Customer Reviews

Further Than Passion

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

It takes a lot for me to think a book is really bad, much less write a negative review. When I'm reading, I always give the author the benefit of the doubt and usually can find something good in it. And I have read Cheryl Holt books that I have really enjoyed so I know she can do better. But when I start to think that the heroine would be better off sent to the country to live the life of a spinster rather than end up with the hero I know that something's wrong. Worse, at the conclusion of the story I am firmly convinced that the magic love potion was the only reason that the hero was `in love' with the girl. And I'm not so sure it's not the reason the girl thinks she loves the guy.

This is the story of Marcus Pelham, Lord Stamford, his stepmother/lover Lady Pamela, and their house guests Countess Regina Lewis, her son Christopher Lewis, daughter Melaine Lewis, their cousin Kate Duncan and her half sister Selena Bella. I mention all these names because we are told `everyone's' story from all their points of view. Obviously, the book is supposed to be Marcus and Kate's story, but after a while you're not sure just what or who the story is really about. There are so many stories going on that no one gets the attention they need to let the reader know them in anything but the most superficial way. Unfortunately, I think that might be a blessing.

The more one knows about the purported hero of the story the more one wishes he weren't. I have never met a more disagreeable man. He is cold, vindictive, vain, arrogant, and unfeeling, not to mention a little stupid. In other words, he has no redeeming qualities until the very end and it's not enough to make me like him. Even the second string hero, the young, innocent and praiseworthy male virgin who falls deeply and passionately in love with a young girl who loves him back ends up cheating on her right up until the end. And he was never a believable virgin to begin with. Kate, our heroine, is a beautiful, but downtrodden little doormat. Oh, she has occasional outbursts of spirit and independence-which are immediately beaten back by her bullying and abusive...(lover, guardian, cousin. Take your pick.) And doggone if she doesn't change her mind quick!

I really did want to like at least one person in this story. When cheating Christopher is the best I can do that's pretty bad. With the exception of 16 yr old Selena and Kate, the women are all nasty, vain, arrogant, self-centered, thieving, harlots.

As usual there is plenty of graphic sex and this is probably the books only selling point. If you don't mind formulaic and stilted writing and awful characters, but do want lots of detailed lovemaking then this book is for you. Otherwise...not.

There are books that are badly plotted, but are saved by interesting characters. There are books that have boring characters, but are well written. This piece of dreck masquarading as a novel has neither. The characters, male and female, are mean, stupid, inconsistent and just plain boring.

Then there is the lack of basic research - the author has an Italian character saying "mia cara." Oh, come on now - even if she never say a single episode of the Aadams Family, the author should have checked that her Italian grammar was correct (but that may be the fault of the editor, too).

A total waste of my time and my money. Please don't make the same mistake.

I was actually excited about this book. I enjoyed 'Love Lessons' and once I saw this one in the bookstore, I grabbed it and started reading.
The lead characters were badly written. They had no depth whatsoever. Selena Bella and her beau saved the book, but STILL they were, what, 16 and 18? I don't think that's right in those times. The villain was positively evil, and I found myself thinking how Ms. Holt could have thought of placing all the possible bad qualities in just ONE villain. I guess that's all. It's not a very good review, but I just wanted to suggest that DO NOT buy it, just borrow it from the library.
*^* Marcus was stupid*^*

I love Cheryl Holt books - the books about Michael and James Stevens were examples of excellent Holt combo of deep characters and erotic love scenes. This book had the steaminess - although some was bad scenes with Chris and Pamela and Melanie and Elliott - but some of the scenes with Kate and Marcus hit the mark for Holt. But the characters in the book - seriously were any of them worth caring about. Kate was so stiff and so uptite you just wanted to smack her. Her life was bad but not that bad to not show some warmth - it was a little hard to believe that she really cared for Marcus. And Marcus - Lady Pamela was the one he gave his only heart to?? Well since Pamela was a cold blooded shrew what does that say about Marcus he had to be more stupid than broken hearted. And Chris and Selena well I am ok with Chris using Pamela for his education - what I am having a problem with is that they were 16 and 18 years old - the most mature couple in the book are teenagers --was this meidevil times?? There just seemed to be questionable depth of characters written by Holt and that makes me a little sad because I do love and look forward to a Holt novel. Maybe I will pull one of her earlier works off the shelf and reread??!!

This is probably one of the worst books I have read. I am very disappointed and upset that I wasted my money on it. It was so bad that I, someone who rarely writes reviews, did so just in the hope that I save someone else from reading it and have them save their money. UGH!!!

