Rating: 
Summary: Sizzling Regency, Great romance
Review: All I can say is WOW. This may be on of Jordan's best books ever. Dare is a great hero and his relationship with the heroine Julienne just sizzles. Great intense, emotional, passionate story, too. Loved it! Prince of Pleasure is probably the best romance I've read in two years. But be warned, it is definitely not sweet or fluffy. It's hot and witty and past-paced and suspenseful. Couldn't put it down. Now I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for her next one.
Rating:
Summary: Another "KEEPER": torrid, loving, exciting, great characters
Review: Another **winner** from Nicole Jordan, who over the past few months has completely won me over as a reader!!I normally don't like rakes who are AS RAKISH, and outrageous, and daring , as 'Dare' North, Lord Wolverton, but Ms. Jordan has scored quite a coup... she's made me fall in love with this hero... .he is really quite tired of being a rake (he's still young, but nevertheless...). He 's only ever been in love once , seven years earlier, with the then 17-yr-old beauty Julienne Laurent, of noble French birth, but an emigre at age 4. She may as well be British ,
having lived there for most of her life, but ---this is 1807 , smack-dab in the middle of the Napoleonic/Peninsula Wars, and there's no real love lost between the English nobility and the French Royalists, who want a real king on the throne, not that upstart Corsican , Bonaparte; but MARRYING one of those emigres was quite another thing. Dare wanted to marry Julienne (he calls her his Jewel) 7 years back, despite his grandfather, then-Lord Wolverton; but the old man refuses, vehemently....
Dare still wants her, badly, anyway, he LOVES her... and she , him, but , because the grandfather will disown him if they wed, and because she cannot bear the thought of Dare resenting her for this later on, she breaks off their love in the only way she can think of (it's ingenious, I won't give it away), and Dare is CRUSHED. Her ruse worked, only too well... Dare leaves, vowing never to love again (and certainly not HER), and then the old man trashes Julienne's name in polite society, accusing her of being a traitor to Britain, of being in league with the Bonapartists... It's a complex plot... and the subplot [I am often bored by subplots, but this is so well-written , so much research has been done for the sake of accuracy in the broader historical backdrop to the main story, that it's fascinating!!] ... the subplot is Dare's (and Lucian's , from DESIRE), and then Julienne's search for the evil Caliban, who may be about to assasinate the one person in Britain who can help convince the French to overthrow Bonaparte and keep him out, that is, Lord Castlereagh.... Julienne had become an actress in the years since the horrible break with Dare, and she is quite accomplished, although of course actresses were not allowed in the upper echelons, the best circles... not at all. Dare sees her on stage after 7 years have passed; she is lovelier than ever at 24, and he is older too, but still young, and sick and tired of playing the rake. It's hard to make me believe men such as this are in earnest about really changing their ways, and Dare is INDEED outrageous in his 'pursuit' of Julienne.... the things he does and says are the stuff romantic/sensual dreams fantasies are made of!... but still, he loves her, and I believe it. I believe him. He has never stopped loving her, nor she, him, but the divide between them is a huge chasm now... I won't give the book away; there is still so much more in this tight, complex plot! He is bent on revenge for what she did to him 7 years before, and she loves him madly but is very proud, as he is.
Their pride and mistrust must be overcome in order for any love to flourish between them again, and Ms. Jordan makes it FLOURISH, all right....
I was actually blushing in places, and loving every minute of it! NO ONE writes such torrid yet romantic and loving scenes as beautifully as Ms. Jordan. I have a few other fave authors, but her love scenes are to die for, the best. How will Dare and his lovely Jewel come together again? How can their love ever be made alive again? How can they learn the truth about their deepest feelings of longing for one another?
Read it, and find out. It's GREAT!!!
Dare and Julienne are REAL people, with real feelings... and it shows on every delicious page.
Brava, Nicole Jordan!
I never re-read books unless it's worth my time, and I'm rereading this one , now... it's even better than the first time.
