A lusty artist meets his match in a confident printer’s daughter in Willful Depravity. Ingrid Hahn has delivered an erotic historical romance with a lot of potential and mixed results.

One of my favorite things about this story was Patience’s self-love. She’s spent her whole life hearing that she should lose weight, that she’d be pretty if only she did, but Patience is happy with how she looks and I loved that. Her confidence only grows over the course of the story and the positivity in this book was one of its best features. Giles, the depraved marquess, is immediately captivated by Patience. It’s lust at first sight for both of them and there is plenty of enjoyable, steamy scenes throughout the book. Yet while the attraction between them is undeniable and I had no problem believing they would risk plenty to have a lusty holiday, I had a bit harder time believing in the love story part of it. There isn’t much romantic development in Willful Depravity, which is a pity. The characters tell us they’re in love, but there’s no real indication of why, aside from a physical attraction. The romance element rang false, and perhaps if the characters had been a bit more layered the actual romance would have worked better.

The road to happily ever after is not an easy one for Patience and Giles. The main obstacle is Giles’s father, whose sneering contempt definitely comes alive on the page. But the man is such a black-hatted villain that he fell flat and I didn’t really buy the somewhat clunky resolution to his plotline. There’s a lot of potential to Willful Depravity, but it did fall short on a couple of fronts. That being said, it’s not a bad book and I really liked a lot of the elements. Patience is a likeable, relatable heroine and Giles is a sexy, fun hero. With characters like that, it’s impossible not to like their story, flaws and all.

This was an interesting book for a historical romance. It was nice to read about a woman of a bit larger size trying to find a man to accept her the way she was. Even her own mother was always on her about her weight. It was a refreshing take on the issue.

First time author for me and I enjoyed this very much, the characters are interesting and the storyline is good.

I received a copy from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my own honest opinion

Ingrid Hahn is a new author to me and I enjoyed this steamy story! I thought Giles and Patience were refreshingly progressive characters. Once Patience discovered a new world, she stopped at nothing to have and keep what she wanted. It was nice to see an unlikely heroine get the guy. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

***ARC was provided to me for a fair and honest review***

Overall rating: 3/5 a duke’s son is into painting and large women

Heroine (Patience): 3.5/5 A daughter of a successful printer, she is on the fringe of upper society but aspires to be seen and accepted by the ton.

Hero (Giles): 3.5/5 Marquess of Ashcroft, heir and only son to the Duke of Silverlund is gifted with the skill to paint and chooses to use that gift to depict his sexual partners.

Plot: 3/5 Patience is sick of people only taking note of her size and writing her off. She longs to be accepted for who she is. After noticing her across the room, Giles makes an interesting proposition. He wants to paint and have sex with patience, they would go north for a few days and enjoy each other and both would walk away from the trip. But can either walk away after what they shared?

Personal Review: I liked that Giles built up her confidence in herself and she could stand on her own two feet, becoming strong enough to return the favor when the need arises. The pacing was decent and the villain was good if not slightly over the top.

My biggest problem with the BBW narrative is the acceptance of the weight. You can love yourself and also desire to be healthier. This is coming from an overweight women who has struggled with their weight for much of her life.

It’s rare, in my experience, to find a historical with a plus-sized heroine on the cover, so I jumped on this book as soon as I saw it. True to the cover, this is an erotic romance with a delightful fuck-buddies-to-lovers story line, starring a plus-sized heroine and a titled rake.

“Allow me to offer you a certain…proposition.”
Her throat went dry. Proposition? Like…that kind of a proposition? Because she didn’t need to think on the matter. The answer was yes. If he wanted to slip away with her into the gardens and take her on a bench, she would throw him over her shoulder and run into the night.
Except she couldn’t. What foolishness. She wasn’t a wanton. She didn’t want to be, at any rate.
Very well, correctly speaking, she didn’t want anybody to know she was a wanton.


Giles initially becomes interested in Patience when he overhears her telling off a bunch of debutants with, well, language that would be considered extremely shocking even today. Immediately smitten by her daring and her ample curves, he makes a suggestion – visit him for a week of painting and sex. Patience, frustrated by never being good enough (read: thin enough) for her marriage-minded mother, decides to take him up on it. There’s more at stake, though, than just her reputation, and Patience’s new-found courage will be tested. Does she have the strength to claim her chance at happiness with Giles?

