Edwin gambles with the only currency a woman of her time has, her beauty and her skills in bed. Unfortunately for Edwina, she has no back up plan, it's all or complete ruin.
Edwina is not only portrayed as someone who is daring and strong willed, but shortsighted. She doesn't think about how the prevailing double standard treats women who throw away their virtue, and behave like men; nor does she realize that the prince's treatment of her when they aren't in bed does nothing to suggest that he is considers her as anything but a casual amusement.
I liked the Duke of Beaumont's character, but he did behave exactly as Edwina hoped Prince Louie would, being so entranced with her sexuality that he falls for her. Seriously, I couldn't understand why the Duke fell for Edwina. Beauty aside, she was no better than a high class mistress or courtesan.
I loved how the author gave depth and a new slant to the Cinderella story, but I found it hard to sympathize with Edwina. In contrast to her insipid sister Cindy, she's a strong and passionately convicted person, but Edwina is not in a position powerful enough to get away with bucking social conventions, and she should have been intelligent enough to know that.
Edwina considers herself a modern nineteenth-century woman. Unafraid to reach for the coveted prize—whether money, situation or sating her sexual needs—she always gets what she wants. So when her utmost desire is to marry the handsome Prince Louie, failure is not an option. Seducing the royal libertine will be easy. Her sexuality has always been her greatest asset, even though her virtue and reputation are precious commodities. The prince takes everything she offers—then ultimately chooses her sweet stepsister Cynthia instead. Edwina is left scandalized. Without money or allegiances, her future is reduced to ruins.
The Duke of Beaumont is not a fan of Prince Louie, and even less so when he learns the entrancing seductress Edwina De Lorme has foolishly laid her reputation, as well as her body, at the lecher’s feet. Never has a woman so boldly captured the duke’s attention, or his libido. But will his commitment to her endure a royal scandal?
Book Length: Short Novel