I love ALL the books in her 'Notorious' series, and her recent MASTER OF TEMPTATION is another killer....
have fun, dear readers!
Rating:
Summary: Another "KEEPER": torrid, loving, exciting, great characters
Review: Another **winner** from Nicole Jordan, who over the past few months has completely won me over as a reader!! I normally don't like rakes who are AS RAKISH, and outrageous, and daring , as 'Dare' North, Lord Wolverton, but Ms. Jordan has scored quite a coup... she's made me fall in love with this hero... .he is really quite tired of being a rake (he's still young, but nevertheless...). He 's only ever been in love once , seven years earlier, with the then 17-yr-old beauty Julienne Laurent, of noble French birth, but an emigre at age 4. She may as well be British ,
having lived there for most of her life, but ---this is 1807 , smack-dab in the middle of the Napoleonic/Peninsula Wars, and there's no real love lost between the English nobility and the French Royalists, who want a real king on the throne, not that upstart Corsican , Bonaparte; but MARRYING one of those emigres was quite another thing. Dare wanted to marry Julienne (he calls her his Jewel) 7 years back, despite his grandfather, then-Lord Wolverton; but the old man refuses, vehemently....
Dare still wants her, badly, anyway, he LOVES her... and she , him, but , because the grandfather will disown him if they wed, and because she cannot bear the thought of Dare resenting her for this later on, she breaks off their love in the only way she can think of (it's ingenious, I won't give it away), and Dare is CRUSHED. Her ruse worked, only too well... Dare leaves, vowing never to love again (and certainly not HER), and then the old man trashes Julienne's name in polite society, accusing her of being a traitor to Britain, of being in league with the Bonapartists... It's a complex plot... and the subplot [I am often bored by subplots, but this is so well-written , so much research has been done for the sake of accuracy in the broader historical backdrop to the main story, that it's fascinating!!] ... the subplot is Dare's (and Lucian's , from DESIRE), and then Julienne's search for the evil Caliban, who may be about to assasinate the one person in Britain who can help convince the French to overthrow Bonaparte and keep him out, that is, Lord Castlereagh.... Julienne had become an actress in the years since the horrible break with Dare, and she is quite accomplished, although of course actresses were not allowed in the upper echelons, the best circles... not at all. Dare sees her on stage after 7 years have passed; she is lovelier than ever at 24, and he is older too, but still young, and sick and tired of playing the rake. It's hard to make me believe men such as this are in earnest about really changing their ways, and Dare is INDEED outrageous in his 'pursuit' of Julienne.... the things he does and says are the stuff romantic/sensual dreams fantasies are made of!... but still, he loves her, and I believe it. I believe him. He has never stopped loving her, nor she, him, but the divide between them is a huge chasm now... I won't give the book away; there is still so much more in this tight, complex plot! He is bent on revenge for what she did to him 7 years before, and she loves him madly but is very proud, as he is.
Their pride and mistrust must be overcome in order for any love to flourish between them again, and Ms. Jordan makes it FLOURISH, all right....
I was actually blushing in places, and loving every minute of it! NO ONE writes such torrid yet romantic and loving scenes as beautifully as Ms. Jordan. I have a few other fave authors, but her love scenes are to die for, the best. How will Dare and his lovely Jewel come together again? How can their love ever be made alive again? How can they learn the truth about their deepest feelings of longing for one another?
Read it, and find out. It's GREAT!!!
Dare and Julienne are REAL people, with real feelings... and it shows on every delicious page.
Brava, Nicole Jordan!
I never re-read books unless it's worth my time, and I'm rereading this one , now... it's even better than the first time.
I love ALL the books in her 'Notorious' series, and her recent MASTER OF TEMPTATION is another killer....
have fun, dear readers!