I liked Patience quite a bit. Though the book starts out with her trying to conform to society’s standards for an unmarried young woman, she still has a spark of boldness. Through her assignations with Giles, she gradually becomes more comfortable with both expressing her thoughts and in her own skin. Part of it is the welcome knowledge that she’s attractive just as she is, that she doesn’t have to change or reduce herself to fit society. Giles, however, I didn’t particularly care for. I’m not one for the tortured artist-type, honestly, and he showed that tendency towards extremes of emotion, as well as admitting, several times, that the only things he cares about are painting and screwing. I did love the care he showed Patience. His focus on consent was particularly nice, even about things like the nude drawings he did of her. And since this is an erotic romance, there were lots of chances to practice that consent – a good portion of the book is steamy sex scenes, though not much I’d consider particularly kinky.

“Forgive me for being so blunt and impugning your word, but I don’t believe you.”
He looked curious, not offended. “Why not?”
“Because I’m large.”
“Yes. So you are.” A tiny smile curled at the end of his lips, and he spoke with plain matter-of-factness. And when he raked his gaze slowly down her body and slowly back up again, she would be damned if he didn’t like what he saw. “What of it?”
“Well—”
“Do you mind your size?”
“Yes. No.” She sighed. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.”


As for cons, I did find the progression of the romance a bit unsatisfying. It’s almost a bit like they screwed themselves into loving each other, rather than falling in love through, well, doing anything that didn’t involve sex or sexually provocative painting. It’s clearly stated that Giles has a definite preference for women with curves, and at times I felt that he bordered on fetishizing her rather than seeing her for herself. I do think, by the end of the book, that he did see her as an actual person that he admired quite a bit. Additionally, the secondary characters didn’t particularly stand out to me. Giles’ father (and Patience’s mother, to a lesser extent), especially, were pretty one-note evil.

Overall, this is probably more of a 3.5 stars for me. As an erotic romance, I think it’s pretty good, but I did wish there was a bit more to the story. If you’re looking for a historical erotic romance starring a plus-size woman, however, this would be perfect for you!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Willful Depravity by Ingrid Hahn is a romance/erotica hybrid novel set against the backdrop of early 19th century London. Miss Patience Emory, a 25 year old woman of good manners and middle class breeding attends a London ball and is having a genuinely crummy time of it. Patience is a woman of size, and as such, she faces a lot of harsh ridicule from her peers....and some well-intentioned scorn from her loved ones. After giving the clap-back of all clap-backs to some of these mouthy bitches at the party, her sharp wit and firm demeanor end up captivating a notable onlooker. Giles Warrington Hale, the Marquess of Ashcroft approaches Miss Patience and bluntly requests two favors from her. For one, the handsome Giles wants to capture the beauty of Miss Patience by painting her portrait. And for the second favor? Giles wants to screw her. 


At first glance, I suspected this story would follow a more traditional romance arc. You probably know the drill I'm referring to: a handsome man of class and dignity falls for the curvy beauty and gladly casts aside societal norms and hangups all in the name of true love! Willful Depravity instead gets hot and steamy almost from the word "go". The Marquee, after all, is a man who always gets what he wants. The sexual intensity between Miss Patience and Giles builds nicely and tracks along at a pace that is pleasantly lacking in subtlety. Giles wants one thing more than anything in the world, he wants Miss Patience. The desires Patience and Giles have for each other are expressed wantonly and is a good mix of modern erotica wrapped up inside an old world setting. The occasions of contemporary vernacular mixed with the general tone of the time creates a delightfully sexy mixture. Miss Patience refers to her partner as "my lord" in the bedroom, and Giles is continually captivated by the exploration of Patience's "quim."


A far less welcome lack of subtlety, however, is in regards to the characters themselves. Patience is a lusty woman coming of age. She is a woman freeing herself of her repressions despite the norms of the time period. Unfortunately, this appears to be her dominant character trait for large portions of the novel. Miss Patience has a sharp wit and a refreshing amount of back-bone, and it is unfortunate that these flashes come only in short bursts or moments. Her mind is just as attractive as her curvy body, and that needs to be a bit more apparent at times. Most of her development comes through her melting for Giles, a man crafted of pure animal magnetism.


