I had a really hard time getting fully engrossed in this book. I felt myself zoning in and out of the story. I struggled to connect to the characters and follow the plot line. I know I am in the minority of negative reviews. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

House of Agnes is a captivating and sultry romance that masterfully blends intrigue with raw emotion. Fiona Zedde crafts a story that’s as intense as it is seductive, pulling readers into the fiery dynamic between Agnes and Lola. Agnes is a fascinating character—enigmatic, commanding, and unapologetically powerful. Lola’s determination to expose her adds a layer of tension that keeps you hooked. Their chemistry is electric, and the gradual shift from animosity to desire is both thrilling and deeply satisfying. What sets this book apart is its ability to balance steamy romance with a gripping plot. The stakes feel real, and the emotional depth of the characters makes their journey all the more compelling. Zedde’s writing is lush and evocative, immersing you in every charged glance and heated exchange.

Fiona Zedde is one of the absolute queens of lesbian erotica. This gem was no exception. Love her work and always love to settle in with another read. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advance read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was great and the characters were well developed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

The romance side of the story was well written even if I didn’t really buy it, I don’t really understand how feelings were developing between these two. From day one Agnes should have run far from Lola but she can’t help herself. She had so much to lose. What made the appeal here was really that game of cat and mouse, woth both women using each other but in the end their brain lose. The side characters were interesting and I really liked Whit and Jamika. The lust is a huge part of the relationship, it was just really hot and dangerous for both of them. The invistigation side of the story kept me hooked with an almost unexpexted plot twist. I love when books make me paranoid and suspect everyone. This time, my paranoia paid.

Overall a well balanced book with a good narration.

PS: Agnes is called old at 36?!!!

I don’t know if it was the writing style or the execution but I was not engaged during this story. I just do not think it was for me. Each page I had to push through a bit, and I do not want to put myself into a reading slump. Thank you for the opportunity to leave honest feedback.

This is a steamy novel with a strong female main character. I did not feel the character development was enough to keep me engaged in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.
The plot of the story and the characters were strong enough to hang the relationships on and allow you to be invested in the characters whilst trying to figure out the plot and work out what was happening.
Agnes is the madam at a high end escort service (House of Agnes) which appears to do a fair amount of good deeds to those wanting to leave the business or needing to disappear from their current location and reinvent themselves elsewhere. She values her privacy and is difficult to get to know.
Lola is an investigative journalist who wants to look into House of Agnes as she thinks they are implicated in her sisters death. She will stop at nothing to find out the truth.
So you just know the sexual chemistry between them is going to thwart both of their attempts to do their job.
Nothing is quite what it seems until you know what it is.
Nuggets of information are dropped throughout the story to be put together and even then one part of the answer still passed me by until it happened.

There is not, however, an epilogue. But that's ok as it was all wrapped up.
This book is recommended.

The House of Agnes is a very successful escort business, run by the mysterious Agnes. But her business is under threat from multiple directions, at the same time as the unknown Lola has appeared looking for Agnes's attention.

I loved Agnes as a character. The way that her background and experiences had shaped her, and how she chose to use her influence within her line of work. Lola took a little longer to grow on me, particularly as we're introduced to her as someone who's trying to trick her way into Agnes's life. But I definitely felt for the situations that she was pushed into. And also appreciated that she very definitely didn't have her life completely together.

This was a super steamy read, which felt very much right with the topics of the book. The chemistry between Agnes and Lola was fantastic, and I loved how it developed in stages.

The suspense side of the plot was interesting. There were a few characters that, to me, seemed to obviously be up to something, but I liked that I was never quite sure what it was.

Also I very much commend this book for being positive about escorts and other SWers - making it clear that people in the industry choosing to take advantage of them is problematic, not the workers themselves.

Despite this book being about about escorts the book wasn’t overall sexual and still had a good plot which I appreciated.

I did enjoy it and found it an interesting read, I especially loved the part where Agnes is saving women as it’s too often in situations like these that women are being victimised and exploited.

Overall a good book :)

The book follows Lola, an investigative researcher who wants revenge for her sister's death, and Agnes, "queen" of a luxury escort service and Lola's target. Even though they don't trust each other, there is an undeniable strong attraction from the very first moment they meet.
The story felt like just background for the erotic scenes and was mostly pretty cliché and predictable. There was a quite well done twist at the end, but then the conflict was neatly wrapped up in what felt like only a couple of sentences.
I would recommend this book if you are in the mood for lesbian erotica with a backstory, a bit of intrigue and power struggle.

Fiona Zedde scorches the pages with hot writing
I liked this story overall and at least one plot twist caught me by surprise. There are several truly hot and sensual scenes and other kinds of action going on in the story along with an element of mystery that kept reminding me that nothing is as it seems with the action and characters. It's a curious mix but works well here. The trustworthiness of each character from moment to moment kept me paying close attention for clues as to where their allegiances lay. There are some darker themes but not to the point of making it a heavy drama; I read the book fairly quickly and was both entertained and surprised along the way.
My only issue with the book is that there were several instances where the actions of main characters Lola and Agnes took me out of the flow of the story because they did not fit with how I thought an investigative journalist and highly successful madam would behave. To me they felt convenient to the plot trajectory rather than true to the characters. That said I still recommend the book because Fiona Zedde scorches the pages with hot writing and powerful female characters.