Rating: 
Summary: The story of Dare - the most notorious rake I have ever read
Review: As a great Nicole Jordan fan, I eagerly ordered Prince of Pleasure as soon as it was available. Although I discovered a sensual book centering as much on mystery as love, it did not live up to her earlier books which rate as some of my very favorite. I found Prince of Pleasure lacked a deep story line and discovered it was difficult to empathize with the leads. Dare North, Marques of Wolverton, is a big time rake - one we have seen previously in Jordan's writing. He was such a big scoundrel in The Seduction that I wondered how she was going to pull off a story written about such a dissolute fellow. How could such a character turn his life around? Well, sure enough, as Dare matured (rather late in life), he was beginning to question his worthless - to date - life and his leadership in The Hellfire League. He has a well-deserved and very negative reputation with the ladies. But he is Marques of Wolverton and noblemen in this time were apparently forgiven their many wrongs whereas a woman, with even a tenth of Dare's reputation, would have been run out of town years ago. Dare had suffered a heart breaking betrayal in his one and only romantic relationship years ago and it has driven him to pursue women only as sexual objects. As many rakes do, he finds his redemption in spying for England and doing a superb job of it. Julienne Laurent is a famous actress who has never recovered from her one and only love relationship years ago with Dare North. She has struggled over the years to make ends meet after Dare had left her without a word because he believed she betrayed him. I must admit that their short-lived relationship did not seem to be strong enough to lead to years of dysfunction and tremendous sadness for each party. If they had meant so much to each other, it seems that there would have been a follow-up conversation to Julienne's supposed betrayal. They could have had no trust in each other at all to just leave the love of their lives smoking in ruins of such an obviously staged betrayal. But this is romance writing and I have read many worse misunderstandings - but few that lasted as long as this one. Julienne, for many rather shabby reasons, cannot let Dare know that she never betrayed him - even when they partially re-establish their relationship. Earlier I referred to my inability to empathize with the leads. I could not feel sorry or even understand Dare's extreme immoral life when he was a man who was very wealthy, possessed many friends, was very attractive, and did not have to work at all. I don't recall having too many problems with horrible rakes in my past romance reading. I usually rather like them as long as they get any comeuppance in the end. But Dare's story just didn't ring true. I also had a problem with Julienne's inability to be honest with Dare about the ending of their former relationship. She had been truly wronged but refused to let him know anything at all. Dare and Julienne reunite because Dare believes she may be helpful in leading him to the identity of a spy. Julienne knows nothing of this reason but suspects his motives when he publicly announces at one of her performances that he will win the place as her protector by some future date. Although she is not looking for a protector, she wagers with Dare, in front of her entire audience, that he will not win her. Therefore, the stage is set for their possible reunion. Julienne avoids Dare at every possible turn and Dare pursues Julienne relentlessly. He reasons to himself that she will lead him to the spy but we see deeper reasons at work. Julienne fears the hurt Dare can bring her once again and although she spurns him again and again, she cannot resist him physically any time he can contrive a reason for the two of them to be together alone. The sensual scenes in this book are certainly strong. This is probably the first book I have given a sensual rating of 5.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). I believe I would have given Prince of Pleasure a higher rating if more of the book had been about a love story rather than what seemed a purely sexual relationship. The entire book was written around The Big Misunderstanding that had occurred years before. Neither of the leads communicates truthfully with the other until late in the book which only allows the misunderstanding to grow even larger. The mystery does take a lot of pages and is actually rather interesting although unrealistic. Prince of Pleasure is a book I plodded through - not one I eagerly picked up to continue reading. The sensual scenes are above average, if you are looking for that aspect in your romance reading. However, as romance writing goes, it was only average.
