Thank you so much to Netgalley and Dreamscape Select for an advance audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This 5 star isn't going to be the same as 5 star great historical literature. But for doing what it is here to do it is absolutely a 5 star. You should not read this book for something life changing or that will challenge your world view. What you should read this book for is a nonstop smutty spicy good time. If you loved Jane Eyre (one of my favorite books) they you will love the spin on this.

The awakening is a prequel to the series, so this is a super-fast smutty read following Ivy Leavold who is left orphaned and poor after the passing of her gambling addict brother passes away after squandering their fortune. Her solicitor reaches out to her one known cousin whom is married to a Mr Julian Markham. What is unknown to the solicitor and to Ivy is that her cousin has passed away due to a riding accident. Mr Markham decides to take in Ivy anyway and their chemistry is immediate. Jules tries what he claims is his hardest but in reality, is only about 4 days not to corrupt Ivy. Little does he know Ivy is super down to be corrupted so this book focus' on the start of that relationship.

This book doesn't give much by way of plot and I think would have been fine as part of book 1 but it does serve to build the hype. I will absolutely be reading the rest of the series.

Since this is an audiobook I want to note the narrator does an amazing job for Ivy (this is not duel POV) but the voice change when speaking for the men of the book is hilarious like she's trying make them sound like British batman or something. that would be my only criticism.

When Ivy Leavold is left destitute by her brother's death, she is taken in by her cousin's brooding, tortured widower--Julian Markham. Handsome and possessive, it's not long before Ivy falls for him. But Mr. Markham has dark secrets, secrets that may put Ivy in danger.. As Ivy unravels the mystery surrounding her cousin's death, she falls deeper and deeper in love with Julian, who opens her body and her mind to his indomitable will. But even as he draws pleasure and desire from her night after night, Ivy can't shake the feeling that their passionate affair may end in violence.

I really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook. The story was too short and didn't have much plot. The characters didn't feel very fleshed out, and the writing felt robotic. I think if I'd realized before I started listening that it was a novella, I might have enjoyed it more though. 😀

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5-3.75 Stars
A quick and very steamy erotica

*Please note that this is part of a series. The novel does end with a cliffhanger, leaving some loose ends for future installments.*

I devoured this in just a couple of hours and couldn't get enough of all the steamy scenes and exciting parlor games. The sprinkle of mystery added an extra layer of excitement. However, I couldn't help but feel that the characters, especially Ivy's, could have been developed further. A hobby or stronger connection with the secondary characters would have added more depth to the story. Despite this, I still found the book to be a very entertaining read and I'm eager to continue with the rest of the series. For anyone who enjoys short and steamy novels, give this series a try!

***Thank you to NetGalley, Sierra Simone, Dreamscape Select, and No Bird Press LLC for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This is so fast paced and steamy and was perfect to listen to while I was cooking and cleaning and working outside. I loved how the story just went right into it without a lot of build up. I need to know what's happening with his previous wives and with him and with their town. I need to know what is next for them as a couple. I just need more.

This was not what I was expecting. It was written well but did not expect all the "steamy" content. If you like that type of writing then it is for you.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book, as historical genres are not generally my cup of tea but in true Sierra Simone fashion, she did not disappoint. Very well written and steamy. If she writes it, I'm reading it.

Quick read. Writing is good. For me, I just didn’t connect with the characters enough to love the story. The initial physical interactions between the two leads was very abrupt and just left me asking “but why?”, which hung on for the remainder of the story. Just wasn’t for me.

This is one of my favorite female narrators so that always affects my experience. The story was just ok to me but the narrator was fantastic.

Another steamy sensation from Sierra!

I went into this one blind and couldn't stop once I started. I loved the historical feel, mystery element, and most of all the chemistry between Ivy and Julian was scorching.

The narrators were great and brought the heat right off the pages. This was a quick and steamy listen, and I'm looking forward continuing their story in the next Markham Hall book!

Thanks to Dreamscape Select & NetGalley for an advance audio copy of the first in the Ivy Leavold series. This was a super quick listen at only 4.5hours and was well done. Just didnt do much for me overall though!

My rating of this book comes through my own fault. It should have been a DNF. I received an advance copy of the audiobook from NetGalley, where it was not listed as a novella to start. Second, I thought I was going into a historical fiction, not PWP with some cravats thrown in. The historical and language inaccuracies would have caused me to DNF alone, but throw in instalove, flat characters, and the PWP, I definitely would not have finished if this weren’t for NetGalley.

I read this book a while ago and I loved going back to it in audio version. I would say it's even better this time around. Sierra Simone really knows how to build up tension; her writing style, always toying with the push and pull of societal norms, is a great fit for an erotic historical novel. Zara Hampton Brown's narration was on point, her voice sounding very convincing as the innocent Ivy who very much wants to be awakened.

3.5 stars,

Why have I not read more Sierra Simone before now? This is only my third title by her, and I need to rectify that.

