Tag: Cheryl Holt

Guest Review: Taste of Temptation by Cheryl Holt

Posted June 3, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Publisher: Berkley, Penguin
Judith’s review of Taste of Temptation (Novels of Sensual Destiny, Book 2) by Cheryl Holt

Helen Hamilton is a twenty-five-year-old spinster with no income and no propects who struggles to care for her two orphaned sisters. Destitute and only a heartbeat away from the streets, Helen applies for a position as a governess to the younger siblings of Captain Tristan Odell, guardian to the Earl of Hastings and his twelve-year-old sister. But when Tristan turns Helen away, her future seems as desperate as her options.

Determined to do whatever it takes to support her sisters, Helen ends up at a brothel run by Mrs. Bainbridge, the former mistress of Vicount Redvers (whom we meet in book one of this series) where she agrees to sell herself as a mistress to a client of wealth and prestige. Low and behold, it is Capt. Odell who buys Helen, but rather than as his mistress, he offers her the governess’s position. Enmeshed in an attraction which draws her to Tristan and he to her, their passion quickly grows, as does an unexpected danger that could easily destroy not only their love but their lives as well.

If you like to ride the roller coaster at your favorite theme park, then you will love this book! Cheryl Holt has given us the second in a series of stories that begins once again with the itinerant peddler, Phillipe Dubois aka Phillip Dudley. Offering Helen his Spinster’s Cure which is sure to engage the affections of the man of her dreams, the story goes up and down, often in unexpected ways. Tristan Odell is newly installed in the household of the Earl of Hastings as the guardian of the earl, a young, coddled, spoiled 18-year-old who is in love with his image in his mirror and who is convinced that the “world is his oyster.” Tristan is also guardian to the earl’s sister Rose who has been without a governess for two years and who has suffered greatly at the hands of a distant relative, Maud Seymour, and her daughter Miriam, also residents in the earl’s household and both of whom have designs on the earl’s fortune, his bed, and his future. Clue: they are the bad guys, and they hate Helen Hamilton and her two sisters from the get-go. Capt. Odell may have “purchased” Helen from the madam, but he brings her to Hasting’s London home where she is installed as the governess and given, not servant quarters and limited privileges, but treatment as an honored guest. Needless to say, the battle between the Hamilton sisters and Maud & her grasping daughter is joined, and I do mean with gusto!

Cheryl Holt does not write simplistic stories but develops plots that keep the reader guessing and wondering. Even when it appears a happy ending is in sight, the reader realizes that one is only half-way through the book, so be prepared: there’s lots more to come. Because this is a series it is easy to recognize characters from the first book that sort of hang around the edges, but each novel is strong enough to stand on its own.

Holt’s characters are not boring. Helen is a woman of her times, but she is willing to do whatever it takes, even compromising her moral standards, in order to protect her sisters. Their father was a sea captain with a reputation as a rake, but Helen has been surrogate mother to her sisters for most of her young life and she is not going to give up now. Jane is the 18 year old sister who tempts the young earl but in the process provides a relationship that almost forces him to grow up. Helen’s youngest sister becomes the best friend and “sister” the earl’s sister never had. Together Amelia and Rose provide some truly humorous moments in the story as well as demonstrate the loyalty that can grow between two young girls to such a degree that their friendship and mutual regard can shame the adults in their lives. Odell is a confirmed bachelor, owner of his own shipping company, wealthy and independent, but now saddled with the responsibility for his half-brother and half-sister. He is a relational clutz!! Many of the situations in the story are causesd by his inept response to a given set of circumstances, but he also actually learns from his mistakes and demonstrates that he is made of better stuff than even he himself thought. And then there is Maud and Miriam – the bland leading the bland. Cruel, insensitive, uncaring, manipulative, scheming, ambitious, greedy, and on and on . . . really neat people, eh? They attempt to take over Tristan, the earl and the earl’s home and forture in the bargain, and in the process they put everyone’s future happiness and even their lives at risk. Real bad gals.

I liked this story but it is not a fast read. Holt takes the time to develop the story, its plot and conflicts and characters and she makes the reader take the time to savor all the wonderful aspects of a novel well-written. I think it is a worthy sequel to her first book Promises of Pleasure. Fans of excellent writing and good stories will like this book as much as I did. But please give it the time that is its due. You won’t regret it!

I give this book a rating of 4.75 out of 5.

The Series:

Promise of Pleasure (Berkley Sensation)Taste of Temptation (Berkley Sensation)

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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Guest Review: Promise of Pleasure by Cheryl Holt

Posted April 22, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments


Judith’s review of Promise of Pleasure (Novels of Sensual Destiny, Book 1) by Cheryl Holt.

Mary Barnes has had it with her cruel stepmother who’s hoarded the family inheritance, with her two privileged half sisters, and with feeling unloved and unappreciated. Her one desire is to flee her stifling world, but it doesn’t seem possible, until a mysterious peddler offers her an elixir and a promise: one drink of his tonic in her true love’s presence and the man will be hers. Thought she is too much of a realist to believe in magic potions, whe accepts the gift. As if by magic, a stranger crosses her path and steps into her life.

