Customer Reviews

Complete Abandon

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have really enjoyed Cheryl Holt's books with the exception of Absolute Pleasure, her novel prior to Complete Abandon. Absolute Pleasure was average at best and disappointed me because I expect above average writing from Holt. But she is at her best once again with Complete Abandon and I was able to determine that within the first fifty pages of the book (and I'm not talking about the sensual scene from the first few pages).

Viscount Wakefield, John Clayton, is one of those immoral heroes who is too wealthy for his own good. He isn't too pleased with the many responsibilities required of a viscount who owns numerous properties. He has spent years in decadent living - always partying, gambling, womanizing, and whatever else he can do to provide a thrill to his very tainted life - a life that is becoming quite boring. He visits one of his estates, Wakefield, and begins the tedious task of making the estate profitable once again. Fearing boredom, John has brought with him to Wakefield his mistress, brother, and a crowd of equally decadent revelers who are ever willing to accept John's immense hospitality.

Emma is a heroine with a lot of zest, purpose, and down right audacity. She is the daughter of Wakefield's deceased vicar and is known to protect those she loves. The villagers petition Emma's assistance when many receive eviction notices from the newly arrived viscount. Emma is incensed when she realizes the eviction notices are directed to those retired, ill, or fatherless. She eagerly takes up the village's cause and tromps to the estate family's home to confront the viscount with his poor judgment, stingy inclinations, and downright villainous tendencies as he evicts the most needy from their homes. Emma has heard all of the horrible rumors about John Clayton's despicable behavior and it only makes her more determined to face him down and hammer some sense into him.

John is having a fairly boring morning, complete with a boring sexual encounter with his mistress. This is the opening pages scene that has been commented on in many reviews. Afterwards, he is holding a rather boring informal business meeting with his brother when this unknown woman demands entrance to his home. His butler is unable to keep her out of the house and this stranger barges straight into John's library where he sits with his brother and his mistress. Well, John is one of those alpha males who always want to be in charge but, as a gentleman, he attempts to placate this furious, beautiful lady and get her out of his house. Soon John is speechless as he learns this vicar's daughter doesn't think too highly of him and is actually criticizing him! And insulting him - a lot! She is dictating to him about his duties and detailing his many failures. As he attempts to speak to Emma, she keeps up her tirade and refuses his efforts to dismiss her. So John, ever the devil viscount that he is, makes a rude and shocking proposition to her in exchange for his withdrawal of the eviction notices. Of course, his intention is to cause her to run from his house - away from his evil, reprehensible suggestion - and the obviously depraved person he is. He expects this vicar's daughter to scamper away in fear and out of his home forever. But Emma is one step ahead of him and stuns him by taking up his challenge. This all occurs within the opening pages of the book and is one of the more entertaining scenes I have read in romance writing. I really savored this interaction between the two. John is stunned as Emma not only agrees to his proposition but also insists he put it in writing.

So, Complete Abandon is off and running fast. There is not a dull moment from page one and Emma and John's relationship is at once adversarial as well as intensely sensual. Their relationship is unlike most romance plots. Oh there are similar elements to mainstream historical romances but the situations between Emma and John are unusual and refreshing. Most of all they captivate you as they each try to outmaneuver the other. It is a rollicking story with many ups and downs as well as containing some serious overtones. John's continued shock at Emma's behavior is humorous throughout the book. Their relationship, as to be expected, does become physical eventually and these sensual scenes rate a strong 4.5 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). John holds true to his alpha character but it does not rule the book, as is so often the case. Emma remains strong and resilient without becoming tiresome or irritating. The chemistry is strong between these two yet their situation is a bit sad since neither expects anything lasting from the other.

I highly recommend Complete Abandon. It goes on my keeper shelf - I have not had many of those lately. Thanks Cheryl Holt for a fantastic and fun story.

A scandalous observation leaves spinster Emma Fitzgerald with unfettered desire and outrageous daring. Rather than feeling appalled at witnessing a tryst between John Clayton, the new Viscount Wakefield, and his paramour, Emma longs to sample such risqué behavior. Unfortunately, she has arrived on a serious mission, as the Viscount has served eviction notices on many of her elderly and widowed neighbors, as well as her own family. Temporary distraction does not put her off from her purpose; rather, it prepares her.

Under the prim, proper exterior of a vicar's daughter, Emma conceals passions to match John's. Her saucy daring and bodacious maneuverings captures his attention, promising an allure far beyond what John has shared with the jaded women of London. Moreover, John's attempts to protect while dissuading Emma fail miserably when she turns the situation to her advantage. Suddenly this bad boy realizes he has met his match in the most unexpected of ways.

Cheryl Holt creates a searing tale of passion in COMPLETE ABANDON. Holt provides an amusing afternoon's read with vivid characterizations that spring to life. A study of complete opposites, Emma and John come together with unexecuted hilarity and outrageousness. Emma's sensual nature sparkles under this bad boy's touch. Remarkably, she does not attempt to tame his wayward ways; rather, she glories in both his strengths and in his flaws. John, however, has a lot to learn about women regardless of his varied experience if he wishes to ever keep the heart of this remarkable woman. Secondary characters likewise sparkle with Holt's characteristic style. Witty, daring and delightful, COMPLETE ABANDON comes very highly recommended.

