Cover Image: Virtue: A Contemporary meets Regency Romance

Virtue: A Contemporary meets Regency Romance

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Member Reviews

Virtue by Ida Brady is the first short story (80 pages) of three described as a contemporary meets regency romance series. It starts off well, and the characters are starting to take shape, only for the book to be finished.

Having finished this book in one go and wanting to find out what actually happen to the various characters I went looking for the other books in the series.

At the time I looked they were twice the price (!!) of a full length printed book (currently the second book isn't available in the UK). For novellas of 100 ish pages, I'll not be getting them and I regret reading the first one (even if it was a free eARC via NetGalley). Why not put all three in ONE book, which would be normal ish length for a book, and sell it at a reasonable price?

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This was actually a really good read. I like the way it flips back and forth between the FMC’s personal exploration and the romance novel she writes in her head! And the representation of her disabled partner is fabulous.

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I was pleasantly surprised with how much character development this book managed to pack into 80 pages that are, let's face it, mostly spice. To me, the mark of really good spicy romance is that it uses sex scenes to further character development just as much as any standard scene, and I really felt that was the case here. I felt invested in Savanah by the end of the novella and kept thinking about where her story might go next after I put it down
I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

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The description is a good representation of the novella, but still it fell short for me. We are immediately thrust into Savannah's thoughts and world, but we aren't given the time or detail to really connect with her as a character. The chapter breaks/jumps feel choppy to me, and hinders the overall flow of the novella. The sex scenes did not capture me like I thought they would, but this goes back to not having that connection with the characters. There is also a scene with very dubious consent involving voyeurism, as in they don't as them, but were lucky that everyone was down for it.....that we know of.
I cannot speak directly on the disability representation other than to say I'm glad to see that representation be in the main male love interest. This is actually the first time I've seen representation in the male lead rather than the female MC themselves. Arcas is the boyfriend we all wish to have and deserve. He is the golden retriever gamer boyfriend we all want to balance out our black cat girlfriend ways. He treats Savannah like a queen, but also like a partner that he communicates healthily with and accepts her wishes to explore herself. This and the overarching storyline I would pick up the next installation.

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Overall I loved the erotic details of the book. The steam was 🌢️🌢️🌢️🌢️ however the storyline and character building was lacking.
It was a quick read but I almost enjoyed the retelling of the Victorian erotica more than the characters actual life.

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This was just sloppy. No storyline just pure smut. If that is your type of read then this is for you. For me I would like more story and it is just not here.

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Being a gir with a similar background as Van I was rooting her on the whole way as she explored her sexuality. I wish the blurb warned there was going to be FF content as it's not something I enjoy and I know it can be a good selling point for readers who are looking for it. I did love that Van's boyfriend is disabled and I love the representation!

I feel like the only main issue I have is this story doesn't have as full of an arc as I'd like. It feels like the book was cut up into parts to make a series and I wish I could have had the full story all at once instead of it being pieced together. But that's just me!

This is a fun quick romp. It can be read in about an hour and had a lot of fun spicy scenes to make me want to take a page out of Savannah's blog.

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A super steamy and s*x positive novella. Virtue follows Savannah, a librarian who grew up in a repressive religious household, and her paraplegic gamer boyfriend Arcas.

Savannah is very keen to explore her sexuality, and Arcas shows his support by encouraging her to undertake a sex challenge and blog about her Sexcapades.

Savannah is also a fan of regency romance, and she imagines herself as the FMC having intimate relations with the MC of the books. I thought these were really fun! Especially the greenhouse scene πŸ₯΅.

Overall this was a great little read. It was refreshing to have a book that was so body and sex positive. The author has clearly done their research into paraplegics as Arcas had similarities to that of Rafe Biggs. This was done very respectfully, and their scenes were super hot. I am looking forward to reading more by @idabradyauthor

I received my copy of Virtue courtesy of NetGallery.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

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Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this ebook, and this is my freely given opinion.

This is a very different story from what I am used to in how it is written; the first part of a three (?) part serial. I can definitely say that I can see how it would not be for everyone, as it is such a mesh of differing things - including contemporary erotica with a historical fictional story, in part, within, sexual exploration, with menage scenarios, a paraplegic lover, and family issues with a religious guilt component.

The story is in the present, about Savannah, a young woman living with her paraplegic boyfriend. She is a bartender, and he is a gamer. She has an active fantasy sex life, which often focuses around her favourite historical romance. Interspersed in her story is parts of the historical story, including her reimagining of it. Savannah's partner, Arcas, is open and encouraging her Savannah exploring her sexual boundaries and encourages her to blog about her experiences, and participates in them with her. There are quite graphic scenarios of their sexual experimentations and experiences.

VERY graphic - so be warned.

Mixed into this is reflection about her uber-religious family and how they have influenced and guilted her in the past and her escape from them, and her present day conflict with them, and her feelings about them.

There is a LOT happening in the few pages of this novella and there is no conclusion as it is part of a serial.

I tend to like to stick to historicals with a occasional foray into other genres, so I have to say that what I am drawn to are the historical snippets interspersed in this novella. The story of the Duke of Mardden and innocent Lady Emmeline, who are the focus of Savannah's fantasy life. At several points I was wishing it was a real and separate story on it's own as I would read it (rather like Donna Lea Simpson's Love and Scandal, and how she did put out Last Days of a Rake, which was the story written by the female MC in Love and Scandal).

But it was enough of a hook to draw me in and now I kind of want to read the rest of the serial - to get more of the fantasy historical... and perhaps to find out what happens with the family issues. The smutty sex of Savannah, Arcas, and others is a bit of a graphic sex bonus and interesting, but ultimately not so important to me as part of the story.

