Master [Paperback]

Colette Gale stunned erotic romance readers with her book Unmasked, an erotic version of the classic, The Phantom of the Opera. She has done it once again with Master, An Erotic Novel of The Count of Monte Cristo. If you are a big fan of the most recent and romantic movie version of this classic story, you will have to overlook this newly erotic written version and realize that Ms. Gale has once again done her research, using letters and a journal written by Mercedes during the time of Edmund's imprisonment, thus blending much truth to the story, together with well-written erotically sensual scenes.

Edmund Dantes has spent most of his young years imprisoned in the Chateau d'If, set up by those he thought to be his friends, for crimes he did not commit. Once he finds a way to escape, he spends years traveling the world as a pirate, smuggler and many other identities, collecting huge wealth, and thus becoming the Count of Monte Cristo. All these years he has also planned a perfect revenge for those he believes have wronged him. Once he returns to France he begins the destructive revenge of those who have hurt him. In this version, he believes none has betrayed or hurt him more than his love and former fiancé Mercedes, who is now married to his best friend and greatest enemy, The Count of Mondego. It is Mercedes who seems to take the full brunt of his revenge by his use of her in a highly sexual way. This may be a disturbing switch for readers and fans of the original toned down version of The Count of Monte Cristo.

As Edmund uses Mercedes as a sexual slave, he comes to realizes that his vengeance against her and her son does not feel so sweet. He finds he cannot ignore her touch and beautiful body. It only enhances his memory of a long lost true love. Mercedes also realizes something is drawing her closer to this mysterious Count. The more she gives in and offers him the use of her body, the more she feels something familiar about this highly sensual man. He has re-awakened her passions and reminds her too much of her Edmund, her one and only true love, a love that has never died, and one she has never been able to forget. As passions re-ignite even stronger than when they were in their youth, Edmund discovers that her son is his son as well and that Mercedes married Mondego in order to sacrifice for their son. Can he convince himself to forgive and save Mercedes and his son from the very evil that has hurt him for so many years? Can he convince Mercedes to forgive him? Is his vengeance really as satisfying as planned? Can he also come to realize that forgiveness and moving on with his life together with those he loves is what matters the most?

Ms. Gale has once again given us a different look at a classic, masterfully enhanced with a highly sensual and tastefully written erotic romantic touch.

I'm a HUGE fan of the story of the Count of Monte Cristo so I was eager to read this book and Ms. Gale didn't disappoint. I REALLY enjoyed her book UNMASKED and have to say that I liked this one even BETTER.

While it is an erotic novel, I didn't feel that the eroticism in it was over done or that it was excessive. From the first page to the last, I couldn't put the book down. I was rivited. And while in her version, Edmonde partially blames Mercedes for his suffering, in my opinion he isn't overly cruel to her. He still loves her even though he feels that she portrayed their love.

If you like the story of the Count, I recommend you read this one as well. If you don't mind erotic scenes, then you'll throughly enjoy this book.

I hope this isn't the last book Ms. Gale will be writing.

Colette Gale pens another retelling of a classic with her usual artistic flair and intensity. According to the Biographer's Note, this is the "true" story of Edmond Dantès and Mercédès Herrera, based on facts gleaned from her personal effects.

Wrongfully imprisoned for fourteen years, Edmond was engaged to marry Mercédès when he was ripped away from his own betrothal party without warning. Despite her best efforts to get information about him, she's led to believe he died in prison almost as soon as he was incarcerated. He doesn't know she was mislead all those years ago; he thinks she just didn't care and quickly moved on and married another.

Many years later he has escaped prison, but he is a completely different man; a man for whom revenge is top priority. Revenge against the men who conspired to have him falsely imprisoned, and against the woman whose betrayal hurt him most of all.

Life for Mercédès hasn't been easy, either. She married a distant cousin, Fernand, who wanted a beautiful woman on his arm to bolster his masculinity. Sadly, he prefers men, and when he wasn't able to find a willing man or woman to bring to their bed he had a difficult time performing, and then he'd take out his frustration on Mercédès. But she knows she must endure this loveless marriage for the sake of her beloved son, Albert.

As Edmond, in his new persona of The Count of Monte Cristo, meticulously exacts his revenge against all who wronged him, he is unwillingly drawn to the woman who was once the love of his life. Mercédès sees through his disguise and recognizes him as the man she still holds dear. Even as she feels his wrath, she's drawn to him and he awakens passions in her that she thought were long since dead.
Master: An Erotic Novel of The Count of Monte Cristo is a haunting book that will sweep you away to another time and place. Colette Gale has a remarkable voice and a style that's perfectly suited to the erotic retelling of timeless classics. The story is equally beautiful and gut wrenching from start to finish, with a richness that's utterly unforgettable. The tension throughout the book is so tight it feels ready to snap at any moment. Readers will weep for innocence lost and forgiveness that seems impossible to attain. A glorious cast of secondary characters adds an incomparable depth to this intense novel. Very highly recommended.

4 1/2 Kisses, 2 Peppers (m/f/m, exhibitionism/voyeurism, light bondage)

~Lindy
TwoLips Reviews, LLC
www.twolipsreviews.com

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