While Ms. Holt is rapidly achieving fame in the romance genre, it is clear that her sensual romances are not just an abundance of love scenes with a little plot added. In her latest, she very credibly integrates romantic interludes between an unhappy viscount and a deceased vicar's daughter with the caring nature that also binds the two in friendship.

Though Emma Fitzgerald decides to ask John Clayton, Viscount Wakefield, to rescind his eviction notices, she never thought she would agree to sexual interludes with him in exchange for his rescission powers and his visits to the tenants. But agree she does, and the two soon learn that there is more to their relationship than the sensual promises of the bedroom. And while Emma is a thoroughly refreshing heroine in a subgenre where most young virginal females are submissive, she is no simpering miss, as she barely earns her keep for her invalid mother and young sister caring for neighbors and delivering babies in the village.

With sensual love scenes between John and Emma amidst their verbal sparring, the plot continues at a fast pace, as John must determine the nature of their relationship before he returns to his mistress in London. Though the new local vicar's sensual proclivity for young girls seems a little over the top, the ever evolving romance between the two lovers is as entertaining as it is steamy.

Don't be deceived by the hilarious beginning; this well-crafted book is hardly a comedy! Amazingly, Cheryl Holt plays with the reader's every emotion. She unwraps love, joy, sorrow, hate, and then throws in sexual prowling as an added bonus. Bravo Ms. Holt, what an exhilarating roller coaster ride through human endurance.

John Clayton, Viscount Wakefield, suffers with the company of artificial friends - "hanger-ons." He is rich; they are pathetic. He is attractive; they are fascinated. He is influential; they are unimportant. He permits their company; they oblige him. So rests the worthless life of a self-centered viscount.

Emma Fitzgerald, a deceased vicar's daughter, is astute, spirited, and extremely poor. What started as a humorous liaison, between these two mismatched people, quickly becomes a fragile bond. Sadly, their intimacy has no gratified future; Emma is far below Clayton's social view and position.

Further enhancing her story, Cheryl Holt touches upon more human shortcomings. Rustling through the pages is John's offensive mistress, his tolerant fiancee, and his bastardly brother. Emma, too, has her life sharpened with a fresh, delightful sister, a vile admirer, and the daily issue of destitution. Oh what a twisted web the author has brilliantly woven.

The novel's weak points: the lengthy deliberations, in and among key scenes, are distracting. Such pondering, by the characters, weakens the scene development. Additionally, the author did not soothe the Clayton brothers' relationship. Their future friendship was uncertain -- an unanswered curiosity. However, this confusion and use of sexual language, that at times, seemed too modern are insignificant objections. Cheryl Holt has written a creative story that captivates her reader's interest. Well done.

And I kind of doubt I will be again. But I'm going to try to be fair here. I thought I would read something by Ms. Holt since I had never read anything by her before, and I was looking for a new romance author. The two stars I grant Complete Abandon might actually be a 2.5. This is not a badly written book -- its story moves along, and it's not boring (though I found myself skimming toward the end, I must admit).

I've discovered that the type of writing/character development/plot devices chosen by this author are not my preference in romance fiction. Ms. Holt reminded me a little of Bertice Small's older novels, which is good as far as that goes, (she's certainly very, um, direct, like Bertice, with a touch of perversity) but nowadays I generally prefer a little subtlety in my romance reading. So the hero's oversexed "cockstands" (yes, that's what she calls 'em), and the immediately horny heroine, kind of put me off. It all seems so smutty - but that's my opinion, it might not be yours! If you prefer your romance reading very "up front", with a touch of perversity (in this book, the Vicar with the taste for little girls comes to mind --uggh.) then Cheryl Holt is the author for you. Ms. Holt just isn't one that I prefer.

This book was seriously awful. The writing is fussy and stilted - the kind where a contemporary author thinks that she'll sound more historical if she uses five words where she could use one.

It starts off with a real bang - Emma watches John Clayton have sex with his mistress; it's a real quicky, and both of them seem kind of bored. Then Emma storms into the house and demands to see John, the viscount, so she can confront him about the evictions he's ordered. They end up making a deal: John won't evict the tenants if Emma will have sex with him.

After that, I was expecting the rest to be really uninhibited and erotic. But no, it's not. That leads to a seemingly endless serious of encounters where Emma cleverly avoids having sex with John, and John gets more and more exasperated by it.

There are a few twists to the plot, and they are all deeply cliched. There's a duplicitous brother, an evil mistress, and an even more evil vicar.

What really got to me is that John is constantly thinking, "Well, after a lifetime of obeying nobody, why is it that this Emma says jump and I say how high?" or "Isn't it strange that I usually hate being nagged, but I love it when Emma nags me!" And both of those things ARE very strange, and they require a little more explanation than "just because" or "true love makes people enjoy being ordered around and nagged."

So aside from this not-all-that-erotic, not-all-that-convincing reforming a rake story, the end is just...laughable. But I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

I was anxious to get to Ms. Holt's latest story since I didn't care for her last one all that much. Ms. Holt is back on her stride and this story was better then the last.

