Customer Reviews

Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The last book in the Essex sisters Quartet was definitely like eating Chinese food, Okay, but then you get hungry again later on. It was not satisfying. I have no problem with the writing, it's the content I had difficulty. The romance between Josie and Mayne was forced and lukewarm. I distinctly think that Mayne preferred Sylvie but ended up with Josie because he could not have Sylvie. Since Josie was the only Essex sister left, she gets paired up with Mayne.
Other issues I have with James' novels are that the secondary story and characters in her stories are better and infinitely more interesting. I read the previous series to find out what happened to Esme and Sebastian. I read this series to find out about Mayne. Since this novel is about Mayne, I thought I would get a different experience; instead my interest was mostly centered on the romance and relationship between Mayne's sister, Griselda and Darlington.
As I said the novel was okay, primarily because I liked the secondary romance between Griselda and Darlington, but I really don't want to read a romance novel for the secondary characters so it left me wanting for one that focuses on the main couple.

I must admit that I generally like Eloisa James books. I find that they are more intelligent than the average historical romance and have a sly wit that I enjoy. The other reviewers objected to the fact that Mayne was in love with another woman for much of the book. But I thought James did an excellent job of illustrating why that love foundered. There was charm and admiration, but no real warmth in the relationship. This is the missing element that Josie provides. Instead of catering to Mayne's public persona, she attacks and responds to the man he could be, and the man he wants to be. The warmth between these characters is believable and compelling, way before they fall in love.

I also enjoyed the 2ndary romance. The brilliant but bitter Darlington and the wry, sweet Gussie. There were no excuses made for D's vicious behavior and he is justly ashamed. Gussie does not exonerate him, just tells him to clean up his act.

Its always a relief to me when the characters don't do anything incredibly stupid in these books. Josie tries to, but she is thwarted by wiser, saner friends. Just like in real life.

I've anxiously awaited the release and revelation of Josie's story as the last remaining unwedded Essex sister and I was sadly disappointed with Ms. James latest effort. Josie deserved her own story but had to share the spotlight with Griselda and Darlington. Given Griselda's closeness to the Essex women in the prior novels, I was dismayed to see her fall so easily for the cause of poor Josie's humiliation. Surely Ms. James could have found a better way to put Mayne and Josie together rather than through Thurman? These characters were strangers to me. What happened to them? I suppose if you read this novel without having read the prior three books, you wouldn't be phased by the shallow treatnent of the characters. An avid reader of Ms. James, I have always read through her novels without ever putting them down until the very end. Sadly, I got through a third of this novel and decided doing some house chores was more interesting. I did eventually finish it but it wasn't easy.

The fourth and final Essex sister book ties things up neatly for them, and takes care of Griselda as well. I like that James frequently has more than one romance going on in the same book. It takes away from my annoyance with the current trend of endless family series. James' earlier books were also connected through their characters, but they weren't as forced as is inevitable with sibling series.
There were times when I thought Josie was settling for someone whose attention was elsewhere, but the side story of Griselda was what really caught, captured, and held me. I loved every second of it. And, I adored Darlington. A romantic hero who actually develops. Who would have thought!
Another aspect I particularly appreciate about James' work is that she finds beauty in a variety of heroines and the men who appreciate them. Yes, physically, the men turn out to be pretty much the same hunks with just a few alterations of hair color and such, but their motivations are different, as is their level of cluelessness. And, from Helene Godwin to Josie Essex, no two women are alike. It is so refreshing to find an author who does not write the same character time after time after time.
Unusual for James, there were a goodly number of modern terms and phrases, but her writing is so fluid and spritely, it is something you can live with.

So, we finally have Josie's story. Here is Josie Essex called the Scottish Sausage of the ton because she is a bit heavy, not that you would ever notice on the cover of the novel. She is eighteen with no suitors.