-sigh-


Giles, also known as the Marquess of Ashcroft is a difficult character for me to explain. The best way I can classify him is someone who's "the MOST." Giles is the MOST in any and every conceivable way. I know, I know...this is a fantasy. Damn me for thinking too much into this but frankly, Giles can just be TOO over the top. You'll get no qualms from me about his perfect good looks or stallion-like sexual organs. Miss Patience (and the readers) deserve every bit of Giles' man-candy appearance. Beyond that, Giles can be inconsistent when it comes to his passions. Giles is a dirty boy in every sense of the word. If you didn't know him personally, you'd only be able to remember him for his extreme levels of sexual deviancy. That being said, Giles takes a particularly astounding approach to consent. Since the story takes place in 1814, it's natural that consent is not going to be something of great concern to most of the masses, so at face value I appreciate his care. However, Giles gives Miss Patience a minutes long oration about her ability to consent, to change consent, to remove consent and so on. Done to this level, it's less the actions of a person caring to make a partner feel comfortable, but more of someone talking down to Miss Patience. Giles' appetites, desires, and politics seemingly come from the future, and like a pretentious time traveler the Marquees is desperately explaining the right way to do things to the slags of days passed. The tone of Giles' remarks comes across as condescending to a character who is so sharp and modern in every other way. This is indeed a fantasy after all, and I would hope that two people in this form of relationship could derive those levels of mutual feeling and respect a little more organically. 


Once the terms of engagement are made known, the story settles nicely into its themes. Miss Patience is a natural artistic muse, and it's more than anything Giles could have imagined. The pacing is nice and even comfy at times, although it makes EXTRA-double sure that you understand how hot these two are for each other before introducing any piece of plot progression. The antagonists to the couple's happiness flow through the story events with a good level of suspense and drama to keep pages turning. My favorite feature, however, is how Miss Patience shines as a character. The young lady is truly worth rooting for throughout the novel's duration: witty, sexy, smart, and an altogether dynamite lover.


Rating: Willful Depravity by Ingrid Hahn is a "hot to the touch" erotica in an enjoyable classic setting. A fairly intriguing blend of contemporary themes and 19th century society make for a unique sexual experience. Sit back with a glass of fine sherry, put on your finest embroidered shoulder length gloves and fantasize as the brilliant artist from a time long forgotten dips his brush and teaches us a few new naughty words.


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Entangled Publishing, LLC generously supplied an advanced copy of the novel for review, all opinions and thoughts are solely mine.

Since the very beginning Giles's actions made me feel uncomfortable. He saw her at a ball, he followed her, he tried to get others to introduce her to him and I couldn't stop thinking that he was a stalker.

Don't get me wrong, he never forced her, he was really clear that he wanted her to want him and that consent was important to him. But he made me feel uncomfortable nonetheless.

I know that this is erotica and that there's going to be a lot of sex scenes but here I thought that it lacked on the sensuality part.

Giles and Patience fall in love but I didn't buy their relationship. It was to insta-love for me. It would have worked better if the author developed the sexual/physical part while showing us how they fell for one another. I love reading that kind of relationship, the kind that they have figured out the sex but they have problems talking about their feelings and it makes everything more interesting.


Also I didn't like the way Patience is described. Yeah, she's plus size but saying that "she take up as much space as two or three average women at least" is not really a compliment.

Overall I was really excited to read this book and I had high expectations, unfortunately for me it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

Willful Depravity by Ingrid Hahn is the story of Patience Emery and Giles Warrington Hale, Marquess of Ashcroft.
Patience is not the cookie cutter heroine (that I love too) that we always read about, she is a full figure one. Which being a full figure women means a lot to read about one in a romance. I read romance books to break away from my everyday life...it my escape and fantasy life. So I don't mind the thin women....something I will never be or the hot alpha male...something you will never really get in real life...its a fantasy. But honestly this book gave me just as much... if not more reading about her and how she was beautiful despite what other judge her to be. Of course at first she thought Giles was one of those people that just wanted to make fun or make a joke of her but Giles too is different. Which made them both just a joy to read and perfect for each other. I do hope other authors take a feather from Ms. Hahn's cap in their writing...that not everyone has to be thin nor perfect to be loved and desired in a Romance Story.
Loved it!

