousy widow’ to be shy & reserved but was surprised at her curiosity & readiness to try new things. He was a very fun character although some of his personal issues & life-long lessons were a bit much sometimes.

It was a little predictable when it came to the end but although you generally knew what was going to happen it was a fun read along the way with lots of steamy scenes (well, he is teaching her everything there is to know about sex & intimacy) & a pretty good story to follow along with as long as you can stick it out past the initial few chapters! Definitely worth a read if you’re interested in a drawn out, confusing & frustrating relationship.