Total Surrender

I decided to ignore the few negative reviews and found this book totally absorbing. It has passion (hot, hot, hot passion) and lots of it...(as I think it should well be with any couple in love/lust real or within the pages of a book). It never ceases to amaze me when I read prudish (sorry) reviews...lol...I mean let's face it, isn't that WHY most of us WANT to read a love story in the first place? This book is well thought out and well written, Holt has penned a moving romance between two very strong people who need to find a way to each other amid the many hurdles thrown their way, the process is filled with sweet innocence, heart wrenching scenes, biting wit and great dialogue. I couldn't put it down. The story is moving on many different levels for both of the main characters .. and you can certainly feel for both Micheal but also with poor Sarah being at the whim of first her horrible father and then even worse her brother ... let's not forget what a long way we've really come, because as we are (or should be) reminded when we read historical novels, women back then had very, VERY few choices... their very survival depended upon the whims of the men in their lives.

After reading the negative reviews, I was contemplating in purchasing this book but since I have read other books by cheryl holt, I bought it. I think though this type of writing may not appeal to historical romance readers. But if you have read Holt's other books, then you know you should expect lots of sex scenes, crude and naughty sex scenes, and not much emotions involved other than physical sex. With expecting that, I wasn't disappointed at how Holt wrote this book. Michael Stevens feels that there is no women who is worth valueing other than to have sex. He goes to a party to escape his home when he finds out that his father wants to marry his mother who birthed him two sons whom the earl didn't claim. due to that, he has no respect for the titled class. To relieve boredom, he agrees to the host of the house to do lewd acts with masked women who does whatever he wants with them. Sarah Compton goes to the party without knowing what kind of party that the host was entertaining. Her cousin and brother wants her to wed so that her brother will get out of debt. Sarah doesn't want to get married for that reason, but realizes she doesnt' want to be a 25 year old maid. She catches Michael in doing some of the lewd acts and is still intrigued with him. Both are battling emotions and physical attractions for each other, suprisingly it's Michael who tries to put her at a distance since he doesn't think he's worthy of her affections. I enjoyed reading the book, I think out of all of holt's books, this seems to be the most compelling book and I liked the character of Michael, he seems to be a complex character that you want to unwrap and see how he does thruout the book. Yes, the only criticism I can say is that Holt does seem to be repetitive with the sex scenes. If you have read holt's other books, then you may like this one as well. I actually prefered Michael's story than his brother James in Love lesson.

What more can I say about this book. It held me enthralled from the beginning. Michael is a wonderful hero, tormented and charming. Sarah is courageous and sensuous. The make a very hot couple when they finally come together. Even Sarah's brother gets what he deserves in the end. Cherly Holt just gets better and better. I will definetly keep buying her books.

In 1812 England, though the daughter of an Earl, Lady Sarah Compton knows her family is ruined due to the bad judgment of her kind but now deceased father and the absolute idiocy of her brother Hugh believing that gambling away everything is his divine right. Needing cash to support his decadent lifestyle, Hugh demands Sarah snare a wealthy husband, but she thinks little of the idea especially when she reflects on her one disastrous season. However, Sarah does attend Lady Carrington's house party in Bedford not so much because of Hugh's orders, but as her last chance for fun before poverty becomes her life.However, this is no rustic tea party as the aristocracy has come here for sexual games. Among the participants is Michael Stevens, the most notorious rake in the land. Her innocence unnerves him, especially when she insists he teaches her the art of pleasure. As they fall in love, an unknown enemy will do anything to insure that Michael fails to find the proof that he seeks.This is an exciting erotic Regency romance starring two intriguing characters who in spite of the explicit scenes are typical of the sub-genre, i.e., the rake and the virgin. Still the story line grips the audience from the start until the final nude setting, as the lead characters are a dynamic couple battling for TOTAL SURRENDER. The suspense element adds tension, but the tale belongs to Sarah and Michael. Cheryl Holt turns up the heat with this enticing historical romance.Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed this novel. The one thing that kept it from being a 5 star in my book is that she spent so much time writing out the charactgers thoughts, that after a while I found myself getting bored. Also I really didn't think that a marriage would work in reality with these two and when she decides to bring them back together, they fall right in with each other again even after all the pain that was felt in their 6 months apart. I also wish the author let us know what happened to Pamela. I mean if Sarah was willing to forgive her husband she should have forgiven Pamela. Well they were just my observations and I must say that by page 317 I would not have forgiven Michael, but that doesn't make a good romance novel. I know that this doesn't sound like I liked the book, but I really did enjoy it. I just wanted to point out some parts that I found took away from a 5 star rating.