3.5⭐⭐⭐ This was an enjoyable erotic take on a regency romance. I enjoyed the way Ashcroft completely loved the way Patience looked, and how he made her feel and believe she was desirable because of her larger size. I thought it was great how her relationship with Ashcroft allowed her to look at herself in a much more positive way and gave her the confidence needed to face the nastiness of the people in her social circle. The relationship between Ashcroft and his father was appalling and I couldn't understand why no one had put him in his place as society seemed to dislike him and he had such contempt for them all. The sex scenes were hot and very enjoyable watching Patience come into her own was gratifying.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for a copy in return for an honest review.

This is my fair and honest review in exchange for this ARC, as promised. In society there are "norms" and "rules" and "expectations". What happens when people are not placed inside of those boxes? This book blows all of that completely out of the water. BRILLIANT!!! Loved it!! Can't wait to read more by Ms Hahn.

Sex driven story

I liked the idea of a curvy woman when I read the book blurb for Ingrid Hahn’s Willful Depravity. However, sadly this book just didn’t work for me. I know this was suppose to be a historical and there were references to the time, like the visit to White’s but unfortunately most of the book felt more contemporary then historical. As much as the book was full of sex I just didn’t see an intimate chemistry between Giles and Patience. The storyline just didn’t hold my interest and I found myself skim reading the book.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.

Giles Warrington Hale, Marquis of Ashcroft, was born to do two things. Paint and rut. After a lifetime of trying to appear smaller, Patience Emery no longer cares what anyone thinks. She’s resigned herself to a life having a man in her dreams only. Then the mysterious Lord Ashcroft approaches her after hearing her give a set down to a trio of tittering spiteful debutantes & offers her a chance to act on her bold, scandalous, and depraved desires.
Giles & Patience are definitely in lust with each other but gradually their relationship develops into something deeper. The pace of the book was good & the characters were well fleshed – Patience literally! I particularly loved that Patience was a large woman who truly captivated Giles. I loathed the Duke & really felt he didn't suffer enough for his misdeeds, his comeuppance was far too good for him. This is a steamy romance & I thoroughly enjoyed it
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

‘Willful depravity’ shows the ton for all its superficiality. With the character of Patience, being a voluptuous woman and Giles, the Marquess of Ashcroft, being an artist of erotic paintings, this was definitely meant to raise eyebrows. With their intense physical relationship beginning early in the book and only intensifying throughout the novel, this book will have pulses racing. However, the abusive relationship between Giles and his father, the duke, adds depth to the story. The impact of the duke’s violent behaviour and its effect on the relationship between Giles and Patience, is pivotal to the storyline and makes this an interesting read.
I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

As soon as I saw the picture and the description of the story, I wanted to read this book. It was very well written and treat an issue that you don't see that many often in romance novels. The pace is fast, which is good. Patience was a very endearing character. And Giles a dashing hero. This was a refreshing read. I really enjoyed it.
ARC provided by Netgalley. Thanks to the publisher. The opinions here are all my own.

I found this book while poking around on NetGalley. The cover immediately caught my eye because of the scantily clad, plus-sized heroine. While I haven’t read anything by Ingrid Hahn before, I was more than eager to read a steamy story about a larger lady, so I was absolutely delighted to have my request approved. Many thanks to NetGalley and Entangled for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Because honestly, I really enjoyed it.

Patience is a larger heroine who, at age twenty-five, is perfectly happy with her size and shape and willing to defend herself when people make fun of her. THANK YOU, Patience! I adore the fact that while she’s still a virgin, she’s not innocent in the ways her body works. She might not know their proper names, but by golly, she knows how her parts work and what brings her pleasure. Rock on, my dude. Rock on. And, while a proper young miss might not sneak away from one of her first forays into high society to meet up with a near stranger in the library, this is Erotica – not historical romance – so I’m delighted that she did so. Go girl! Get you some! The events that unfold from that point are very much in the same vein of independence that certainly worked in this story.

