Sugar and Spice

In this book, Leda Swann gives us three stories of love and lust in Victorian England. Sugar and Spice is an unremarkable spa for married couples, hidden away in Cornwall. But what goes on inside is something you can discover within the pages of this book. We meet three married couples, each with their own marriage problems. Mrs. Betram, the proprietress of this establishment has some good advice for them and the means to fulfill each of their wildest and most intimate fantasies.

Gwendolyn tricks her husband into accompanying her to Sugar and Spice. They have been married a year, but their marriage has no passion or fire. Lillian Rutherford follows her husband to the health spa when she finds out that he is going there with another woman. The other woman’s husband shows up and offers to take her there to see if they can make them jealous. Cora wants to hate her husband; she has secrets she is ashamed of. She doesn’t deserve his love, so she goes to the health spa with another man. She didn’t plan that her husband would show up with another woman.

This reviewer found these stories very novel. The idea of a health spa for married couples in Victorian England is as interesting as it is naughty. Leda Swann opens the readers’ eyes and lets them look into the sensual, sexy lives of the Victorian elite. In these sexy tales there are no holds barred as Ms. Swann tells her readers of her characters’ sexual tastes. From role playing, anal sex, menáge, exhibitionism and bondage, these lusty characters enjoy all forms of intimacy with their partners. At the same time, wounds are healed, misunderstandings are cleared up and secrets are told and dealt with. Each story is charged with emotion and the reader feels close to each character as they work out their problems. It seems to this reviewer, that this isn’t such a bad place to go to for marriage therapy. Although this is a good read, a somewhat stimulating read, this reviewer did feel that the sex scenes were a bit overdone. This reviewer enjoys an erotic story and has read many, but this set of stories were, in this reviewer’s opinion, a wee bit over the top.

September 2007