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59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rich, mouthwatering scorcher historical/erotic romance!, March 21, 2004
Having read and loved Personal Assets, Menage and Beyond Innocence, Emma Holly has become my favorite erotic romance author. Her books are as exquisite and mouthwatering as chocolate with caramel. Though not as explicit as her Black Lace offerings, Beyond Seduction, a beautiful and romantic novel set in Victorian England, offers a scorcher of a novel full of sinful animalistic lust. And the best part is that it is solely centered on the protagonists. Merry Vance is a wild, free spirit. Marriage is the last thing on her mind. But when her manipulative mother, driven by blackmail, tries to force her into accepting her long-suffering suitor's marriage proposal, Merry takes matters into her own hands. In order to ruin her chances of marriage, she poses nude for Nicolas Craven -- London's most reputable painter and notorious womanizer. However, painting Merry is not the only thing on Nicolas's mind...
This novel contains the most insatiable sex scenes recently written. And I thought I'd read smoldering scenes before! But the best part is what happens before Nicolas and Merry hit the sack. The scenes in which Nicolas seduces Merry are incredible. The building of tension made me tingle all over. And I loved the story. I love historical romances, but this one's the best I've read in a long time. I couldn't put this book down and savored the last pages like fine wine. Beyond Seduction has become my favorite Emma Holly novel. I so look forward to reading all of her books. In the meantime, I recommend this wonderful novel. It'll awaken your loins as well as your intellect. Your partner will be grateful once you're able to put this book down.
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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond Seduction is THE erotic romance of the year, June 15, 2002
It's truly a guilty pleasure to see Emma Holly going beyond innocence to present a full-fledged seductive read. Her debut historical romance Beyond Innocence though racy and steamy comes out of platitude because of the constraint of its typical plot. In Beyond Seduction, she delivers a much more provocative romance that explores different facets of sexuality. Merry Vance, the daughter of Duke of Monmouth cherishes her freedom and has no intentions of abiding by her mother Lavinia's fervent wishes for her to marry Baron Althrop's son Ernest. Fear of her past affair with Althrop being exposed to her husband, she is forced to compromise Merry's happiness. Merry is pushed to the wall and finds herself succumbing to being a model for the notorious but talented artist Nicolas Craven in a twist of fate. What she did not gamble on was the inexplicable attraction that bounded Merry to the complex Nicolas... Emma Holly's latest historical romance may be sexually explicit and at some times challenging the boundaries of romance to hint of decadent carnal adventures like menage a trois and homosexualism. It is precisely Ms. Holly's courage to push the envelope that makes Beyond Seduction her most accomplished historical romance. Her characters, Merry and Nicolas are flawed and both vulnerable with their insecurities. Merry's plain beauty catches the eye of Nicolas in his portrait of her as Godiva. It is her candor and independence - and ultimately her undying love for Nicolas that makes him confront his own demon and guilt to his "son". Beyond Seduction is lusciously tempting with the flagrant sexuality but it is even more evocative and poignant when Merry and Nicolas both fight off temptations and remain committed. It explores facets of sexuality - from naivete, experimentation to understanding faith and promises. Though I would like the ending to be less abrupt with Lavinia's sudden shift of character and less fairy tale like, it remains quinessentially a romance. Ms. Holly has proven that she has gone further beyond seduction to present a romance with heart that rekindles wounded souls. This is no doubt the erotic romance of the year.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH, May 28, 2002
By A Customer
I write the above warning, because this is without a doubt the most sexually graphic romance novel that I have ever read. To give you some idea, Amazon rates Lori Foster's book "Too Much Temptation" a 10 for sensuality and this book, in my estimation, rates at least the same if not a little higher. Don't get me wrong, because it's not a bad thing in my opinion. But, if you like your romance novels sweet and light, this ain't the book for you. If you are sexually adventurous, at least in your reading, this book is sure to please. The book starts with a character from EH's last book "Beyond Innocence," Merry Vance. Merry is now 20 years old and looking to avoid marriage to a suitable young man that her mother has chosen for her. Merry's mother has ulterior motives for wanting this marriage and is pressuring her daughter incessantly. To escape the marriage, Merry schemes to pose for a notorious artist in the hopes that this will make her unsuitable for marriage to anyone as she longs for "freedom" to live the way she wishes. The artist she has chosen is Nic Craven. Nic is talented, handsome, and a rake who is reputed to be a real Lothario. She lies to Nic and tells him that she is only a servant when she is really the daughter of a duke. Nic is immediately attracted to plain little Merry and decides that she must move in with him so that he may use her as a model for his paintings. From there their affair begins and what an affair it is! I know from my earlier comments that this book sounds like nothing but a sex-fest, but there is actually a poignant love story amid deception, guilt, denial, and lust. Nic is a man who is plagued by doubt and guilt over his past. He cannot get over what happened to him when he was a teenager and thus considers himself unable to love nor feel he deserves love. While Merry unconsciously feels as if she will never measure up because of her looks or lack thereof. She makes bad choices and later, too late, realizes the selfishness of said choices. I give it four stars instead of five because of the ending. The ending was a little too neat and tidy. Nic's revelation about his family background was too convenient. It's a small complaint, nonetheless, to an otherwise satisfying story.
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