The hero, Giles, is a delight in the way he adds a bit of flourish and drama to everything he does - from the way he dresses to his precise penmanship. I adore that he’s an artist and can’t deny himself anything. Though, from the descriptions of his cock, I had to giggle every time because I was literally imagining a man with a horse’s cock. OUCH! But, then again, Patience seemed to enjoy herself! While the way he responds to his accident might seem a bit out of character, I enjoyed his journey back to himself.

While I appreciated that Giles said he had fallen in love with her as a person and that even if she’d been tiny, he still would’ve been attracted to her personality and willingness to be her own person, that rang as a bit false, since they also made a point of using the word proclivity (several times) and mentioning his father had punished him during his youth (twice) for being caught with larger women. So, to me, he came off as a bit of a chubby chaser. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it skirts the edge of fetishizing her size and might rub some readers the wrong way. Come to think about it, it might even rub the heroine the wrong way, if she’d known about it.

I also object to the fact that while they used a sex toy during their courting (for lack of a better term), once they were married and the babies arrived, they had it remade into a necklace. That makes it seem like sex toys are dirty and something that married people shouldn’t need or want to use on each other. That just struck me as sad and wrong.

On the upside, consent is VERY big in this book, in terms of discretion for their actions, no meaning no under any circumstances, and even his not wanting to get her pregnant without her approval after they’re officially together. While it was handled well for the most part, especially while they were establishing the parameters of their relationship, when they cropped up again at the end of the book, it felt a bit forced.

In general, I enjoyed this book and was delighted to read about a heroine with a similar body type and level of desire to my own. Hooray for body-positive fat representation. And, if Ingrid Hahn’s other books are similar, I look forward to reading them soon.

I am volunteering to leave a review of this ARC book from Net Galley. There is so much going on in this book. What I love is the Cinderella plot. Giles, part of nobility, being attracted to a printer's daughter. On top of that, she's curvy, not a twig! Funny thing is, I picture women of the time represented as more curvaceous. But, maybe that's just their dresses. But then, the corsets definitely "thinned" them! LOL Enjoyed Patiece's character. Very well done. Will love conquer all? I loved reading to find out!

A very steamy read! Giles and Patience are both fighting different demons when they meet. There is instant attraction and they eventually strike an unusual bargain. The author leads us through a tale of family drama and manipulation. She also looks at the flagrant ways in which society appeared differently in public from the way they lived in private. It is story about accepting yourself as you are. About opening yourself to love and trusting your heart. When you find your true mate it all becomes worthwhile.

Received ARC via Netgalley

I don't read much M/F romance these days, but one surefire way to get me interested is to feature a "plus-size" model on the cover, and even better have that actually be what the character in the book looks like. I had some issues with the writing, it doesn't "feel" historical and whether it's accurate or not all the F and P bombs threw me off. It felt like the author was desperately trying to be "edgy". What did work was the romance, it took a little while for me to fully be invested but I was really charmed by the end. I have to admit that I LOVED how into Patience's body Giles was. He saw the beauty in her and loved her. (*whispers*Am also intrigued by his bi-proclivities, though there's nothing on page beyond references to past happenings). Patience was awesome. I loved seeing her grow into herself and accept that she is in charge of her life and everyone else can get on board with that or not but it's not her problem. I love how she stood her ground, with her parents and Giles. Another thing that didn't quite work is the Evil Duke plot resolution. I really don't quite understand how exactly that solved their problem and what happens with their lives after their stunt. Sure there's an epilogue and they're happy and familyed up but what happens with the dukedom down the road? Do they go back to England? I'm left with questions like that. But all in all, I am happy with the story and glad I read it.

3.5 stars! I had a feeling when I requested this one that I would enjoy it, and I did! It was overall a solid historical romance. It was a good length (only took me a day to read) and while there was a good amount of drama, the romance and smut was able to take the spotlight, which is what you want from this kind of book.

I really enjoyed Giles and Patience as well as their relationship. I also appreciated that Patience being plus sized wasn't fetishized by Giles. He simply treated her like a beautiful human inside and out. I also thought it was cool that Giles was bi. I haven't seen that in a historical romance before!

I would love to request more novels by Hahn in the future. Thanks NetGalley for letting me read/review this one!