Rating:
Summary: The story of Dare - the most notorious rake I have ever read
Review: As a great Nicole Jordan fan, I eagerly ordered Prince of Pleasure as soon as it was available. Although I discovered a sensual book centering as much on mystery as love, it did not live up to her earlier books which rate as some of my very favorite. I found Prince of Pleasure lacked a deep story line and discovered it was difficult to empathize with the leads. Dare North, Marques of Wolverton, is a big time rake - one we have seen previously in Jordan's writing. He was such a big scoundrel in The Seduction that I wondered how she was going to pull off a story written about such a dissolute fellow. How could such a character turn his life around? Well, sure enough, as Dare matured (rather late in life), he was beginning to question his worthless - to date - life and his leadership in The Hellfire League. He has a well-deserved and very negative reputation with the ladies. But he is Marques of Wolverton and noblemen in this time were apparently forgiven their many wrongs whereas a woman, with even a tenth of Dare's reputation, would have been run out of town years ago. Dare had suffered a heart breaking betrayal in his one and only romantic relationship years ago and it has driven him to pursue women only as sexual objects. As many rakes do, he finds his redemption in spying for England and doing a superb job of it. Julienne Laurent is a famous actress who has never recovered from her one and only love relationship years ago with Dare North. She has struggled over the years to make ends meet after Dare had left her without a word because he believed she betrayed him. I must admit that their short-lived relationship did not seem to be strong enough to lead to years of dysfunction and tremendous sadness for each party. If they had meant so much to each other, it seems that there would have been a follow-up conversation to Julienne's supposed betrayal. They could have had no trust in each other at all to just leave the love of their lives smoking in ruins of such an obviously staged betrayal. But this is romance writing and I have read many worse misunderstandings - but few that lasted as long as this one. Julienne, for many rather shabby reasons, cannot let Dare know that she never betrayed him - even when they partially re-establish their relationship. Earlier I referred to my inability to empathize with the leads. I could not feel sorry or even understand Dare's extreme immoral life when he was a man who was very wealthy, possessed many friends, was very attractive, and did not have to work at all. I don't recall having too many problems with horrible rakes in my past romance reading. I usually rather like them as long as they get any comeuppance in the end. But Dare's story just didn't ring true. I also had a problem with Julienne's inability to be honest with Dare about the ending of their former relationship. She had been truly wronged but refused to let him know anything at all. Dare and Julienne reunite because Dare believes she may be helpful in leading him to the identity of a spy. Julienne knows nothing of this reason but suspects his motives when he publicly announces at one of her performances that he will win the place as her protector by some future date. Although she is not looking for a protector, she wagers with Dare, in front of her entire audience, that he will not win her. Therefore, the stage is set for their possible reunion. Julienne avoids Dare at every possible turn and Dare pursues Julienne relentlessly. He reasons to himself that she will lead him to the spy but we see deeper reasons at work. Julienne fears the hurt Dare can bring her once again and although she spurns him again and again, she cannot resist him physically any time he can contrive a reason for the two of them to be together alone. The sensual scenes in this book are certainly strong. This is probably the first book I have given a sensual rating of 5.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). I believe I would have given Prince of Pleasure a higher rating if more of the book had been about a love story rather than what seemed a purely sexual relationship. The entire book was written around The Big Misunderstanding that had occurred years before. Neither of the leads communicates truthfully with the other until late in the book which only allows the misunderstanding to grow even larger. The mystery does take a lot of pages and is actually rather interesting although unrealistic. Prince of Pleasure is a book I plodded through - not one I eagerly picked up to continue reading. The sensual scenes are above average, if you are looking for that aspect in your romance reading. However, as romance writing goes, it was only average.
Rating:
Summary: The best I have read of Jordan's books
Review: But then, I haven't been that fond of her others. The Prince of Pleasure presents a deeper relationship and a more involved plot. Although Dare's rationale for his ultra hedonistic lifestyle seems stretched and Julienne's reasons for never revealing the truth about her past appears slight once her mother died, they are still more fully realized characters than I have previously encountered from Jordan's pen. Dare remains rather self-centered for much of the book, but he has a pleasing vulnerability. Julienne exhibits great inner strength.
The traitor plot is rather obvious in its intention to thrust these two people together, but it retains a sense of mystery and excitement. The book is sometimes slow, and as always, Jordan allows the sex scenes to dominate the narrative--but much less than usual in this effort, to great effect. Indeed, only toward the end does this penchant begin to annoy.
