Madame’s Deception
Renee Bernard
ISBN-10: 14616524215
ISBN-13: 9781416524212
Pocket Books, September 2007, 334 pp
Victorian – circa 1871
$6.99 (US) $8.99 (CDN)

Reviewed by Laurel
September 2007

Jocelyn Tolliver was only 18 years old when she found out her mother’s scandalous secret just before she passed away. Making an emotional deathbed promise Jocelyn become Madame DeBoucier the famed courtesan of The Crimson Belle. Under the guidance of Ramis her mother’s trusted bodyguard she tosses away her education and dreams of making a suitable and respectable marriage, to become the elusive Madame. Ten years have gone by and Madame DeBoucier is well educated in the finer arts of seduction, offering advice to the Ladies of Society, without ever experiencing the pleasure herself. She always refuses the requests and generous offers from the Lords of London Society who seek her personal charms and routinely diverts their attentions to one of her beloved girls. All except for the attractive Alex Randall who tempts and awakens her passionate desire by offering a bargain like no other.

Lord Alex Randall Colville is perplexed as he remembers a time that he was ushered out of The Crimson Belle humiliated and under orders to never return again. A few years have gone by since then and he still cannot get the beautiful and alluring Madame off his mind. With a relentless determination he decides he must have her and boldly presents himself again, giving into her outrageous salary demands. As they form their relationship in a very passionate and erotic manner, Alex is surprised to learn he is the first man to ever taste the elusive Madame’s charms.

Renee’s Bernard’s second novel is a fast paced, enticing and sexually explicit novel that will satisfy any readers insatiable thirst for all things HOT! The chemistry between the two main characters is profound and strong as they explore their sexual side releasing the softer and more feminine side of Jocelyn. Being a Madame forced into such a position was a shock that she treated it like another lesson she learned from the school of life. But when Alex re-reappeared in her life, fragments of her wants and desires from long ago began to surface creating a source of inner conflict for Jocelyn yearning to experience the love she desperately wants, knowing she must loose apart of herself that she is reluctant to walk away from.

MADAME'S DECEPTION takes the reader on a myriad of emotions and with a serial killer running loose threatening the safety of The Crimson Belle girls it added an element that perhaps really was not needed to bring the hero and heroine together it however added a twist to the story ensuring a happily ever after for the characters. Being my first novel from Renee Bernard, I anxiously look forward to what she is offering next. If it is spicy, seductive and mildly erotic like MADAME'S DECEPTION more than one cold shower may be needed.