3.5 stars out of 5

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This was a really cute read!! I appreciated the disabled representation as well as the discussion about the church and its negative impacts. There was one thing that gave me the ick that I dropped down a star, and that was that there was a scene where others were forced to be privy to the MCs exploits, which felt ick without making sure that others were OK being included in the kink first.

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I really like this book because it was on another level. Seeing her take control of her sexuality and having no shame is the best read. Usually Other books they make woman be so shameful. I can’t wait for another book like this.

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This one was just okay for me. The premise was intriguing but unfortunately it didn’t come together in a way that really held my interest. I liked that it combined both contemporary and historical storylines, I thought that was fun (although I was kind of more interested in the historical fanfic if I’m being honest), and I also really appreciated the inclusion of a differently-abled sexual partner.

The problem is that there really wasn’t much storyline (and no romance), which can be ok in an erotic novella, but I also didn’t find it that erotic. I really need at least one of those things to be in place but ultimately I wasn’t invested at all and found it pretty boring.

This is meant to be an introduction to a series, so hopefully there will be more development as the story continues!

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC in exchange in for my honest review.

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A book divided into several smaller ones. Savannahs is living with her gamer boyfriend and he encourages her to to a "sexcapades" blog to beat her boredom. A quick read filled with Savannah's thrilling fantasies of old world escapades as well as her own.

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ARC received by NetGalley. Thank you!

Virtue is meant to be a quick and steamy novella following the sexual explorations of a young woman, Savannah, with the support of her gamer boyfriend. Said boyfriend is game to try anything...threesome? Sure! Toys? Duh! Role play? Obviously. Public displays of...erm... affection? Yep. That happens too!

Savannah opts to blog about this awakening online and at the same time is dealing with dealing with her uber conservative family being abusive and not allowing her to live her own life. Oh, and Savannah also loves her some regency romance so there is a lot of fantasizing about a spicier version of her favorite book.

This book had all the right pieces but fell very flat for me. I found myself skimming over anything italicized, which was her regency romance fantasies. It was boring. The rest of the book was just OK. I appreciated the representation of alter-abled persons and the storyline that was in place for a good read. It just didn't come together for me.

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Very short and smutty, a palette cleanser of sort. Savannah has a vivid imagination, and a high libido to go with it. She's just like me.

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This was actually very interesting and different for me to read. Definitely spicy! I was happy to learn that there was a plot with this story and not just sex scenes. I wish we would’ve gotten that story more but with how short it is and knowing that there’s another book that follows this one, it makes sense.

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A quick read and steamy novella. After growing up in a repressive because of religion household, Savannah a librarian, wants to experience her sexual side. She lives with Arcus, a professional gamer and computer analyst. He is supportive and encourages her to write about her experiences on a blog. She also loves fictional Regency romances and imagines steamy scenes as if she were one of the characters in her favorite book. This book is setting up the series and includes some intimate scenes real and imagined. The inclusion of historical fiction is a fun change of pace and fits the librarian image. This is the first in a series of novellas following the couple and is already available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. There isn’t a lot of time for character development beyond basic set up. There is an ending moment but the story finishes open as the series continues in March. I received my copy courtesy of NetGalley and BooksGoSocial in exchange for an honest review.

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A fun, quick and steamy novella.

Savannah is struggling, trying to free herself from the metaphorical chains of her strict Christian upbringing. She has left her family behind and is trying to find herself as a modern and sexual woman...

With her boyfriend and friends helping her, and with her trusted regency romance novels fresh in mind, she ventures out into new hot adventures.

I really enjoyed reading this...

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For such a short story, it definitely packs a punch. It was definitely a page turner - I finished this in a night! If you're looking for something quick but also VERY spicy, this is definitely for you. The fact that there was also character development was a big plus - I love some spice, but I also like when there's more than just steamy romance in a book and Ida Brady did a great job with such a short book.

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Huge thanks to the author for a review copy of this book!

Savannah has a high libido and loves nothing more than fantasizing about the main characters of her favorite regency romance "Love and Honor." In an effort to break free of her conservative past, and at the suggestion of her supportive (and *cough* skilled *cough*) boyfriend, she decides to start a blog chronicling her adventures as she begins to experiment more in the bedroom.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much character development this book managed to pack into 80 pages that are, let's face it, mostly spice. To me, the mark of really good spicy romance is that it uses sex scenes to further character development just as much as any standard scene, and I really felt that was the case here. I felt invested in Savanah by the end of the novella and kept thinking about where her story might go next after I put it down.

And the SPICE. It's so well written. Exciting, inventive, and detailed enough to be REALLY steamy while still keeping the book clipping along at a great pace. As I said before, this book is mostly spice, but because of how much variety there is, how short the book is, and just how freaking good the scenes are, it doesn't get boring. In just over 80 pages, the book contains Solo F, MF, and MFF scenes and includes some really good disability rep.

Part of the variety comes from the fact that there are three main aspects to the book: Savannah's life and relationship with her boyfriend Arcas, her steamy, longing-filled fan fiction of the characters from Love and Honor, and her blog. I felt like the inclusion of the Love and Honor scenes was fun and inventive, and I would love to see more interplay between Savannah's life and her imagined scenes with the duke in future books in the series.

This book is very short, and took me about an hour to read. Rather than a complete narrative, it feels like a jumping off point, the first episode of a serialized story. Given the low price of the ebook and how quickly the subsequent books are planned to come out, I don't see this as a negative. If the quality of the sequels match this first entry, by the end I think we'll have a really good novel coming in at around 300 pages.

This review is getting long, but something I have to mention is the surprising inclusion of some exvangelical content that I thought was handled well and something I haven't seen in romance before. Even though it's very different from my journey, it resonated with me a surprising amount. I'm anxious to see where that plot line goes.

I'm so glad I made this my first read of 2023, and will be pre-ordering Voyeur, the next book in the series.

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