Forbidden Shores [Mass Market Paperback]

I found this book in the romance section, it was labeled a historical romance, and the back cover description made it sound as if the plot was about the woman, Clarissa, choosing between the two men who love her. Well, Allen loves her and seems like a nice enough guy, but she leaves him and decides she loves March, a man who lives a life completely against her values. Except March actually loves Allen, and Allen doesn't like men but has threesomes with the two of them just to be in bed with Clarissa who he still loves. There is no real happy ending for anyone in this story, nothing believable about the relationships. It's an erotic novel but it's definitley *not* a romance. If you like really steamy, erotic books about a *real* romantic relationship between the hero/heroine this definitley is NOT the book for you. I'd try something like Caine's Reckoning which I think it by Sarah McCarty.

This book is definitely NOT for everyone. It is a very erotic love triangle that some will find hot and others may find, as another reviewer put it, "nasty". I fall into the former camp and found it rather erotic, but also flawed. It is not particularly romantic, so if that's what you are looking for/expecting you may want to try something else. Instead I'd call it more compelling or intriguing or, perhaps, even disfunctional.

Clarissa Onslowe is the daughter of a vicar and a fallen woman. She has been sent by her only remaining relative to the Carribean to be governess to the daughter of a plantation owner. As the ship pulls out of Bristol, she meets lawyer Allen Pendale, a man fleeing an irate husband he cuckolded and on a mission to inform his plantation owner father that his wife, Allen's mother, has just died. Clarissa and Allen are attracted to one another and on the voyage Clarissa shares with Allen her plans to eventually become a courtesan. She may have been ruined, but she is far from experienced, and she enlists Allen's rakish help in furthering her education. Allen is only too happy to oblige and while he plans to simply amuse himself with Clarissa, he finds himself falling for her much to his shock.

When they arrive and meet Clarissa's employer, Mr Lemarchand or "March", Allen realizes that he has a rival for Clarissa in this powerful and wealthy man. But he also quickly realizes, much to his discomfort, that March is not only attracted to Clarissa. Yes, we have a menage a trois in which Allen loves Clarissa, Clarissa loves March and March loves Allen. But when March discovers a secret about Allen, all hell breaks loose and readers can only wonder what will become of these forbidden lovers.

While the book worked for me on an erotic level (much to my surprise since I'm not really into male/male interaction or threesomes), it didn't so much on an emotional level. I never understood why Clarissa loved March so - he may have been sexually attractive or fascinating but not particularly worthy of her love. I did, however really like Allen's character very much and shared his frustation with Clarissa. But interestingly enough, it was March's initial feelings for Allen that I found most poignant.

The author dedicates the book to those who led the abolitionist movement and, while slavery is obviously covered, it is handled almost in passing as I'm sure the Europeans experienced it. They simply believed that these fellow human beings were property to be treated like little more than animals and, while there are scenes of cruelty, they are relatively few and of short duration. Was it a perfect book? No, but if you are tired of the same old same old in historical romance/erotica, and enjoy a more unorthodox read, this may be for you. The trade paperback price tag may make this more of a borrow than a buy, however. For me, I'll be very interested in what Ms Lockwood comes out with next.

As the youngest son of the Earl of Frensham, Allen Pendale found himself facing a long boring ship voyage to the Caribbean to see his father, one of the biggest sugar plantation owners on the island. The journey was about to become more enjoyable when Allen discovered Miss Clarissa Onslowe a governess traveling to meet her new pupil, the daughter of another wealthy land owner Lord Lemarchand - March. Allen, quite the lothario, recognized a kindred spirit when he saw one and found Clarissa to be a willing student whom he instructed in the sensual arts on that voyage, never expecting to lose his heart.

Allen never thought to become so involved in Clarissa's life, but when her new employer Lord LeMarchland decided to enter into an arrangement with Clarissa, Allen was overcome with regret that as a younger son he had nothing to better March's offer. However, March wasn't as entranced by Clarissa as he was with Allen and the passionate bonds this ménage a trois formed would be fraught with jealousy, love, passion, and betrayal when a dark secret of Allen's past came to light.

*** First of all, as remarked by other reviewers, this book is definitely NOT FOR EVERYONE. From the very beginning of the voyage, Allen and Clarissa began a very steamy and erotic affair that was vividly portrayed leaving nothing to the imagination in either descriptive language or physical acts. In fact, some of the terms used were ones I hadn't heard before but had to look up meanings in my copy of SLANG AND EUPHEMISM guide book. Now whether it was a good thing or not, I did discover some new words to add to my vocabulary, although I'm not quite sure as to where or when I would ever use them.

The story itself was actually fairly good with some light-hearted moments on the voyage between Allen and Clarissa. It could have even been a nice love story had it not been for the ménage a trois that later came into existence with Allen loving Clarissa, who fell under the spell of March, while March really fell in love with Allen until March discovered Allen's deep dark secret and then made it his business to destroy him. You could almost say that during the good times the attraction between Allen and Clarissa would turn into a nice romance, albeit a bit on the risqué side, but then Clarissa had this complete turn around falling in love with the enigmatic March, even as Clarissa discovered it was Allen whom March truly loved. For some reason, out of the three main characters, I actually began to like March more than Clarissa or Allen, as his love for Allen seemed much more emotional and beguiling.

Bottom line: To be perfectly honest this type of genre with a M/F/M triangle of romance does not work for me. All that aside, while the genre is not something I care for the book was very well-written with a lively pace, witty and held a decent underlying historical story. If erotica and ménage a trois is to your taste, then by all means, you would enjoy this book.

Marilyn Rondeau, [...]

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