Rating: 
Summary: Who seduced who?
Review: Merry Vance has no interest in marriage, in relinquishing herself to a mere man just because it is expected. But her family is putting the pressure on, so Merry concocts a plan to ruin her reputation by allowing herself to be painted by Nicolas Craven, the hot artist of the moment in London.Nicholas is very taken with Merry's attractions, and is in fact eager to paint her. Merry deceives him by posing as a servant, and he in turn is taken by her unaware beauty and charm. The two soon realise their attraction for one another, and act upon it. For each it starts out as a temporary thing, but when Merry finally has the opportunity she had been working towards, she finds she cannot simply walk away from Nicholas. Together they go to Vience, city of lovers. But Nicholas still does not know the truth, and in fact he is hiding something himself... I enjoyed that Merry takes control of her situation here. She comes under considerable pressure and in fact blackmail from her family, and unusually for the time (considering her station) she does not bend to their wishes, but comes up with her own plan, takes action and then also takes responsibility for the consequences. Nicholas is more a product of the time, but is nevertheless an engaging central male character, with his own strengths and weaknesses, and provides the opportunity for Merry to blossom into the person he uniquely perceived her as being from the outset. Taking the romance outside of London was also different. The lifestyle Nicolas leads in Venice is not a particularly attractive one, but it is this section that leads to the epiphany for both characters independently as well as for the structure of the story as a whole. The sensuality sizzled, the characters are unique and distinctive, and altogether I found the book to be something more than the standard Regency Romance.
Rating: 
Summary: Sexy.
Review: The passion in this book is very believable and the sex is hot. But it is the tension I liked the most. It is written-well and hard to put down. I liked it as much as Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover and Cynthia Simmons Anything, My Love. Also liked Too Much Temptation. They all helped warm up a cold Winter.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying read
Review: I read this based on the reviews here and I did not regret it. I also have been looking for a "non-schlocky romance" and for the most part, this delivered. I liked the group of artists in this book, they sort of reminded me of Lord Byron and Percy Shelley and their hedonistic group of playmates. (I've always been far more intrigued by Byron's lifestyle than his poetry but that's going a bit off-topic.) I really admire the author for pushing boundaries of romantic fiction by having more graphic, interesting sex scenes....not to mention the homoeroticism with her male lead, which is obviously going to turn some readers of this genre off. (But it's so subtle and pretty much background information, so you shouldn't let that put you off of reading this book.) What I loved was the way that Nic wasn't living in tormented shame over his past experiences, which is the route some novels no doubt would have taken. He was completely comfortable with himself and that is quite an attractive quality. I actually kind of wish the book had explored the thing with him & Sebastian more, but Nic had grown past that part of his life and I understood that. Merry was a refreshing character as well. For one, I liked how open-minded, accepting and rebellious she was. And I really felt sympathy for her when her mother was going to all these lengths to force her to get married. Merry's desperation was palpable and I could see myself going to such drastic lengths to avoid it just like she did. I also liked how she ran away at the art showing...it made her more human in my eyes that she chickened out like that. My only regret was that Merry did not have more experience of her own before settling down with Nic. It never seems fair in these books when the hero has this full, colorful sexual past and the heroine only has experience with him. I know it's pretty much a staple of romance novels, but...as long as the author is pushing boundaries in the genre, maybe she could work on that annoying rule next? Just a humble request. Oh, and I didn't really get the Merry/Mary thing. Aren't they pronounced the same? So why with the different spellings? I mean Merry introduces herself as "Mary" and the author immediately changes the spelling from there on, even though either version would sound the same to Nic. Oh well, a small nitpick. About the bawdiness of their speech and everything, yes people certainly did talk like that back then! And yes, even women. Maybe not as many "ladies" would have been so graphic in speech, but the group of artists that Merry integrated herself into would not have cared in the least about being polite. And the f-word has been around since at least the 15th century, so yes I think plenty of people used the word in the 1800's even though it was still somewhat taboo. Anyway, I agree with others in that the ending was a bit too pat, but I still enjoyed this novel very much and will be looking for more by this author. Thank you, Ms. Holly :)
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Seduction
Review: A young innoscent defies her family and her staid upbrinning to escape a marriage she doesn't want. Her escape turns into more than she expected when she poses nude for a famous painter with his body set on seduction. Our hero pushes the boundries of her body and her mind causing her to reevaluate her sexual limits as well as her sexual tastes. She learnes what she truly likes, not what she thinks she is supposed to like. Emma Holly gives us hot and steamy sex in a very realistic manner. All of her sex scenes are not only erotic, but also very believable and intriguing enough to try! I read this book based on its reviews, and I am very glad I did. I will be reading a lot more of Emma Holly from now on!
