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BOOKWORM REVIEW: Althea's Awakening by Maggie Sims

 

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥

If you're looking for a quick spicy historical fix, one of my immediate recommendations will always be The School of Enlightenment series. And this new release did not disappoint.

Lady Althea Egerton needs funding for the apothecary she inherited from her late husband. The determined businesswoman also values her independence, so she is in search of an investor, not a husband. It turns out that the only eligible candidate is the Earl of Cheltenham. 

Evan Gardner's hedonistic lifestyle no longer excites him. The Earl seems to be over the opulence of his wealth and the rakishness that comes with being the School's lusty god. Somehow, the inexperienced apothecary owner has caught his attention, and her request is giving him ideas. Dirty ideas that seem to ignite what he thought was forever dimmed. 

Determined to be unattached, these two start a secret and mutually beneficial affair. Althea gets her funding while Evan gets his excitement. What started out as a physical transaction -- and what a spicy transaction it is -- begins to involve feelings and complicates things for our main characters.

This read was entertaining. I love a good couple who wants nothing to do with romance but somehow find themselves entangled anyway. The spicy road to that entanglement is delicious, and when we finally get the romance, it becomes a feast for the soul.

Evan stole the scene in previous books, so having him in the spotlight was something I looked forward to. This book can be read as a standalone, but if you love it, you will love the other books as well.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Maggie Sims for providing an ARC. **

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lady Althea Egerton’s late husband secured her independence when he left her his apothecary. After two years of growth, she is ready to expand the business…if she only had capital. Finding a wealthy husband would solve that problem, but Althea refuses to subjugate herself to another man. She prefers an investor. Unfortunately, the only one she knows is the golden god of hedonism, and his help comes with a price.

Evan Gardner, Earl of Cheltenham, is bored. At twenty-eight, he has no equal in business, politics, or seduction. None of them hold his interest. Even his annual week-long orgy disguised as a house party leaves him cold. Yet the prudish widow, who wants only his money, intrigues him. As neither of them wants the trappings of marriage, a dalliance with the elegant widow might be just the challenge he’s been searching for.

Though Althea cannot resist the lure of ecstasy he offers as condition for his assistance, a continued liaison could risk her reputation and her store’s profits. To win this negotiation, Evan will have to ensure she can have both independence and pleasure.

MEET MAGGIE SIMS

Maggie Sims began her love affair with romance before her teen years, drawn to the Regency by her mum's British influence. In her twenties, she did her best to live the Carrie Bradshaw life in New York City, albeit with less expensive shoes and more books.

Despite reading hundreds of romance novels in her life, she was still blown away when she met the love of her life, an ex-Marine cinnamon roll with creative culinary skills.

They live in Central Texas and are parents to a varying number of dogs and cats. When not writing, Maggie is a wine enthusiast and a travel junkie, and crochets sporadically for Knots of Love.

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