Rating: 
Summary: Beyond Wonderful!
Review: Merry was not your typical Miss. She did what she wanted to do regardless of society's dictates. Nic, was sexy, talented and kind. The hot passion between these two kept the story suspenseful and enjoyable. Emma Holly has become one of my favorite authors! Keep 'em coming!
Rating: 
Summary: equatorial heated romance
Review: In 1875 Lord Althorp warns Lavinia Vance that her daughter and his son will wed in one month or he will bare their former love affair to the Ton. An agitated Lavinia has failed to bring Ernest and Merry together and has no idea what is left to do.When Merry rejects Ernest again, her parents give her one-week to change her mind or lose her beloved horses and her elderly loyal maid. On her way home, someone accosts Merry. Portrait artist Nicolas Craven having just completed a painting of Merry's father rescues her. She tells him her name is Mary Colfax before leaving him. Merry informs her parents she will visit her best friend in Wales while deciding whether to marry Ernest. However, she actually plans to become Nic's model so that her reputation is ruined and she will not have to marry anyone. Nic agrees and as he works on her portrait they both deny they are in love. Besides which, once he learns who she really is, Molly knows he will never forgive her deception. This erotic Victorian romance is at its best when the plot focuses on the lead characters' troubles that in turn vividly bring the era to life. However, the explicit sex scenes seem included more as shock treatment than as erotic elements spicing up an engaging tale. BEYOND SEDUCTION is for those readers who want a triple X historical as Emma Holly, known for her torrid tales, treats her readers to an equatorial heated romance. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: sex without chemistry
Review: Yes, there's lots of sex, although more is promised than delivered in this rather predictable book. The plot is unbelievable and while there's sex, there is no chemistry. I gave the author two stars for trying; I suggest that she read the earlier Susan Johnson books for the blend of porn and romance that most women seem to want [too bad Johnson's not writing like she used to!].
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous and Steamy!
Review: Just finished reading the latest offering from Emma Holly and enjoyed it very much. I want to say that there are very few of her books I have not enjoyed! I have read all of her erotic novels as well as the latest romantic ones and she is one of my favorites. I would describe her as a fabulous story teller that knows better then anyone how to make a generic love scene erotic and heart pounding. If you like your Romance very Hot...do not miss this book or any of her other novels!
Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable sequel
Review: Well I was really looking forward to this book. I really enjoyed the first book "Beyond Innocence" and I was hoping this book would be just as good. It was. I did blush a bit at the erotic love scenes. They are very graphic but they also show that sex is a natural and beautiful thing. I liked the characters and the story line was interesting. I did wish that the heroine was more forceful like she was in the first book. She seemed a bit to demure. She went from being very high spirited to shy. I still found her to be a likeable woman but thought she came across better in the first book. The story starts off with our heroine, Merry, being practically forced into a marriage with a man she likes as a friend but nothing more. She wants her freedom to do as she pleases with her life but her parents won't hear of it. She decides that they only way to get out of it is to do something scandalous and then no one will want to marry her. She decides to pose nude for the the notorious rogue, Nicholas Craven. Nicholas has no clue as to her real identity and thinks that she is a maid that has been cast out and he saves from the street. He is highly attracted to her but is willing to wait until the right time to make her his. He has never had a mistress for more than a few weeks so he is troubled when he finds that he doesn't want to let her go. He tries to shock her over and over and she still stays. He soon finds that he cannot live without her but when her real identity comes to life he may be forced to give her up. This is a very very erotic, passionate tale that keeps you wondering what will happen next.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH
Review: I write the above warning, because this is without a doubt the most sexually graphic romance novel that I have ever read. To give you some idea, Amazon rates Lori Foster's book "Too Much Temptation" a 10 for sensuality and this book, in my estimation, rates at least the same if not a little higher. Don't get me wrong, because it's not a bad thing in my opinion. But, if you like your romance novels sweet and light, this ain't the book for you. If you are sexually adventurous, at least in your reading, this book is sure to please. The book starts with a character from EH's last book "Beyond Innocence," Merry Vance. Merry is now 20 years old and looking to avoid marriage to a suitable young man that her mother has chosen for her. Merry's mother has ulterior motives for wanting this marriage and is pressuring her daughter incessantly. To escape the marriage, Merry schemes to pose for a notorious artist in the hopes that this will make her unsuitable for marriage to anyone as she longs for "freedom" to live the way she wishes. The artist she has chosen is Nic Craven. Nic is talented, handsome, and a rake who is reputed to be a real Lothario. She lies to Nic and tells him that she is only a servant when she is really the daughter of a duke. Nic is immediately attracted to plain little Merry and decides that she must move in with him so that he may use her as a model for his paintings. From there their affair begins and what an affair it is! I know from my earlier comments that this book sounds like nothing but a sex-fest, but there is actually a poignant love story amid deception, guilt, denial, and lust. Nic is a man who is plagued by doubt and guilt over his past. He cannot get over what happened to him when he was a teenager and thus considers himself unable to love nor feel he deserves love. While Merry unconsciously feels as if she will never measure up because of her looks or lack thereof. She makes bad choices and later, too late, realizes the selfishness of said choices. I give it four stars instead of five because of the ending. The ending was a little too neat and tidy. Nic's revelation about his family background was too convenient. It's a small complaint, nonetheless, to an otherwise satisfying story.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, Emma gets it right
Review: First, let me say that I don't like Emma Holly's modern erotic novels, and think her werewolf books are unreadable. Beyond Innocence, her other historical romance, was just OK for me. So I was surprised and very pleased with this book, which I absolutely loved and can't find any fault with.
