The heroine gets abused in every way possible by pretty much everyone. Sex is reduced to just a physical act and is depicted in many ways. Defies belief that entire area would go along with the process.

I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley and this is my unsolicited opinion.

I am not sure how I feel about this book; it gave me very conflicting feelings. It was not one where I just gave up and could not finish because I absolutely hated it... but I did not love it.

Albion Rayment is the son of a Duke and heir, and Sophia Parsons the daughter of an Earl. Albion and her father are engaged in business dealings that are not very successful and Sophia's father is in quite a bit of debt to Albion and his family. There is a tradition in his family where members of the peerage can sign onto a 7 day contract of servitude to the family and if they succeed in fulfilling the contract and all it entails, it will eradicate their debt.

Albion and his sister had met Sophia a few years prior, and he wanted to formally court Sophia, but because of his family history and his rakish ways, her father rejected his suit, to both Sophia and Albion's disappointment. But a couple of years later, Sophia finds out about her father's debt, and when she sees the advertisement about the rumoured contract, she knows it is aimed at her, and she signs up for the contract with Albion and his family, without her parent's knowledge, to save her family fortunes. Otherwise they would lose everything and could end up in debtor's prison.

The contract makes Sophia the servant of the Rayments and their household, but it is written to protect her as well, but Albion also has to follow some of the traditions of his family, including causing Sophia, known as Patience in her role of servitude, to face acts and judgements previous slaves were put through, during the Duke's time and the grandfather's time. She is placed in situations where she is made to endure the hardships of the servants, but either naked or significantly unclothed, where she is exposed to members of the local Society, in the servant role, and has to record her actions and feelings about them.

Throughout this time, she is forced into situations where she endures hardships and humiliations that she has never had to endure before, as well as disciplinarian actions. She is exposed/naked to the servants, or out in public, has to learn and act out servant roles, is exposed to the disgusting Duke and his actions and judgements. Albion dictates her actions, disciplines her, and keeps her in various states of suspense/anxiety/fear, but alternately provides her with reassurance of her safety and his love. She makes friends and gains sympathy from members of the household staff too. There is this constant weird tension of reassurance/love/safety and anxiety/humiliation/sexual tension/stress that I have difficulty reconciling.

So I am left feeling that weird tension, and not feeling any kind of reconciliation or warmth towards any of the characters because I ultimately did not feel any connection with them because I did not feel there was any kind of foundation for a healthy relationship with anyone. Well, maybe the friendship between Sophia and the laundress - that seemed the most authentic and supportive.

2.5 stars out of 5

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to get into it but this was just so slllloooowww. A DNF for me.

This is a new author for me and this was an interesting read. In order to save her family from financial ruin, Sophie signs an unusual contract of servitude for seven days in Albion’s household. This story is about each of the seven days and what was required of her. In the end there is a HEA for Albion and Sophie but a lot happens first. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and are voluntarily leaving a review.

a very long story, aimed as erotica but there's not a ton of action.
Historical romance as well, I found some of the characters to be annoying.

3 stars

Honestly I came for the smut but stayed for the story - idk if that’s ever happened to me before! It was just depraved enough. The characters were interesting and we got to know so many. The premise was unique enough as was the trials Sophia/Patience found herself submitting to. I did think certain scenes dragged on a bit too long but then when it came time for the real smut it was rushed or even fade to black, which was a strange choice. And the whole naked chores bit got old - not sure it was necessary to keep having those scenes over and over again. I think it was a bit too long but overall I really enjoyed it.

Lashes and Lace is a raunchy period romp based around the BDSM fetish. To be honest I found it a bit chaotic, weird and very padded out with unnecessary longwinded details. I did skim a lot of it as it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Not really my cup of tea but I think lots of people who enjoy this genre will like it.

If you adore Bridgerton or Downton Abbey, but with a scandalous twist, this story is for you! The writing is masterful, the language impeccable, the plotline intriguing. The plot is definitely not for the faint of heart but so well written. The characters were vibrant and complicated and I enjoyed every one. Highly recommend!

I was surprised by this book. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but the synopsis of this book looked interesting enough for me to want to read it. Lady Sophia offers herself up to the notorious Seven Days Contract to Lord Albion, Marquess of Sculsbury, to pay off her family's debt. She was to work as a servant and be subject to humiliation and punishment as part of the process. Oh, and she and Lord Sculsbury have been infatuated with each other over the last two years.

I think the most surprising thing was the detail in what all the servants had to do in running a household. This started off interesting but then started to get tedious, and I found myself skimming a lot near the end to get to what would happen after her day of service. It was heartwarming to see that she had won the hearts of most of the staff, along with Lady Lavinia, Albion's sister. The steamiest part of the book was probably between Sophia, Patience as she was called while serving the Contract, and Lavinia. I have to say in terms of BDSM it was high on humiliation and pain infliction, to the point where I wasn't totally sure that she actually enjoyed it. I think that if she had derived more pleasure from it, the book would have been more enjoyable for me... But this isn't a genre that I have read much about, especially when it comes to the humiliation and punishment part of submission (eg. I could not finish The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, and even then a lot of those scenes you could tell she was deriving pleasure from her punishments). Most of her pleasure was with Albion in some fairly vanilla sex.
The Final Act was well done for the most part, and you better understand Albion's actions based on his hints.

All in all, this book had a lot of potential but I think it maybe needed more pleasure with the pain, especially in a BDSM context.

Steam: 🔥🔥 (extra 🔥for Lavinia)
Heart flutters: ❤️
Pain: 🔗🔗

I really thought I'd like this one, but that isn't how the cards layed out. Really, i think this one was just too long. The charms it had initially died by the end, and I was just ready to be done. As for the relationship, the only adjective that comes to mind is weird. I never felt like they spent enough time together to be in love. Honestly, I shipped Lavinia and Sophia more than Sophia and her partner. By the end, I was only reading this for the smut, which was decent, but not good enough to save the entire book