The Pleasure Seekers

Rating:
Summary: What a tortured rogue!!
Review: Caine might be one of the saddest characters in romantic book history. He really got to me! I know I would have been just like Bliss - I would have wanted to heal him. Men that have such a tragic life truly are the most interesting. Bliss with her French artistic background presented a challenge to Caine - one he was not expecting, when he set out to seduce her. He was so intensely twisted up in revenge against Bliss's father, who he blamed for his family's ruin and his own father's life. Thus, leaving Caine penniless and forced to be a kept man by the evil Olivia in his ancestral home. For Caine the question is whether revenge and a chance to win back his heritage win out over the love and heart of Bliss which he never ever expected to fall in love with. This is just a beautiful love story!!

Rating:
Summary: HOT, STEAMY, AND WROUGHT W/EMOTION!
Review: I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH HOW I LOVED THE PLEASURE SEEKERS. MELANIE GEORGE HAS A WAY OF MAKING CHARACTERS JUMP OFF THE PAGE. CAINE IS STRONG, BUT OH-SO TORTURED. BLISS IS JUST AS STRONG, AND SOMETIMES STRONGER - AS WELL AS BEING SMART, SOPHISTICATED, AND DEVOTED TO THOSE SHE LOVES. I ONLY WISH THE NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES WAS COMING OUT SOONER. FROM THE SNEAK PEAK INSERTED AT THE BACK OF THE BOOK, I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER FANTASTIC READ. BRAVO, MS. GEORGE!!!

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!
Review: I loved this book! Ms. George knows how to write hot, sexy, tortured TO DIE FOR heroes like Caine Ballinger, and Parris is his perfect foil. The ending was such a twist and brought tears to my eyes. Don't miss this story!

Rating:
Summary: A KEEPER!
Review: Ms. George is at the top of her game here. She has always been a sensual writer, but this is her best, not only for the sexual chemistry but for the amazing depth and sensitivity. Though her hero, Caine Ballinger, is a complete roue, never has a man been so thoroughly deserving of a second chance, a man so tortured and broken that you wish you could go back in time and take care of him. His connection with Bliss, a strong, smart and self-sufficient young woman is incredible. She never does what one expects. I am anxiously waiting for the next book in this series. It can't come soon enough.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best title for a story with so much heartache
Review: Ok, I thought that we had done away with silly, unlikely heroine names like Raven, Parris, Skye and now Bliss? UGH! But Melanie George (along with Nicole Jordan) writes very much in the tradition of those late 70's early 80's bodice rippers, so I suppose we should not be surprised. We're all familiar with stories of women who, through circumstances beyond their control, wind up with nothing, forced to either become governess or mistress. Well here's a twist in that in this story, it's a man who's lost all.

Caine Ballinger has lost everything but his useless title as Earl of Hartland due to his father's debts - especially to the Earl of Exmoor. He's been reduced to "pleasuring" the current lady of the manor, the malevolent Olivia Hamilton who bought Northcote on the old earl's death. Caine hates Olivia (and himself) but with no money and no prospects, he is left with little choice but to do her bidding (sexually) in order to remain in his family home. During a house party, Caine becomes intrigued by one of Olivia's guests - Bliss Ashton who just happens to be the daughter of the man he blames for all his troubles, the Earl of Exmoor. Caine resolves to hate Bliss because of her father, whose intractability over Caine's father's debts to him contributed to his death. But there is something besides hate in his eyes when he looks at the lovely Bliss and it does not go unnoticed by Olivia. Not keen on having a rival for Caine's attention, she challenges him to seduce and ruin Bliss with his reward being the return of his family home, not to mention revenge on the Earl of Exmoor. Though unwilling to go along with any of Olivia's machinations, he agrees knowing it is just one more black mark on his already dark soul. But he's desperate to get his home, not to mention some small measure of his self-respect, back and to get Olivia out of his life forever. Any guilt he feels about using Bliss is blunted by his need for revenge against her father. And so his pursuit begins.

Of course he succeeds in seducing her, they fall for one another and she discovers his true motivations. She flees to Paris to forget Caine and move on with her life. Easier said than done - especially when Caine shows up in Paris determined to win her back. Can she trust him with heart? Can he truly love her? And, given the unsavory things he's done and the fact that he has little to offer her, can he make himself worthy of her?

If you like your heroes tortured, Caine will perfectly fit the bill. He's a man on the brink of despair, especially once he realizes his feelings for Bliss. But a couple of issues: Olivia's character was pretty much one-dimensional in that she did cruel things because she enjoyed it and because she could. And if Caine had no money, how does he pay for travel and lodging when he follows her to Paris? And toward the end there seemed to be more than necessary complications, revelations and some too easily resolved conflicts. But I must say that Caine's despair and self-loathing were very well depicted. When Olivia reveals Caine's ugliest secrets to Bliss his despair is palpable and his reaction borders on pathetic. You just wanted to pull him into your arms, squeeze him tight and tell him it would be all right. Though not perfect, this is a highly sensual story of a man who's done many ugly things and the woman who might just be his salvation.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best title for a story with so much heartache
Review: Ok, I thought that we had done away with silly, unlikely heroine names like Raven, Parris, Skye and now Bliss? UGH! But Melanie George (along with Nicole Jordan) writes very much in the tradition of those late 70's early 80's bodice rippers, so I suppose we should not be surprised. We're all familiar with stories of women who, through circumstances beyond their control, wind up with nothing, forced to either become governess or mistress. Well here's a twist in that in this story, it's a man who's lost all.