The character's are rather likeable this time around. Emma is a vicar's daughter that has fallen on hard times since the death of her father. She is now responsible for her little sister and sick mother but she make time to go to the local lord, Viscount Wakefield in order to protest against the unfair eviction notices of her neighbors. She plans on making a deal with him. For each time she will submit to his earthy desires, he will scratch off an eviction on his list. What she doesn't expect to happen is to feel something beyond disgust for the amoral rake, or find out that he has rather endearing qualities.

John Clayton works hard to live up to the reputation of being a rake and general sleaze bag. He is bored with life and all of the petty details that makes him loath his station in life. Then in walks Emma and everything changes. Emma does not give a farthing for his station in life, is not put off by his scowl, and has the audacity to lecture him on his rather fond affection for brandy. She also wakes him up and forces to feel things that he never thought he was capable of feeling.

This was a very touching story. I laughed out loud at some of Emma's actions and cheered her on in her attempt to win over John. The chemisty between these two people from different social circles is hot but does not detract from the telling of the story. This was a nice read and much more like what Ms. Holt has penned in the past. If you enjoy a little more spice in your romance then you will enjoy this story.

The plot of this book is: oral sex. That's it. Hope that's not too blunt for you. But that really is about all that's going on. If that's what you want in a "romance" then this is the book for you, because it is much better written than many such books are. The author can write good descriptions, and has a good writing style, and there are very few of the grammar and word-misusage errors that plague so many mass market paperbacks these days. But despite her gift for description, the characters are either all-good, all-evil, or unbelievable. Examples: our heroine is intelligent, beautiful, knows how to deliver babies and keep estate books, eats too little so that her adorable little sister and senile aging mother can have enough to eat; her only vices are being willing to steal food to feed the starving, and her rather inexplicable lust. The would-be fiancee is a very nice girl, well-behaved, intelligent, well-trained, well-spoken, pretty, and quite nice - not a single flaw except her inability to understand that the hero will never marry her. The vicar is all-evil, not only stupid and venal and weak, but a sadist and pederast to boot. And the mistress is likewise all-bad: always greedy, always willing to cheat and lie. And both our hero and his brother are rather unbelievable - well described, handsome, and nice people, but no particular reasons given why they should be nice. The hero is transformed from debauched libertine to sober, responsible, property owner, solely by the power of the heroine's love, or at least unstinting lust. The brother is a bastard - literally - who has been stealing from the estate, but it turns out there's a perfectly good justification for it; he flip-flops from loving his brother to hating him, without ever wanting the actual estate which he, being the elder, would inherit if he were legitimate. There isn't enough motivation given for either the hero or the brother's actions.

In sum: way better writing and better dialogue than most books that are mainly sex, but way less character and plot than most that are about romance.

This is my first book by Holt - and probably the last. The book started out so promising with a strong heroine. Emma was a hoot the way she stood her ground and overwhelmed John and Ian. The dialog was sharp and humorous. However...something happened...maybe she was replaced by a twin. Her character turned into a weakling with a muddled mind. The author made her so sharp and intelligent in the first half and a sex-weakened puddle in the latter part of the book. Just a finger (if you read the book you know what I mean) and she's mush. Ugh. Please, Ms. Holt, be consistant with your heroines and keep them strong and sharp.

There are books aplenty on rakes and hoydens. John the hero is one of those, oh so wealthy, sexy as hell, bored with life, has tons of money and yet is completely clueless of the plight of others. In comes the vivacious, slightly spinsterish, mouthy heroine Emma. She is the first to rattle him off his comfort zone and tell it to him like it is.

The opening chapter of the book is funny, and wonderful. I wish I could see John's expression when Emma agreed to his indecent proposal. I am glad to note that his illigitimate brother Ian, will be getting his own book in 2007.There are wonderful scenes of Emma getting John to open his eyes to the lives of others. How she manages to keep her virginity intact for the first three quarters of the book is a delight as well. Mind you, the language is rather frank and the sex scenes very sensual. John may think that he is a rake, but underneath that rakish demenour, lies a man confused about his own feelings.

I found the scenes about Emma's sisters poignant and tearful. Imagine stealing scones and then having lie about it to your sis. Read about the part where John visits Emma and discovers her actual living conditions. Three hanky scene for certain.

Now for the parts that I didn't quite like.
I didn't quite like the part about the unplanned pregnancy and Emma's ready acceptance about the situation. I would have made John pay dearly for his gaffe and complete lack of control that resulted in the pregnancy.

As in all romance books, all is well as John realises that Emma is meant for him and nothing else matters. He has met his redeeming angel and his equal in all things. It is refreshing to note that issues of titles, and honour and ranks were discussed. The accptance of these two on the stations in life and the final compromise is refreshing to read about. I only wish that Emma put John through hell first before accepting him into her bed and her life.

I am glad that they had their HEA. All in all, it is a good book, very sexy scenes, a dash of suspense, and great repartee between the H/h.
For more on this author, check out "Love Lessons" and 'Too hot to handle". I also recommend Lisa Valdez's "Passion" if you like your romances "hot".