The Education of Ivy Leavold (Markham Hall #2) by Sierra Simone

The Education of Ivy Leavold (Sierra Simone)

SUMMARY

I knew I was taking a risk loving a man like Julian Markham. But I thought that love was enough to cover over his darkness.

I thought wrong.

Ivy Leavold came to Markham Hall looking for a home and a new start, and instead she found the enigmatic Julian Markham--along with a love that threatened to consume them both.  Now Mr. Markham is offering her a new life as his bride, as the mistress of Markham Hall, and Ivy wants nothing more than to say yes.

But Ivy knows that the closer she binds herself to Mr. Markham, the closer she binds herself to danger.  And the deeper their love grows, the closer she gets to discovering the truth surrounding her cousin's death.  Once she does, the explosive secret will rip them apart... possibly forever. 

MY REVIEW

Was I excited or was I scared?
And given what I had realized about myself – and about us – did it matter which?
I turned and faced him, my fiancé and master, pressing my back against the door. Blood and warmth and want pooled in my core as I watched him watching me.

Sierra Simone writes excellent historical erotica!
Think of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, all this slow burn and desperation. And then add some 50 Shades of Grey in the mix with all the sinister things that a man with a dark soul wants to do to his woman and the guilt that she feels whether this is normal and acceptable and if she is allowed to like it.
In this case, there is no Christian. There is only Julian and Julian moreover likes to share his toys with his best friends.

Who is afraid of Julian?
Ivy is afraid of Julian, because there is still the mystery of the death of his previous wife. And all the evidence points to him. And everyone feels the need to warn confused Ivy. There are the Mrs. Brightmore, the housekeeper; Mrs. Harold, the rector’s wife; Gerald, the valet and a mysterious old, short man with the white hair.

Julian Markham wants to keep Ivy forever. He wants to cage her and isolate her from everybody. But seriously there is no way that he can avoid telling her the truth – even if he has to do it before they get married.

I have a feeling that Ivy will be severely punished in the next book, because she is not allowed to run away from the only man that she ever loved.

Because I was made to be with him. And if I ever had to leave him, it would rent me into pieces.