Deeper than Desire [Mass Market Paperback]

Cheryl Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2004

With her family in dire straits, Olivia Hopkins reluctantly agrees to seek a marriage proposal from the aging Earl of Salisbury. But the plan goes awry when she finds an erotic volume in the earl's library. The book sets Olivia's body on fire. She simply cannot put it down-until she is caught red-handed by the Earl's devilishly handsome son-a man who quickens her pulse and stirs her imagination with thoughts she's never dared entertain...

Philip Paxton can't believe his good luck. Catching Olivia with the scandalous volume offers a superb chance to humiliate the father he despises. Using the book as bait, Philip lures Olivia into an electrifying affair that explodes into unbridled lessons of passion. Philip never expects to become enamored with his ravishing pupil. But what begins as a rakish scheme soon becomes a genuine affair of the heart-one that Philip will protect at any cost...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In 1813, Lady Olivia Hopkins is at the home of the widowed Edward Paxton, lord of Salisbury, thanks to her twice-widowed Aunt Margaret, on a visit intended to get him to propose and thereby save the impoverished extended family. All goes awry from the outset when Olivia meets Edward's illegitimate son, Phillip, while reading an erotic book and falls in love with him, and he with her, while also introducing her to many varied pleasures of the flesh. Edward is instantly attracted to Margaret's cousin, Winnie, leading to several secret, frantic, yet ecstatic couplings, and Margaret's daughter, Penelope, is seduced by an impoverished, licentious hanger-on. Not to be thwarted, Margaret sends Winnie away, and arranges for Edward to be put in a compromising position with Olivia so that he will have to propose. How it all gets sorted out is great fun as Holt explores how one can avoid being trapped into a loveless, if lucrative, marriage, and enlivens a convoluted and implausible plot with lovingly detailed sex scenes. Mary K. Chelton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Back Cover

Cheryl Holt has captivated fans with her unforgettable, intensely sexy novels. Now, the queen of erotic romance adds another jewel to her crown with a mesmerizing tale of forbidden desire...

She Has A Wicked Secret...
With her family in dire straits, Olivia Hopkins reluctantly agrees to seek a marriage proposal from the aging Earl of Salisbury. But the plan goes awry when she finds an erotic volume in the earl's library. The book sets Olivia's body on fire. She simply cannot put it down-until she is caught red-handed by the Earl's devilishly handsome son-a man who quickens her pulse and stirs her imagination with thoughts she's never dared entertain...

And He'll Keep It...For A Price
Philip Paxton can't believe his good luck. Catching Olivia with the scandalous volume offers a superb chance to humiliate the father he despises. Using the book as bait, Philip lures Olivia into an electrifying affair that explodes into unbridled lessons of passion. Philip never expects to become enamored with his ravishing pupil. But what begins as a rakish scheme soon becomes a genuine affair of the heart-one that Philip will protect at any cost...

"Cheryl Holt demonstrates her phenomenal understanding of women's secret longings...With titillating and provocative narrative, she builds both the sexual tension and the romance to the point of eruption." -Romantic Times on Absolute Pleasure

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312992823
• ISBN-13: 978-0312992828
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHERYL HOLT is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-seven novels. She is hailed as the undisputed "Queen" of erotic romance, as well as the international "Queen of Villains". She has numerous national writing awards to her credit and is particularly proud to have been named "Best Storyteller of the Year" by Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine. The magazine also selected her as one of the "Top Twenty-Five Erotic Authors of All Time".

She lives and writes in Los Angeles, where her teenage son is pursuing his dream of becoming a Hollywood movie star.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars To What Purpose?, March 19, 2004

By 

MaryGrace Meloche (Ontario, Canada.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deeper than Desire (Mass Market Paperback)

Lady Olivia Hopkins needs a rich husband. Her number one candidate is the Earl of Salisbury. The Earl of Salisbury is looking for a wife and a legitimate heir. The Earl of Salisbury is also trying to heal the broken relationship he has with his only son, the illegitimate Phillip Paxton. Phillip Paxton loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Phillip Paxton. The Earl of Salisbury loves Olivia's cousin, the common Miss Winnie Stewart. Do you have all that? I agree! Yes indeed, what a tangled web Ms. Holt weaves.

But what are a few love connections without a little malice? So add Olivia's wicked, promiscuous, stepsister Penelope. Ah yes, little Penny who happens to enjoy any fellow in long pants! To complete the entire spoof, throw in the conniving, evil stepmother. Oh, let's call her Margaret. But wait, tally in some very focused sex scenes and bingo you have Cheryl Holt's "Deeper Than Desire" in a nut shell. A story that skyrockets into a maze of frustration and nonsense.

I may have turned the pages, but the entire read was frustrating, and in the end the author truly disappointed me. Having read several of Cheryl Holt's novels I know this author can do much better.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Utterly Frustrating! And Exhausting Too......, June 28, 2004

By 

Larissakc (Lake Forest, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deeper than Desire (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was the most frustrating romance novel I have ever read! I have been reading romance for 20 years now and this novel was without a doubt the most trying piece of written work I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Ms. Holt's characters where SO cowardly, her plot thin and completely exhausting. The whole time I was reading this book (hoping it would get better) I wanted to shout at Olivia, TELL MARGRET TO TAKE A HIKE! YOU ARE NOT RELATED TO HER! I also wanted to shout at Olivia TELL PHILLIP WHAT IS GOING ON YOU SIMPERING IDIOT! HE WILL HELP YOU! But my silent ranting would have fallen on deaf ears. I kept reading this book thinking to myself that something grand had to happen soon and that the story would finally take flight, but to my great disappointment it never did. The ending was even worse! The author uses up 5 or 6 pages for Phillip's inner thoughts when he sees Olivia again, and their reunion was hurried and very anti-climatic. The bottom line is: save your money and your time with this one. This was my first read of Ms. Holt's and although I am hesitant to pick up another novel written my her.....I might give her another try. But only because, sometimes, bad things happen to good people.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing!, May 13, 2004

By 

S. Nelson "Reading Addict" (Bloomington, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deeper than Desire (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read all of Cheryl Holt's books and have enjoyed them very much. This book, however, I cannot recommend to anyone. It was truly awful. I actually felt the author insulting my intelligence with this wafer thin plot. I can't begin to tell you how many times I wanted to scream at the characters. JUST TELL HIM WHAT'S GOING ON, YOU MORON! Seriously. This is just an awful book. It would like to be erotic but after about the first 50 pages it is not; it would like to be romantic but the most believable romance in the book is between the older characters; it would like to be suspenseful and unpredictable but if you are genuinely surprised by the ending then you obviously don't read much.

I truly felt this was an awful book, poorly executed, and obviously written only to satisfy a publisher and not a loyal reader. I have given it 2 stars because Cheryl Holt is a better author than this book would indicate.