"There's more than meets the eye to this enigmatic brothel madam"

Brothel owner "Madam Charlie" has a secret. After her presumed death in a fire, Charlie has taken on a new identity. She tries to make a better life for her "girls" and never allows clients to abuse them. Despite her career choice, Charlie has no desire to ever bed a man again after being abused by her late husband. Besides, she has never experienced pleasure in the sex act and doubts that any man can give her pleasure.

Jordan Lyndhurst, the new Earl of Calverton, has come to The Crescent, Madame Charlie's brothel, in search of relief. Not sexual relief, but relief for back pain. It is rumored that a Japanese masseuse works there, whose help Jordan needs to realign his vertebrae. Unfortunately, the Japanese masseuse has gone, but another at the brothel has learned the massage techniques. Jordan is stunned by the beauty and elegance of Madam Charlie, the proprietor. She is nothing like what he imagines a brothel madam to be. She retains an innocence that is at odds with her profession. After she gives him a massage that he will never forget, Jordan becomes determined to make Madam Charlie his.

Jordan is the last man Charlie should be attracted to. But can she resist this ex-military man when he attempts to seduce her? Will Jordan still want Charlie when he uncovers her secret? What future can an earl have with a brothel madam?

Charlie and Jordan sizzle together! Ms. Kelly has written a very realistic Regency tale. Unlike some ebooks, MADAM CHARLIE has the feel of a historical novel published by a mainstream publisher. I was kept on the edge of my seat, trying to see how Jordan and Charlie could have a future together. Ms. Kelly does that beautifully without violating the strictures of the Regency era. I highly recommend this novel!

Sensuality: Rated NC-17 by the publisher. Explicit sex, anal sex; sexually explicit scenes: 9.

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted May 8, 2003

Summary

London, 1814:
A young woman inherits an interesting London house, Number 14 Beaulieu Crescent. Nothing unusual in that, you might say. And ordinarily you'd be right. But this time the "house" is actually a high-class brothel, and the young woman has a secret identity of her own that she must never reveal. Especially not to the man who brings her body to life, stirs her senses like no other, and who has begun his own campaign to unlock the mystery that is "Madam Charlie".

Sexual Content: NC-17. Genre: historical.