Absolute Pleasure

Meoooowwww! This book is the best I have read by Cheryl Holt; an erotic mix of sex, true love, and inner battles with conscience come together to make Absolute Pleasure one of my absolute favorites. I highly recommend this book due to the believable characters and likeable co-characters. I think I just might have fallen in love with Gabriel myself. Before you read this, make sure you have a man handy to take care of any needs that may arise! Even the characters you hate get their just rewards. Two love stories in one, Absolute Pleasure was truly an inspiring read.

Cheryl Holt's style has tangibly ventured out of the comfort zone with more erotica-than-romance reads such as Love Lesson and horrid misses like Total Surrender. Absolute Pleasure as her eighth novel clearly has stayed clear of debauched orgies and unconscionable heroes, restricting its intimacies between her central couple Elizabeth and Gabriel. The sexual scenes however are by no way tame and one shouldn't expect an alpha male. In fact bleedheart lothario Gabirel Cristofore is a gifted artist moonlighting as a social escort who offers carnal pleasures to bored widows and wives. His conscience is pricked when he is after Lady Elizabeth Harcourt, daughter of the social hypocrite Earl Norwich. At 27 and still a virgin, she conceals a sensual radiance which Gabriel is strongly attracted to and succumbs to temptation despite knowing that Gabriel isn't the material for love. Holt's romance is ugly but at once brutally honest. Charlotte as the young stepmom of Elizabeth is spiteful and seethingly jealous of her stepdaughter but surely does not deserve the fate of being bounded to the violent Norwich who abuses and rapes her for a heir. Mary Smith is refreshingly worldly as Norwich's servant and secret mistress who later falls in love with Gabriel's dad John and regrets her earlier misplace of passion. Elizabeth is deprived of freedom and independence while Gabriel is spurned as a by-blow by his mother's relatives. Cheryl Holt's explicit sex scenes unflinchingly flash out the evil, flaws and naked pleas to be loved and understood. Absolute Pleasure, as such, is a straight hate-it-or-love it affair that is certainly out of the mainstream romance. However unlike the bleak Total Surrender, we appreciate Gabriel's redemption and the hope of love found here. Ms. Holt redeems herself beautifully with this effort that gives renewed faith and pleasure over her work once more.

Cheryl Holt's style has tangibly ventured out of the comfort zone with more erotica-than-romance reads such as Love Lesson and horrid misses like Total Surrender. Absolute Pleasure as her eighth novel clearly has stayed clear of debauched orgies and unconscionable heroes, restricting its intimacies between her central couple Elizabeth and Gabriel. The sexual scenes however are by no way tame and one shouldn't expect an alpha male. In fact bleedheart lothario Gabirel Cristofore is a gifted artist moonlighting as a social escort who offers carnal pleasures to bored widows and wives. His conscience is pricked when he is after Lady Elizabeth Harcourt, daughter of the social hypocrite Earl Norwich. At 27 and still a virgin, she conceals a sensual radiance which Gabriel is strongly attracted to and succumbs to temptation despite knowing that Gabriel isn't the material for love.Holt's romance is ugly but at once brutally honest. Charlotte as the young stepmom of Elizabeth is spiteful and seethingly jealous of her stepdaughter but surely does not deserve the fate of being bounded to the violent Norwich who abuses and rapes her for a heir. Mary Smith is refreshingly worldly as Norwich's servant and secret mistress who later falls in love with Gabriel's dad John and regrets her earlier misplace of passion. Elizabeth is deprived of freedom and independence while Gabriel is spurned as a by-blow by his mother's relatives. Cheryl Holt's explicit sex scenes unflinchingly flashes out the evil, flaws and naked pleas to be loved and understood. Absolute Pleasure, as such, is a straight hate-it-or-love it affair that is certainly out of the mainstream romance. However unlike the bleak Total Surrender, we appreciate Gabriel's redemption and the hope of love found here. Ms. Holt redeems herself beautifully with this effort that gives renewed faith and pleasure over her work once more.

Cheryl Holt does it again. She is one of the best historic writers with an erotic edge. She creates well rounded characters that can never be viewed as all good or all bad. And just when you start to hate a character in the book you get just a glimpse of vulnerability that makes you feel sorry for them. Now I just have to wait for her next book - she is definitely on my automatic buy list.

At twenty-seven, Lady Elizabeth Harcourt remains a virginal spinster, devoting her life to her father's demands. Her place in society as the only child of the Earl of Norwich assures Elizabeth protection from unsuitable encounters. Then unexpectedly, Elizabeth finds herself momentarily in contact with a bounder of the worst sort. Artist Gabriel Cristofore presses his card into her hand as he departs, leaving a lingering memory of outrageous flattery. With her father's remarriage to the unpalatable seventeen-year-old Charlotte, Elizabeth finds herself with time on her hands. Tired of the petty squabbles and temper tantrums of her new stepmother, Elizabeth boldly follows her fancy and approaches Gabriel's studio for a portrait. She mistrusts the sincerity of his compliments, but yields to the forbidden in long afternoons of exploration and growing sensuality. Gabriel Cristofore enjoyed his superficial, rather capricious life, never troubled by his conscious; that is, until Elizabeth came along. Suddenly his career of chasing aristocratic women, luring them to his bed and extracting the means to support his household holds little appeal. Enamored with Elizabeth's stunning originality, Gabriel knows their affair is only temporary. But for the first time, he finds himself longing to linger with this newly awakened siren who has stolen his heart.Author Cheryl Holt sketches an intriguing view of Elizabethan sexuality in ABSOLUTE PLEASURE. She displays a gambit of possibilities from the most repressed to the most liberal, from the happiest to the most miserable. Specifically, Gabriel gleefully leads Elizabeth through a journey of self-discovery, replacing her repressed sexuality with delightful outrageousness and sensuality. His father John likewise discovers the joy of love and passion with Elizabeth's housekeeper Mary, demonstrating that love comes to mature characters just as passionately. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's father finds marriage distasteful with a woman young enough to be his granddaughter, proving that dissipation and greed reaps what it sows. (Note: some readers may be uncomfortable with the description of a marital rape.) Such a strong cast of characters, fabulous eroticism, and a subtly complex plot demonstrates Cheryl Holt's beautiful story telling ability. Holt's scintillating gift for tapping into secret fantasies satisfies readers who enjoy the combination of the sexually explicit with a heart stopping romance. Add this one to your keeper shelf; it's an absolute pleasure! Very highly recommended.