I had intended to avoid more of Jordan's books, but I already had this one from the library and decided to read it, frankly not expecting much. Nicole Jordan will never be at the top of my author's list, but at least I found this one to be better than the others I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Dare And Julienne-SPOILERS
Review: Favorite scene with Julienne-
Setting up Caliban by asking him to kill Dare. Favorite scene with Dare-
Going after Ivers. Together-
Final showdown with Caliban. What did you like about Julienne-
Her strength and power to overcome everything that happened to her. What didn't you like about Julienne-
Feeling like she had to sell her body to save her mom. What did you like about Dare-
Rakes can be so charming. What didn't you like about Dare-
Not believing that Julienne was innocent.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book from Nicole Jordan!
Review: I found The Prince of Pleasure to be another shining example of the creative talents of Nicole Jordan. She has yet again taken us into the past with her usual flair for detail; I closed my eyes and the scenes came to life in my mind. My heart ached with Dare and Julienne's pain and alternately raced through many sensuous love scenes. Following these characters through their pain and pleasure to a happy ending was very satisfying. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sensuous historicals. With Nicole Jordan's ability to write such hot historicals, I wonder what she would do with a contemporary? Whew! Just a thought.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book from Nicole Jordan!
Review: I found The Prince of Pleasure to be another shining example of the creative talents of Nicole Jordan. She has yet again taken us into the past with her usual flair for detail; I closed my eyes and the scenes came to life in my mind. My heart ached with Dare and Julienne's pain and alternately raced through many sensuous love scenes. Following these characters through their pain and pleasure to a happy ending was very satisfying. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sensuous historicals. With Nicole Jordan's ability to write such hot historicals, I wonder what she would do with a contemporary? Whew! Just a thought.
Rating:
Summary: Another sizzling romance by Jordan.
Review: I had been waiting for this book for months, and now that I have read it, I'm not dissapointed.
The story is fast paced, erotic and original. It grabs you at the very beginning and you find yourself reading page after page to see where is all going.
The characters are well developed and charismatic. Dare, we alrady knew from other Jordan novels (The Seduction, The Passion, Desire and Ecstasy) We knew he is sensual, charming, magnetic and shameless. But in this book he takes new dimenssions and is revealed to us in a deeper and more intimate way. He is also compassionate, understanding and capable of a depth of emotion and commitment that I didn't belive posible in him before reading this book.
Julienne is the perfect match for him. No blushing miss could have made Dare fall in love with her. It takes a heroine like her, witty and corageous, with that mixture of sensuality and vulnerability to bring the Prince of Pleasure to his knees.
The chemistry beween them is electric, the dialogue is witty and the love scenes red hot.
I paricularly liked the theater scene, where Dare challeges her to the wager in front of the whole audience. I loved the fact that even though he thought she had betrayed him, he still could not help seeking her out and falling in love with her all over again. In spite of all the hurt and mistrust, they still needed each other and were drawn together by their hearts desires even against their better judgement. Their love was one that could survive intrigue, betrayal, lies, time and distance.
However, to be objective, I must say that there are a few things about this book that I did not find very convincing. One of them was the reason for their break up all those years ago. It did not seem at all justified. I would think that for a person in Julienne's situation, the logical and sensible thing to do after being threatened by Dare's grandfather would be to turn to him for protection and face the problems together as a couple. Instead she pushes him out of her life trying to be "noble" and "sacrifice" herself for him. If they were in love, she should have given Dare the option of deciding for himself what he wanted to do, not make the choices for him. She made her decision assuming that Dare would be happier with his title and money than with her, and that only proves that she did not have enough faith in his love. With her actions she only caused a lot of pain and unhappiness for both of them. Also, how the hell could Dare belive Julienne had been cheating on him right from the start? If I remember correctly, Julienne was a virgin the first time they were together, I should think that a man of Dare's experience would have realized that. Her innocence should have been proof enough against Lord Ivers accusation that they were lovers even before Dare and Julienne met each other.
However, if you can get pass those details, the book is a real Pleasure to read.
|