Rating:
Summary: A Writer After My Own Heart!
Review: Finally! I have been looking for years for what I call "non-schlocky romance." Ms Holly's writing is so evocative, she really paints a picture with words without falling into hackneyed phrases and imagery. Her characters really come to life and aren't just cardboard cutouts. Most writers seem to take one from Column A and two from Column B when they "invent" characters and you never really quite care about them! In fact, some you can't wait for them to die, they are so damned annoying. I also really appreciate the *mature* (i.e., descriptive) approach to the sex scenes. More than anything I can't stand that "the next morning, they woke and..." that leaves you feeling so ripped off. If anyone is offended by frank sex I assume they wouldn't be reading this book to begin with, and that leaves the rest of us who enjoy reading what goes on between the sheets, esp. when the hero is three-dimensional and has an actual flaw or two. For the readers who don't believe Victorians talked/acted so bawdy, the Victorian era produced more erotic literature than almost any other social time in history. The strict moral codes of the time forced erotic writing underground. As a result, one of the most restrained and moralistic of periods is also responsible for some of the most explicit erotica of all time. So yes, I think they really talked like that! That said, one little niggling anachronistic nitpick: "bollocks" (bollix) wasn't used in popular speech till 1937. But with everything else so great about this book, who cares?! :):) More, more!
Rating: 
Summary: Kind of a disappointment
Review: I bought this one on the strength of the other Amazon.com reviewers, and, my admiration for Emma Holly's Beyond Innocence & other books...but, frankly, I was disappointed in Beyond Seduction. I thought the plot was kind of dragging along held together by love scenes & I hate that. I didn't find Merry or Nic appealing at all, as characters. The dialog between all the book's characters sounded fake or false; I didn't like that Merry disguised herself as "Mary"; I didn't like the trip to Venice; that Nic turns out to be a Marquis...Yeah, there are the love scenes but even a romance novel has to have admirable characters & be held together by a good plot. This one was kind of all over the place. Not a keeper for me.
Rating:
Summary: Hot!
Review: I normally read the usual historical romances. But this one was recommended by a friend so I took her word and picked it up. I had no idea what I was getting into. The story was pretty good, a young woman is trying to avoid being forced into marriage by making herself a scandal. To do this, she poses nude for a famous stud of a painter. We get to see great character depth as our hero struggles with his past and present while our heroine tries to keep her secrets. The surrounding characters were also great, with just enough evil surrounding the whole plot so the goodness of the characters could shine through.
But what I didn't expect was the sex scenes. Wow. Very graphic. Way past the heaving bosoms and throbbing shafts. While I don't think this is going to encourage me to move to this type of novel on a regular basis, for a holiday read, it was great. This is the prototype for the trashy novel and was excellent to read at the beach or tanning at poolside.
Rating:
Summary: Give in; you know you want to . . .
Review: Well there is no denying that the erotica is steamy fare in this compelling novel of highly charged sexuality. It comes the closest to rivaling Olde Hollywood by Thorne Peters in this regard . . . But it is not gratuitous; it is purposeful and intricate to creating the heart and mind of the character--- don't we all harbor similar thoughts of erotica; wishing that we could let go and revel in the hedonism that calls to us. The book will make you feel vicariously liberated and perhaps show you that hang ups keep you from experiencing life to its fullest flower.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing read....
Review: Certainly not for the faint of heart! This book is an intricately weaved web of erotica, romance and manipulation. Watch out for the graphic and adventurous love scenes!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I bought this book on the strength of the reviews written here. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I thought the characters were stiff and the plot did not capture my interest. It was rather transparent and didn't hold any surprises (Nicolas has a son he's never seen and suddenly a well-spoken servant boy shows up. Gee - wonder who he could be?) Truth be told, I haven't even finished the book. I put it down several weeks ago and haven't bothered to pick it back up again. I didn't even make it as far as the sex scenes because I was already too turned off.
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