He is Jordan Winthrop, scoundrel, viscount, and desperately bankrupt heir to the Earl of Sunderland. He’s also meant for Mary’s half sister. Thrilled by his advances, intoxicated by their secret affair, Mary finds herself falling for a man who’s already unmistakably engaged—to her sister’s dowry. As for Jordan, he can’t help but wonder if Mary is the woman to change his roguish ways—when he is spellbound in a sensual destiny spiraling beyond his control.

Wicked stepmother? Two selfish, self-centered, probably wicked stepsisters? Sounds strangely familiar, doesn’t it? So I thought when I began this book and I am still convinced that Holt has taken the framework, or at least the beginnings of the framework of the Cinderella story and turned it into a very good historical romance. Jordan is a true rake!! He is just about as decadent as they come. He cares little for anyone but his own self and lives to make his father as angry and miserable and disappointed in him as possible. He even brings his reprobate friend and his mistress to the country estate where he is supposedly getting to know Mary’s half sister, Felicity, with the express purpose of marrying her, making her a viscountess, and depositing Felicity’s very large dowry in the bank He doesn’t like the Barnes family, he really despises Victoria, Mary’s stepmother, is bored nearly to death by the people and ways of the country and has brought his mistress along to “entertain” him during the boring month that lay ahead. Nice guy!! But so it went in the ton of that day. Victoria wants a title for her daughter, cares absolutely nothing for Mary, has used her as a servant and “whipping boy” for most of Mary’s life, and cheated Mary out of her inheritance in favor of her spoiled and vaccuous daughters. Not nice people!!

Mary has always dreamed of, or at least hoped for a home of her own, children, a comfortable life with a comfortable husband. She has had a quiet, if not secret “understanding” with a neighbor gentleman who refuses to marry her until his mother dies. She is well and truly stuck. Jordan is attracted to her because he has enough sense to recognize that all is not as it should be with this older sister and he is also seeking some diversion with persons of the female persuasion. The relationship with his mistress is wearing a little thin; Mary is unknown, uncharted territory. Mary’s life has been difficult at best, but her heart was safe. With Jordan that is no longer true, and I have to own up to being quite emotionally involved with these characters before the end is in sight.

This is a somewhat complicated novel and is not going to be one of those stories that can be gobbled up in short order. The characters are complicated, the story line is complicated, the conflicts are many and multi-layered. But Holt seems to have the writing ability to keep this story moving forward and there are twists and turns enough that the reader is surprised and the interest level maintained. There is redemption here and it is rather nice to see not only Jordan maturing but watching Mary deal with life’s blows and her family’s cruelty without losing a sense of herself. There is romance aplenty in these pages—Jordan has made a career of bedding women—but there is genuine caring and, might I say, justice to be seen here. There is a sense of “what goes around comes around” before it is all over.

I give this book a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

The Series:

Promise of Pleasure (Berkley Sensation)Taste of Temptation (Berkley Sensation)

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here.


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Secret Fantasy by Cheryl Holt

Posted March 10, 2008 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Melissa’s guest review of Secret Fantasy by Cheryl Holt

Orphaned at a young age and sent to live with selfish relatives, Margaret Gray has no dowry and no chance of ever marring. When her aunt invites Jordan Prescott, Viscount Romney, for a visit, hoping to entice him into offering for margaret’s spoiled cousin, the dashing war hero instead tempts Margaret into truly decadent decision. If Margaret cannot have a husband, perhaps she dares, just once, to tast the pleasures of the flesh?

Since his dissolute father squandered the family fortune, Jordan is required to marry an heiress in order to provide for his half-siblings. Yet no woman has ever aroused him as much as Margret. Her sedate exterior belies a bold spirit and tantalizing sexuality. A single illicit tryst becomes a month-long journey in carnal abandon, but with Jordan’s visit drawing to a close, can their passion survive the dangerous scheming that threatens to keep them apart?

Here we go….

This book is about Margaret, orphaned young, living with her Aunt and Cousin. Aunt Lavinia is arranging the match between the Viscount and her daughter Penelope, to get her daughter out of the house asap. Penelope can’t stand the Viscount. But Jordan desperately needs the money so he rolls with the punches, but falls for Margaret in the process. Margaret is broke, so he can’t wed her. Jordan feels he has to do his duty to protect his 1/2 siblings, and estates. Jordan’s father, the Earl comes to visit, with his mistress in tow. The Earl decides that he wants the virginal bride, and dowry, for himself. But not before sampling the Mother. Jordan has to snag Penelope before his father does, but at what cost?

This book definitely has a lot of sneaking around and secret trysts. The plot is pretty easy to follow, and there is enough suspense to keep you going. I found it amusing that Mother and daughter were fighting over the same man. Especially because he is a dog.

The thing is, I know this is not the first book I’ve read by Cheryl Holt with a snotty Penelope in it. Nor is it the first book I’ve read by her where father and son go for the same girl. The only other thing I really didn’t like is how it was all kept in the family. Just the idea of hooking up with a man old enough to be you grandfather is sick, but to know that your mother, the blow job queen, was with him….eeeewwww

I did enjoy it, however.

Grade: 3.5

You can buy it here or here.


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