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“You think money can solve any problem, but all it s good for is buying the things it can, and leaving you free to pursue the things it can't.”

This book was one of those odd novel that was hard to put down, with a beginning half that outshone the second part.

It's not a romantic book, nor - surprisingly - an erotic one. You would think it would at least win erotic favors considering the storyline, yet the sexual scenes were abbreviated and brash, not erotic. There were some sweet connections, especially between Phyllida and Andrew, but hardly anything I'd call romantic. What won me with the book was the humor and creative verbal banter play between the two main characters. Funny lines, awkward scenarios, cute stuff.

For the second half, I'm not sure what went wrong. The author suddenly became more interested in exploring other side characters and their political manuevering, probably to give a deeper story and explain how the book page count is so high for the basic story it held. Matthew was a likeable character but I didn't see a bonding I wanted to. I just lost interest as the story began losing steam - never completely, but slowly started inflaming. The ending was supposed to be sweet but it seemed a little forced and not something I was completely happy with. The frustrating thing is I can't exactly put my finger on why it wasn't completely satisfying for me.

This book wins in that it's unique and creative with it's story, playful with the characters, but I'd like to have seem more genuineness later with developed emotion. Genuine erotic moments between all the characters would have been welcome. As it stands, it seemed a little too rushed and without enough realistic buildup.

I do wish at some point Phyllida would have left him and made him realize what he was losing. I also didn't care for some of the language Andrew used in the bedroom, such as calling as his lovers sluts.

I noted comments on how unrealistic things were - and yes, it is. This is a complete fantasy retelling where the author invented some stuff, true, but it is fiction so why this is an issue for some completely escapes me.

Overall I dug this story, don't regret reading it, and will remember it fondly when I glance at the cover on my shelves. I wish it kept the momentum the first half promised, but it stayed hard to put down. ( )

Sexy, rich aristocrat Andrew Carrington decides to marry any woman who will bear him an heir and tolerate his homosexuality. In a single day, he meets and marries Phyllida, a pretty young country virgin. A truly stupid amount of misunderstandings ensue. The plot is unbelievable and the dialog silly and homogenized, but what really annoyed me was that I didn't like any of the characters. I'd assumed I'd like at least Andrew, who is supposed to be sarcastic and wry, but is actually thick-headed, easily enraged, and gets off on calling every one of this sexual partners "slut" repeatedly. Ugh. Herendeen clearly did not spend a lot of time or effort on this book. ( )

The Brotherhood of Philander is basically a gay club. A historical gay club. In a time when sodomy was a crime punishable by death, men needed a safe place to be themselves. A few enterprising gentlemen created the club and its been thriving ever since. Andrew is a member of this club and although he prefers the company of men over women, he does realize he needs to get married and beget an heir. And he knows his qualifications for a bride are going to be hard to meet. He tells his incredulous friends about his plans and his qualifications and lo and behold, someone knows just the girl!

Phyllida is the practical girl, living in the country, writing, that Andrew's friend declares he must at least meet. And Andrew takes the journey to go meet Phyllida and he is very impressed with her. It's not just her looks (she's nice and curvy, lush you could say) but her rapier wit. Sparks fly between these two and at their first meeting they're already getting hot and heavy. Andrew demands they marry posthaste. He's not one for wasting time.

Phyllida and Andrew marry and get to know each other. They're extremely compatible in bed and even outside of it. But Phyllida has an issue with the way Andrew tries to boss her around. He's so arrogant and doesn't even realize! He thinks it's his due to act the way he does. And he's jealous of her! He takes a lover a bit after their marriage and is jealous when his lover enjoys Phyllida's company as well. Not in bed, but at dinner! He's not jealous of his lover, but he's jealous of Phyllida. Let me tell you, I LOVED this contradiction in Andrew.

And then Andrew meets Matthew. He and Matthew are also extremely compatible and so is Matthew and Phyllida. Matthew can see where Andrew keeps making mistakes with Phyllida and he decides to champion her. Now you have to understand - only Andrew is sleeping around. This was part of his agreement with marrying Phyllida. She was to remain true to him (to provide him a legitimate heir) but since she's so practical, she knows his tastes also run towards men and so does not begrudge him his male lovers. So I thought this was an interesting twist. We read about ménage a trois where all 3 people sleep together, but not in this case. Only Andrew gets the pleasure. LOL But Phyllida gets turned on by seeing Andrew interact with his lovers...which isn't really explored. It's hinted at towards the end, with Andrew and Matthew, but before that, it's something Phyllida does (watching Andrew with someone else).

Ok - I have to admit, I thought this book was quirky and I really liked it. Andrew like I said was jealous over Phyllida. (And we know I love a little bit of jealousy.) Check out this scene:

Andrew, strolling at the edge of the room, heard the laughter through the music and conversation as if all other sounds had been cut off. How long had it been, he wondered, since Phyllida had laughed, or shown any pleasure at all? Why did it pierce his heart so to imagine that she could be cheerful again, but only when she was not with him? He saw Matthew, his head thrown back and his chest out, strutting in the dance, smiling into the eyes of--Damn it, it was. His deceitful, feigning meek wife was flirting. Flirting with his lover.

LMAO!! She's flirting with HIS lover and he's jealous!

Also, Andrew falls in love with two people in this book. I really liked that. Each was different but perfect for him in their way. And I enjoyed how it played out. And Ann's writing style - love it! I imagine if Georgette Heyer wrote today and wrote sex scenes, her work would be similar to this.

What didn't work for me? There's a spy/entrapment subplot that leads to some misunderstandings. So because of that, I'm giving Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander 3 stars. I know this will be a book I will pick up and read again. It was delightful. And watch, I'll have even more stuff to gush about when I do! ( )

This book, whose tagline is ���������������������������A man in love with his wife and his boyfriend,��������������������������� wouldn���������������������������t normally catch my eye because m/m isn���������������������������t my kink. I bought it for an entirely different reason. So now that I bought it and read it and thoroughly enjoyed myself (oooh, have you noticed this trend about what I review?), I must speak my piece.

Here we are in Regency England (and those of us in Romancelandia are more or less completely and totally comfortable in Regency England, Heyer or no Heyer) and a sodomite wishes to marry to fulfill his duty to his family name while still continuing his unabashed lifestyle. He finds the right chick, marries her, figures out he so really doesn���������������������������t mind doing her, thinks she���������������������������s refreshing and falls in love with her blahblahblah (yeah, you know how it goes), then meets the male love of his life and we all end up happily ever after with nary a menage a trois to be had. Of course, what would a Regency romance be without a little spying here and there?

After some reflection, I have to admit that the mixed third-person omniscient and third-person limited points of view was fun and refreshing. ( )