Save your money, don't buy this piece of garbage. What a miserable book. Full of stupid flat characters and a lame plot line. I've never been so dissapointed in leading characters, Marcus and Kate were bland boring people that never made me care about them. They were just there, and I was left wondering why i spent money on this piece of drivel.
I also was not fond of the sex scenes. Don't get me wrong, a well written sex scene can add a lot to a book, but these actually made me go "ewww" They were crude, and rather vulgar. At one point in time she used the word "Sawed" in reference to the act. It was just a bad book, poorly written, and should quickly be forgotten about. Shame on you Ms. Holt for wasting my time and my money!

This was one of the few books that I almost stopped reading. The plot was transparent and the characters unlikeable. The heroine was dull and whiney; the hero was a self-absorbed jerk. "Oh, no one will ever love me because I'm so horrible; I'll just act more horribly because of it." Marcus admired Kate for being fiery, when she actually was a spineless wimp. My first Cheryl Holt book, and probably my last. If you need to read it, try the library first.

After reading other reviews of this book I was expecting it to be a good read. It's not. The characters were dreadful, the dialog was stilted and unbelievable, and the plot so thin as to be almost non-existent. As I read the first chapter, I knew this was a loser, but I read on until the end convinced that it had to get better. It didn't. Spend your money on a better book.

Since the deaths of her parents, Kate Duncan, who is surprisingly the daughter of an earl, has had to endure being belittled by her money hungry aunt. In order to have a somewhat pleasant life, Kate has to live with her aunt and serve as a chaperone to her cousin Melanie. When they are invited to London, England for a dinner party, Melanie asks Kate to help her in luring the man of her dreams by using a magic love potion. All she has to do is get close enough to Marcus Pelham, the Earl of Stamford, to put the potion in his drink. Since the dinner party is not scheduled until the next day, Kate ponders over her plan of action. Meanwhile, because she feels her cousin has been deceived, she drinks the potion instead to prove her point. Kate starts
having hallucinations and ends up in the bedchamber of a man she has never seen before.

While engaged in an extremely provocative sexual act, Marcus notices Kate watching him. He does not know who she is and seeks to find out the identity of the woman staying in his home. When Marcus sees her at the dinner party, Kate is at a loss for words when she realizes that Marcus was not just a figment of her imagination, so she steers clear of him. Marcus, on the other hand, would like to get to know her a little better. When Kate refuses his advances, he uses his power and status to make her his bed partner.

Cheryl Holt has written a very touching romance. While the hot and steamy sex scenes will have you fanning, there seems to be something missing. Ms. Holt rushes through, in my opinion, what should have been a very awe-inspiring tale of finding never-ending love. The storyline has a great concept and with a little fine-tuning will make for a wonderful read. Although this was my first novel by Ms. Holt, it certainly will not be the last.

Reviewed by Pamela Bolden
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

One of these days, Cheryl Holt is going to surprise me and write a story worthy of her talent. This lady can write. Her sex scenes are hot, she holds her reader, but in the end, she fails to deliver that ultimate book. FURTHER THAN PASSION is again such a story. Yes, it is an OK book, but it is far from being splendid - yet, Holt's talent whispers through - teasing, promising!

Katie Duncan was the daughter of an earl, but a selfish, malice woman raised Katie. Katie's guardian is a tyrant, a woman saturated with cruelty, theft, and gluttony. Gluttony? Yes, brutality knows no bounds if this monster's 'petit four' plate becomes empty - and this wicked woman controls Katie Duncan's life!

Marcus Pelham, the Earl of Stamford lives a joyless life. A life saturated with woman, drink, and other empty diversions. The Earl of Stamford enjoys his carefree, malignant existence until the night he encounters the lovely, innocent Katie Duncan, servant extraordinary. For the first time in his empty life a woman bewitched Stamford - could it be the love potion purchased from a local apothecary?

Cheryl Holt runs a variety of storylines throughout these pages. I suppose Ms. Holt does this because outside the erotic bedchamber Katie and Marcus DON'T have a story! Katie, embarrassed by her family history, refuses to ask for fundamental, vital help; Marcus, the product of an unloved childhood and a scheming woman, refuses to get off his aloof, arrogant cloud.

SO - THE SUBPLOTS:
- Katie's half-sister becomes romantically involved with Katie's distant cousin;
- that cousin succumbs to Marcus' step-mommy and learns robust bedroom deportment;
- Meanwhile, at Headquarters Tyrant, the spoiled sixteen-year-old daughter rebels against mean mommy's suffocating dominance. Delirious with rebellion, she seeks comfort in the arms of an overweight, foul-breath, penniless fortune hunter!

Ok, ok, I know I am a Cheryl Holt fan; I like this author's style of writing. I always buy her books, hoping each time Holt WILL FINALLY write her phenomenal story!
Grade: B-

MaryGrace Meloche
Reviewer for: Romance Designs