Ripe for Pleasure by Isobel Carr Blog Tour (with Giveaway)

Blog Tour Topic that I asked Isobel Carr to elaborate on:

Daily life and strife for a courtesan during this time period.

The life of a mistress, regardless of the era when she lived, wasn’t easy. On top of the fact that she had do everything a lady of the ton did (dress well, shop, lead an active social life, run a household), she had all the concerns of a small business owner combined with the problem of having only one major client and a limited shelf life. The savvy ones followed the ants’ advice and put something away for rainy day (money, jewelry, even annuities [though these could be very hard to collect if the man baulked at paying]).

Most mistresses had an establishment of their own, paid for by the man who had them in keeping. Some gentlemen slept over, but this was a rarity. Some men set up house with their mistress, and some even married them (most famously, Charles James Fox and Elizabeth Armistead, but there quite a few others as well). The bills could be ruinous (especially if your protector’s friends were fond of port, champagne, and lobster patties and the cost of entertaining them came out of your allowance). As a result, some women took lovers on the side, while others were constantly on the lookout for gentleman with a plumper purse.

Some took to the courts when their former protectors failed to pay their annuities, with varied degrees of success. Others took to the pen, and to blackmail. Harriette Wilson wrote a fabulous memoir of her days as the queen of the fashionable impures during the Regency. “Publish and be damned.” was supposedly the Duke of Wellington’s response to her demand for money to be left out of her book, though some sources say this story is apocryphal. Whatever the truth may be, her memoir makes for fascinating reading (as do Katie Hickman's COURTESANS and Jo Manning’s MY LADY SCANDALOUS).

Ripe for Pleasure

Second in line, first in love

A secret society of younger sons, sworn to aid and abet each other, no matter the scandal or cost.... Their fathers and brothers may rule the world, but they run it . . . and when it comes to passion, they refuse to accept second best.

Searching for hidden treasure,

London's most sensual former courtesan, Viola Whedon, is incapable of being seduced-she does the seducing. Until she meets Leonidas Vaughn. Her salacious memoirs have made her the target of half the lords in England, and Vaughn is the only man she can turn to. When he promises to protect her-and to make her beg for his touch-the alluring beauty finds both offers impossible to refuse.

Leonidas Vaughn secretly believes Viola possesses a fortune given to his family by the King of France. So the strong and sexy Vaughn charms his way into Viola's life . . . and her bed. But when their arrangement is consummated, he'll experience pleasure far beyond his wildest fantasies-and realize his heart may need the most protection of all.

I've got 3 books to give away, many thanks to Brianne at Forever Romance (Hachette Books) for this fantastic giveaway!!

So This Is What You Have To Do To Get An Entry!
1. Leave a Comment +1
2. Follow Me +1 already a follower +2
3. Post this contest on your blog (can be on your sidebar or a post) +3

PLEASE put your email in your comments or no entry (no exceptions).

This is for the USA and Canada only please and no Po Boxes (publishers rule)!

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.

Winners will be announced on May 30th 2011!