Garret, Earl of Mayne is her early love interest. He has been hanging around the sisters for years. Never mind that he is seventeen years older than Josie and he has always acted brotherly toward her, she has a mad crush on him. Initially their first kiss comes early in the novel under the funny circumstances of Garret attempting to teach Josie how to attract a man. Josie is smitten but the Earl is in love with a French beauty who is cold as ice. Our hero is unaware of his beloved's passionless personality, he believes she is just the soul of propriety.

These two leads barely have time together in the novel to fall in love. Mayne is constantly mooning over his fiancé and Josie is very much in the background. He barely gives her a thought. So it was quite surprising to suddenly find them in love.

This book had such a nice funny beginning. I wish Ms. James had kept the humorous antics of these two ongoing throughout the whole novel and given the reader a chance to believe that Mayne really had feelings for Josie other than as a little sister.

I couldn't understand who the story was about at first by the way the characters were introduced in the beginning of the book, there were so many and some unnecessary.

The Duke of Mayne, 34 yrs old, with a reputation of a well experienced woman bedder- finally engaged, and believes himself inlove with a proper French Lady, who's somewhat dense, er rigid maybe?

Then there's Josephine Essex, the youngest of four sisters,18 yrs old, the only one unmarried, labeled as "The Scottish Sausage" on her first season- as a cruel joke, which is unfortunate for her.

Mayne for some reason, always felt protective over Josephine, (I really don't see why). He even taught her how to walk with seductiveness, by means of giving Josie her first proper and passionate kiss, (as if kissing an 18 year old girl could actually teach her how to walk) and all the while telling her that he is inlove with his french fiance (gag!) So when Josie was compromised by a dillusional, self important young idiot- who was there to save her but Mayne?

I see where the author was trying to go with the romance between Mayne and Josie, but lust and physical attraction were the only things between them, AND his fascination with her well endowed...ahem. Hence the title "Pleasure For Pleasure". I just wished there was something more substantial and deep between the two. Plus quoting Shakespeare during a seduction was corny and really did not fit Mayne's character.

I was far more rivited with the secondary characters, Griselda, Mayne's younger sister and her HOT liason with Darlington, who actually peaked my interest with his multi faceted personality. I could have read a whole book about them, or just Darlington. The 2 stars I gave were for the two of them and one for Josie and what she did with the shovel of the fresh pile of horse...in the stables. That was actually hillarious.

The final chapter in the Essex sister story is a grand one. It has a little bit of everything you would expect to see in it. And I have to say that few books ever make me laugh out loud, and yet this book at several points made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to cry.

The beginning starts out a bit sad, poor Josie the youngest of the sisters hates her body, and has been dubbed the Scottish sausage which is a horrible nickname. And of course there for the Ton all avoid her, no young men her age will ask her to dance and only the older men her sisters or chaperone can rustle up will dance with her. The biggest crime is that she sees herself as fat. And Josie is anything but. She's not fat; she is beautiful like a real woman.

It's a horrid corset she wears that makes her appear stuffed. Well, enter Garrett the Earl of Mayne. I loved him in the other books when he popped up. He is a rakehell who isn't feeling like much of a rakehell anymore. He is engaged but none the less he kisses Josie, and shows her what its like to be a real woman. She taking his teaching well gets rid of the corset and indeed becomes a woman who leaves young men slavering after her. She has the body of a Madonna, and she has just a fun personality.

Follow this story is a true romp of fun, and finding love where you would least expect it. Mayne has had a little dabble in with all of the Essex's sisters in one form or another. Who would have guessed that he would have one with Josie as well? There is a particularly funny scene in which Mayne believing Josie has been ravished picks her up while she is asleep. Josie wakes and proceeds to slug him, giving him a black eye. What a fine way to say hello to a gentleman.

But Mayne can have a good laugh too as Josie's expense including a time in which he dumps a glass of water over his head and startles Josie into thinking he is a ghost. The romance is there as well, and there is love to be found for everyone. Even Griselda whom who have followed as a widow through it all does indeed find her own happy ending. If you have enjoyed the other books in this series, you must read this one. And if you haven't read the others, I recommend you do so you can read this one as well. You will not be sorry in the least. You will laugh, cry and enjoy it.