Caine Ballinger has lost everything but his useless title as Earl of Hartland due to his father's debts - especially to the Earl of Exmoor. He's been reduced to "pleasuring" the current lady of the manor, the malevolent Olivia Hamilton who bought Northcote on the old earl's death. Caine hates Olivia (and himself) but with no money and no prospects, he is left with little choice but to do her bidding (sexually) in order to remain in his family home. During a house party, Caine becomes intrigued by one of Olivia's guests - Bliss Ashton who just happens to be the daughter of the man he blames for all his troubles, the Earl of Exmoor. Caine resolves to hate Bliss because of her father, whose intractability over Caine's father's debts to him contributed to his death. But there is something besides hate in his eyes when he looks at the lovely Bliss and it does not go unnoticed by Olivia. Not keen on having a rival for Caine's attention, she challenges him to seduce and ruin Bliss with his reward being the return of his family home, not to mention revenge on the Earl of Exmoor. Though unwilling to go along with any of Olivia's machinations, he agrees knowing it is just one more black mark on his already dark soul. But he's desperate to get his home, not to mention some small measure of his self-respect, back and to get Olivia out of his life forever. Any guilt he feels about using Bliss is blunted by his need for revenge against her father. And so his pursuit begins.

Of course he succeeds in seducing her, they fall for one another and she discovers his true motivations. She flees to Paris to forget Caine and move on with her life. Easier said than done - especially when Caine shows up in Paris determined to win her back. Can she trust him with heart? Can he truly love her? And, given the unsavory things he's done and the fact that he has little to offer her, can he make himself worthy of her?

If you like your heroes tortured, Caine will perfectly fit the bill. He's a man on the brink of despair, especially once he realizes his feelings for Bliss. But a couple of issues: Olivia's character was pretty much one-dimensional in that she did cruel things because she enjoyed it and because she could. And if Caine had no money, how does he pay for travel and lodging when he follows her to Paris? And toward the end there seemed to be more than necessary complications, revelations and some too easily resolved conflicts. But I must say that Caine's despair and self-loathing were very well depicted. When Olivia reveals Caine's ugliest secrets to Bliss his despair is palpable and his reaction borders on pathetic. You just wanted to pull him into your arms, squeeze him tight and tell him it would be all right. Though not perfect, this is a highly sensual story of a man who's done many ugly things and the woman who might just be his salvation.

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD READ THAT SHOWS POTENTIAL
Review: The novel has all the elements that I look for in a good romance: a masculine handsome hero that is also sensitive and has a tortured past; an intelligent, thinking heroine that is loving and also beautiful; an engaging plot that keeps the reader involved in the story. The "bad" characters are one dimensional, Ms. George would do better if she developed them in some shades of gray instead of only unredeeming black. However, the dialogue is just too unrealistic when dealing with sexual matters. I can't imagine most people, even in the 21st century, speaking with close friends, let alone virtual strangers, using the vocabulary or the graphic descriptions that the protagonists use. A little more subtlety in the language would not make the novel unsexy, but would make it more romantic.

Rating:
Summary: Steer clear of this one!
Review: This book was appalling - over-dramatic, unrealistic and full of anachronisms. I'm amazed that other readers have recommended it. The hero is a violent, emotionally abusive, uni-dimensional nutcase; the heroine is an idiotic sap and the plot line demands more than a little "suspended disbelief". I was rooting for the horse!

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: This was my first George and I was gripped by the first page. I loved how she twisted the usual tried and true romance plot of the heroine forced to be the hero's love slave because her brother/father/guardian gambled their fortune away. Instead, in The Pleasure Seekers, the hero is forced to be the "manstress" of a woman he lost his fortune to. The heroine, a lovely girl by the name of Bliss(very corny, but I could overlook it because this book is so good) stumbles across our anguished hero and the wager is on: if Caine can seduce Bliss, he can have everything he lost back in his posession. What I loved about this was that Caine, in his attempts to seduce Bliss, ended up getting to know her. A somewhat cliched plot twist later, finds Bliss living in Paris. But her independent life there more than made up for that earlier plot twist. The hero is forced to grovel and I loved it. The Pleasure Seekers is bold, passionate and very sensual. If you're looking for a textured, emotional read, pick this book.

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD READ THAT SHOWS POTENTIAL
Review: Though an Earl, Caine "Vice" Ballinger lives on the fringe of society ever since his father Henry committed suicide off the cliffs of Devon. Caine blames his sire's death on Duke Edward Ashton, who called in a debt that Henry could not pay off. The family home Northcote was sold on the auction block once its entail expired. Caine is angry and frustrated because he cannot do a thing to the man who destroyed his family and his heart.

Opportunity for revenge finally arrives when Edward's daughter Lady Bliss Ashton attends a party that Caine, as the sex toy of the current owner of Northcote, Olivia Hamilton, is also at. Olivia bets Caine he cannot seduce Bliss, known for rejecting suitors. If he wins he regains his family home, but if he loses he becomes a more attentive lover. As Caine makes his move, Bliss sees inside the angry arrogant man to a warm, caring and honorable person who she loves, but to persuade him that he deserves her means a paradigm switch from detesting the Ashtons.

Though the "solution" with her father is too easily resolved, fans will appreciate this passionate Regency romance starring two unlikely soul mates who the audience will adore. The story line moves forward rather quickly whether the subplot contains a romantic theme or a murder mystery. Caine's personality traits are presented rather early in a delightfully intelligent manner during a tryst with Olivia so that the audience sees the pulls on his character and ironically before Bliss finds them. By George, sub-genre fans seeking pleasure in their novels will gain plenty from this solid tale.

Harriet Klausner