Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Eloisa James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2006

Fueled by the knowledge that notoriety is better than failure, witty, unconventional Josie does what no proper young lady should—she challenges fate. She discards her corset and flirts outrageously. She attends the horse races and allows an arrogant rakehell to whisk her behind the stables for a surreptitious kiss . . . and is caught!

She doesn't want to marry the young hellion—but who's to help? Her chaperone keeps disappearing for mysterious appointments; her guardian is on his wedding trip; and his friend the Earl of Mayne is too busy staring into the eyes of his exquisite French fiancÉe.

Can a marriage forced by stuffy convention and unwilling desire become the match of the season?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the final installment in her Four Sisters series (after Taming of the Duke), James tells the story of Josie, the only Essex sister yet unmarried. Nicknamed the "Scottish Sausage" by a rejected suitor, Josie believes that no man will ever seriously court her because her figure is too ample. When Josie is insulted at a ball, Garret, earl of Mayne, whisks Josie back to his home where his friendly tutelage on attracting a man results in a fleeting moment of passion. But Garret is engaged to a beautiful, genteel French aristocrat, having abandoned his former rakish ways. As Josie begins attracting various suitors and Garret wrestles with his feelings for her, an intriguing subplot has the ton speculating on the identity of the "earl of Hellgate," whose scandalous, anonymous memoirs have been making the rounds. James is skilled at bringing her characters fully to life, gracing Josie's feelings of inadequacy and Mayne's false sense of love with the believable, individual quirks that draw them to each other. Engaging humor and steamy romance give this captivating regency a fine polish. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Finding a suitable match is challenging enough, but doing so while known as the "Scottish Sausage" is simply impossible. Ever since she was burdened with that cruel sobriquet, Josie Essex's social life has been one of constant humiliation. No matter how she tries to play down her lush attributes--or reshape them with the help of a wonder corset--Josie still feels like a failure. So when Garret Langham, the Earl of Mayne, offers his help, Josie is just desperate enough to accept. No one could be better at teaching her the art of seduction than the ton's most notorious rake. Josie knows that Garret is hopelessly in love with his new fiancee, the chic Sylvie de la Broderie, but when she begins to attract her own circle of suitors, Josie discovers that she might be better at the game of love than she thought since Garret seems just the slightest bit jealous of her new success! With her usual stylish writing, exquisite sensuality, brilliant characterization, and sharp wit, James follows The Taming of the Duke (2006) with the splendidly satisfying conclusion to her marvelous Essex sisters quartet. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Avon; First Edition edition (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060781920
• ISBN-13: 978-0060781927
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar"; later People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Eloisa wrote her first novel after graduating from Harvard, but alas, it was rejected by every possible publisher. After she got an M.Phil. from Oxford, a Ph.D. from Yale, and a job as a Shakespeare professor, she tried again, with much greater success. Currently she teaches Shakespeare in the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She's also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected ........31/2 stars, December 7, 2006

By 

Misuzmama (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the final book about the Essex sisters, James (author) has set the bar high for herself. Not only does she try to convince the reader of a romantic pairing betweeen the youngest of the sisters, sassy and outspoken Josie (18), with the familial friend (and beloved rake of her previous books) Earl of Mayne (34), but does so while proclaiming that he is in love with someone else ( and engaged!) for most of the book. While it was probably inevitable that these two would get together, it just didn't work for me and the age difference wasn't the problem.

My biggest problem was that Mayne was so supposedly in love with another woman for a good 3/4 of the book. James mentions over and over how he loves this and that about his fiance and everyone around him can see how *in love* he is with her. This distracted from the sexual tension that James could and should have exploited between Mayne and Josie earlier. There were just not enough sparks between these two and I'm still not convinced that he truly loved her in the end. Their love scenes were odd and a bit vague to me. There was no defining moment when I said -aha! - these two are in love. Maybe a grand romantic gesture/sacrifice would have convinced me.

On the other hand Mayne's sister's romance completely stole the show. Griselda trists with the dashing, but younger, Darlington added the spice and sexual tension which was sorely lacking in the book. Their love scenes were steamy. I absolutely loved the way Darlington pursued Griselda and tried to convince her that their age difference didn't matter.

So, I don't really know how to rate this book. I suspect that most readers who have been anxiously waiting for a romance for Mayne won't be dissapointed much, I just feel that James should have given him a separate book. I don't think that of all the sisters (all of whom have had romantic intentions towards Mayne at one time of another), Josie is his best match. Its more of a luke-warm pairing and not what a former rake deserves. It maybe worth it to borrow this one from the library just to read about the secondary romance, but its certainly not a shelf keeper for me.

34 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional writing with disappointing execution, December 1, 2006

By 

Jane Litte "Jane at DearAuthor.Com" (US) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. James has immense talent and I love her writing style. For the readers' benefit, Mayne is 34 in this book and Josie is 18, almost nineteen. You engage in a little writer cheat here as in previous stories, Mayne was 34 in Your Wicked Ways which took place two years earlier than Pleasure for Pleasure. Josie was 15 at the start of this series which spans 2 years.

I was not bothered by the May/December aspect of Mayne and Josie's relationship. I thought that Mayne, after years of dissipation, needed the love for life that Josie had. Josie, after being thought of as the least desirable Essex sister, needed the love of a famous connoisseur of women to show that she was beautiful and luscious in her own way.

The problem is that for most of the story Mayne is affianced to Sylvie de la Brodierie, a well set beautiful French woman. He proclaims that he is in love with her. He is described as looking at her the way that Rafe gazes at Imogen. He spends half of the book internally and externally proclaiming his great love for Sylvie, cataloguing why he loves her.

To say that his turn about is quick is an understatement. I practically suffered whiplash from his switch from Sylvie to Josie, if there ever really was a switch. Oh, I know you say that in the end Mayne loves Josie but I can't really tell at what point that the "love" meter was moved from Sylvie to Josie in Mayne's mind.

The thing that made me the most befuddled and frustrated was the secondary romance. Josie is launched into society but spends 6 weeks being shunned by the young men in society. She is called the Scottish Sausage and no one crosses the invisible boundary for fear of ridicule. There is a heartrending scene that is described wherein Josie is sobbing to Lucius after a ball questioning why she is such a pariah.

The sobriquet was made up by Lord Charles Darlington, 3d son of the Duke of Bedrock. Darlington provided a wonderful nickname for a previous debutante called the Woolly Breeder who also went unromanced during her first season. Of course, you provide an explanation for Darlington's despicable actions but you NEVER ONCE have him apologize to Josie. Further Darlington is the subject of the secondary romance and receives an HEA with a much beloved character in this book. It somehow just did not seem right.

It's hard to grade this book. The prose is beautiful. James is able to capture the little idiosyncrasies that make characters unique. Individual scenes are wonderful. The entirety of the story, though, like the last one, left me bewildered and dissatisfied.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A bit disappointed after all the wait, January 8, 2007

By 

J. He - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was looking forward to the Mayne and Josie story because I already figured they will be paired together and I loved them in the last few books.

I have to say I am very disappointed. Mayne was in love with another woman in most part of the book. He was not just "in love", but also lust after her. He didn't get Sylvie because she didn't love him, not because he loved her any less. I totally felt he had to settle for Josie because he couldn't get his great love. What a bad taste for a romance. Yes, in the end he loved Josie. But so what, it's only because he didn't have Sylvie.

This kind of relationship we see in really life. Don't most of us fanticized about prince charming and had to settle and love our spouses. I didn't read romances to get a taste of this kind of "romances". I can see them everyday around me.

I felt sorry for Josie. She deserved a much better story.