Review: Deepest Desires of a Wicked Duke (The Wicked Dukes #3) by Sharon Page

Print Length: 352 pages

Publisher: Kensington (October 25, 2016)

From Goodreads.com: SINLESS

Ten years ago the Duke of Sinclair called off his wedding to Portia after revealing his debauched past and dark carnal desires. Portia has never known love since. Now she is in Sin’s presence again, on a secluded island, witness to an orgy of sexual delights that thrill her in ways she never dreamed possible...
 
SINFUL
Sin has never forgotten Portia’s beauty or innocence and he is shocked to find her tied to his bed when he arrives on Serenity Island. But he soon finds his long ago love curious, then aroused, by the carnal acts all around her. Sin has secrets he can never reveal, but in Portia he discovers a sensuality that knows no bounds...

                                                         *******************

My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

WARNING: This novel contains several scenes of a sexual nature and I would not recommend this novel to anyone under the age of 18 for this reason.

Let me begin my review by saying that I am not a prude by any means. In fact, I enjoy a good erotica novel just as much as the next person. However - there is erotica. And then there was this. This book was filled with so much sex that it not only became repetitious, it became downright unrealistic. I also firmly believe there is a big difference between erotica and smut. This book crossed the line so far into the smut side of things that it became downright vulgar. There would have been other ways of saying the same thing that would have made this story equally as hot, but not as vulgar. 

The overwhelming sex aside - I sincerely hope this book has had at least one more round of edits since the copy I read. The author did have a decent writing style when she wasn't selling herself and her story short with pages and pages of sex, however she was also apt to repeating herself or changing details entirely just a few pages later. For example - there is an entire scene where Portia helps another of the women present after an encounter and puts her to bed - she then spends a few moments speaking to Sin outside of the woman's bed chamber. A few pages later the author talks about the woman not knowing another death had occurred as Portia had put her to bed. There were other instances of this same thing - the author saying the same thing she had previously said just a few pages earlier. 

Another problem I had with this story (which again could and possibly already has been corrected) was the way the author would also completely change details from one page to the next. For example, in one scene Sax tells Sin that he didn't have to break his drinking glass, and then a few pages later as the group is racing up the stairs he is drinking again. Or when one moment they are standing outside someone else's bedchamber only to have Sin suddenly sprint off "racing up the stairs" to stand in front of the same door they already were in front of.

I will give credit where credit is due - I very much enjoyed the 'whodunit' mystery aspect of this story. With each body found, the plot only became more interesting. I think this would have been a much better story if there was less attention paid to the sex and more attention paid to the over-all story. 

Overall, I firmly believe that another round of edits will help this story immensely (if not already done so - I can only review the copy of the novel as I have it), and I do believe this will appeal to those reader who like a "smuttier" form of erotica. It just was not for me. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

                                                         *******************

                              Deepest Desires of a Wicked Duke is available from Amazon.com