It's a perfect blend of romance and sensuality. The heroine is not a nymphomaniac, as in Ms. Holly's modern novels, and the hero is warm and believable and doesn't have a mustache or any of the other unattractive attributes that her characters sometimes sport. Both hero and heroine are solid, likeable, three-dimensional characters who come together naturally.
I found this book to be much better written than anything the author has done previously. Characterization, plot, setting, even secondary characters are all so well-crafted that it actually took me by surprise. This is as good as any historical romance I've read, and is in a class with books by authors like Lisa Kleypas, Candace Proctor, and Jill Barnett.
I loved the exotic setting of much of the book in Venice, and the evocative way that the author described that city. It gave the book richness and depth. The fact that the hero is a painter and the author clearly bothered to research the time period and incorporate this into the book really made the story and the characters come alive.
I loved the hero - not just another alpha male, but a tortured, sympathetic character. He's a gorgeous and talented, but tormented artist, and the story of how he overcomes so many obstacles to be with the heroine is really believable and makes him completely loveable. The heroine is virginal, but neither weak, stupid, nor especially naive. She is a powerful figure in the love story, making bold choices and taking fate into her own hands. She really seems like an equal match for the hero.
Since this is an Emma Holly book, one also can expect a lot of sensuality. This book doesn't disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Nicolas Craven Is Hot, Hot, Hot!!!! (4 1/2 stars)
Review: Lady Merry Vance wants nothing more than her freedom, but as the daughter of a Duke, she finds herself constantly under pressure to marry. Finally, her parents have decided that enough is enough and they give her an ultimatum: Marry or lose that which is most precious to her. Merry, determined more than ever to remain unwed, devises a plan. She will ruin herself. Ruin herself by scandalously posing for a risque portrait-Something any decent well bred lady would NEVER do. Only Merry gets herself into more than she bargained for when she falls deep into a dark and seductive relationship with Nicolas Craven...the artist that is painting her portrait.
"Beyond Seduction" was an amazingly sexy, heady read. Nicolas was wildly attractive. I loved his kindness and his masculinity. He was fun...not just sexy, thats why I loved him so much.
Merry was a great character as well. I enjoyed her bluntness and her joy in her awareness of herself as she and Nicolas grew more intimate.
"Beyond Seduction" was my first Emma Holly. She has a wonderfully smart writing style and her lovescenes are natural, mildly shocking, and drenched in emotion.
My only quibble with this book was the ending. I wanted more...I wanted a declaration from Merry even though her feelings for Nic were clear.
All in all, this... for me, is a definite keeper and a book I would strongly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Well done.
Review: But, it did let me down at the end. Emma Holly made a clean sweep in the last chapters of a very dark, sensual and erotic tale. Their relationship was secretative and the story primarily focused on them.....which is a good thing. Near the end, Emma Holly felt the need to close all of the ties with his family and her family and we just didn't care about either of the two. We wanted to see Merry and Nicholas form their final bond and go out with the focus on them as it was during the whole book.
I would recommend this for lovers of romance. Yes, the intimacy is a little on the hot side, but it was well written, and classically delivered.
Rating:
Summary: HOT!! Not for the faint hearted.
Review: This book gets down and dirty and I loved it. It was a great book with a good plot. Read it!!!
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