Review: It Stings So Sweet by Stephanie Draven

Title:  It Stings So Sweet
Author:  Stephanie Draven
Genre:  Erotic Historical Romance
Pages:  352
Published:  February 2013
Publisher:  Berkley
Source:  Publisher
Buy Link:  Amazon

Synopsis:

They vibrated with incendiary Jazz. They teemed with sexual abandon.

The Twenties were roaring and the women—young, open, rebellious, and willing—set the pace and pushed the limits with every man they met…

In the aftermath of a wild, liquor-soaked party, three women from very different social classes are about to live out their forbidden desires.

Society girl, Nora Richardson's passionate nature has always been a challenge to her ever-patient husband. Now he wants out of the marriage and she has just this one night to win him back. The catch? He wants to punish her for her bad behavior. Nora is offended by her husband's increasingly depraved demands, but as the night unfolds, she discovers her own true nature and that the line between pain and pleasure is very thin indeed.

Meanwhile, Clara Cartwright, sultry siren of the silent screen, is introduced to a mysterious WWI Flying Ace. If Clara, darling of the scandal sheets, knows anything, it’s men. And she’s known plenty. But none of them push her boundaries like the aviator, who lures her into a ménage with a stranger in a darkened cinema then steals her jaded heart.

Working class girl Sophie O'Brien has more important things on her mind than pleasures of the flesh. But when her playboy boss, the wealthy heir to the Aster family fortune, confronts her with her diary of secret sex fantasies, she could die of shame. To her surprise, he doesn't fire her; instead, he dares her to re-enact her boldest fantasies and Sophie is utterly seduced.

One party serves as a catalyst of sexual awakening. And in an age when anything goes, three women discover that anything is possible…

First off, this is a very very steamy novel – it may not be something all readers will enjoy!

We start things off with Nora and her husband Jonathon, a young married couple who have some problems with their relationship.  Jonathon found out that Nora had kissed a young man, who she use to be engaged to.  Which enraged him – forcing her to do things she wouldn’t normally do at a society party. 

Next week meet silent movie start, the sexy Clara.  At the same party in the first part of the book, Clara meets Leo – a WW1 flying ace.  She is intrigued by him and the things he suggests – leaving her wanting more.  Clara leaves her current lover to be with Leo, but things are quite what they seem!

Last but not least, we meet Sophie and Robert.  Now Robert is actually in all three sections of the story, and to be honest I didn’t like him at first.  Sophie works at the Aster Hotel, when a private diary is brought to Robert’s attention he decides to see if Sophie is willing to act out the intriguing acts of her fantasies.  By the end of the book, I started liking Robert and wanted him and Sophie to have their happy ending.

All three women we meet in this story are very strong characters.  They know what they want and are willing to fight their way to the top.  I’ve always loved stories set in the 1920’s – a time when women were breaking out of their shells, doing the things their mothers and grandmother wouldn’t dream of.

Would I recommend this book?  For someone who loves a steamy historical erotic – this is definitely something you should check out.  I really enjoyed the story beyond the sex scenes, all three couples are learning about one another, and what works for them.  They push the boundaries to find love and aren’t willing to settle.   Would I read more by this author?  Most definitely!