It’s a good set up for the series - you learn the basics about everyone, have a few steamy scenes (spice level - 1.5/5), and, if you’re like me, you really want to read the next books in the series.

But,
*Yes, Ivy, we get it, you have no good marriage prospects.
*I missed the backstory - I’m hoping that with the next titles readers will learn more
*The narrator did a terrific job with voices, though had an unfortunate tendency to lean toward annoying sing-songy breathiness in this.

Overall, I enjoyed this more than not, and look forward to reading more of the series.



Thank you to Dreamscape Select and NetGalley for the ALC

I wasn't expecting this to be a cliff-hanger and I question some of the vocabulary from an untutored "maid" but overall, it was a pretty steamy title giving off ALL the Jane Eyre vibes! Can't wait for the next one!

It is a short and spicy novella that is easy to listen to or read, and the narrator, Zara Hampton-Brown, did a fantastic job at bringing Ivy to life as well as the other characters. I was not expecting there to be as much spice as there was or for it to be the first part of a series, but that is my own fault for not looking into the book better. I'm unsure if I will be continuing the rest of the story, but I was very drawn in towards the end by the mystery and thrill of Markham’s two deceased wives and tempted to keep going to find out what really happened, even though I have an inkling of who it was.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

Book 1 in new series. Ivy's story is a trilogy.

After the death of Ivy's brother, she truly has nowhere to go. She write to her cousin, the new mistress of Markham Hall, only to find out she died days ago in an accident. Despite never having met and his wife's recent death, Julian feels it is his duty to allow Ivy to live with him. When Ivy arrives to Markham Hall, she is intrigued, and ultimately attracted, to Julian. But Julian behaves oddly at times and Ivy doesn't exactly know how he feels about her.

I don't know what I expected, but it surely wasn't this, lol. The title alone had me thinking "Ivy is a sheltered virgin (normal for that time period) and is attracted to a man." Well, this was a whole lot more than that, lol. This is no gradual awakening. This book is like 98% sex in some form (which includes thinking about it). I definitely wasn't prepared for that, lol. And it was fine. The only thing that kept niggling at me was the fact that Ivy is 19 and has lived a sheltered life. Yet the number of slang words she not only understands but uses is questionable.

Zara Hampton-Brown narrates the audiobook. While fine with most of it, I did not care for the voice she used for Julian in dialogue. And since there is some explicit talking, it made me cringe a bit.

I received an advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the start of Ivy Leavold’s story in this novella by Sierra Simone. It has all the things we have grown to love in her stories. This story is full of angst, sexual attraction, risqué scenes, mixed with a little suspenseful sense of danger. Julian Markham is a rich billionaire with an aura of power and danger surrounding him. He’s very mysterious and I can’t wait to find more about him. It’s undeniable that there is so much sexual tension between Julian and Ivy when they first see one another. They are drawn to one another. He’s mysterious and she knows what she wants and goes after it. Love the suspenseful aspect as we try to unravel the clues of what happened to Ivy’s cousin and how did she die? The audiobook is beautifully Narrated by Zara Hampton-Brown. She really brings Ivy’s character to life and her desires to find more about Julian. She does a great job voicing the other characters in the story too. Many thanks to Dreamscape Select, No Bird Press LLC and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This short and spicy novella from Sierra Simone kicks off the Markham Hall series. It's 1879, and Ivy Leavold's brother has just passed. With nowhere else to go, she finds herself at Markham Hall under the care of her cousin's widower, Julian Markham. Ivy is young and inexperienced. Julian is dark and drawn to her. Things quickly become physical between them, but the unsolved mysteries surrounding the deaths of Julian's two wives hang over the house like a shroud. Was he responsible for their deaths? Is Ivy safe in his arms?

Sierra Simone always delivers the spice, and you can find plenty of heat in this one. Julian is rather torn about whether he should give into his attraction to Ivy, so expect lots of back and forth behavior on his part. And there are some—ahem—unconventional party games when his guests come to visit.

This one is high on the heat factor but not as invested in the character and plot development.

Zara Hampton-Brown's narration brings Ivy's apprehension, curiosity, youth, and naïveté to life. I enjoyed her vocal choices for Ivy and many of the other characters but was not as enamored with her voice for Julian.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Dreamscape Select and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

There is suspense, a mysterious death and lots of fun times. Tension between ivy and Julian is very apparent from their first encounter and only escaldes from there. So good, I would continue the series.

A racy Beauty and the Beast themed read with a bit of mischief and suspense. This is a sexy regency period historical romance novel! I am a huge historical romance lover, especially regency period books, and this book hit the mark perfectly. I have only read the Priest and A Christmas Notch series by this author, so I did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised! The storyline was interesting, the chemistry between the characters was scorching, and the added elements created by the guests made the story irresistible. The story is told in single pov and is narrated by one narrator, I enjoyed the audio narration, the narration was well paced and articulated. I am familiar with this narrator as she always does a good job. She is the same narrator for Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series. I can’t wait to listen to the rest of the audiobooks in this series!