Customer Reviews

To Taste Temptation (The Legend of the Four Soldiers)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

American, Samuel Hartley, is haunted by his past and the comrades he lost in battle. He is convinced there was a traitor amongst them, and he leaves his well-to-do lifestyle in Boston to come to London in search of answers.

Moving next to Lady Emeline Gordon has multiple purposes. Samuel needs her to chaperone and coach his young sister, Rebecca, into polite London Society. Emeline is also the sister of one of the fallen soldiers and is very pleasing to Samuel's eye. But American wealth and success mean little when stacked up against London titles and rules of society.

Having loved Ms. Hoyt's/Ms. Harper's previous works, I was a little disappointed with this effort. The premise was good, the sex steamy, the side characters intriguing, and the hero delectable. The problem was I couldn't stand the heroine; she was the b-word personified. She is snotty, snobby, cold, and just plain irritable. I kept hoping Ms. Hoyt would write in the discovery of Midol at some point and give this heroine a much needed dose! All the elements of a good story were there, but this annoying character made it hard to really fully enjoy the tale thoroughly. Three quarters of the way into the book she finally starts melting the snow queen and I liked how Emeline warmed up, but at that point it was a little too late.

That being said, it wasn't a complete loss, just not one of her better efforts. Like her previous historical's I really liked the mini fairy tale she gives us at the beginning of each chapter. I am also hoping to read more about the side characters she introduced us to, Rebecca, O'Hare, Vale and Melisande. I didn't love this book, but I liked it and I am hoping it was just a slow start to what will be a fantastic series.

Cherise Everhard, May 2008

TO TASTE TEMPTATION is a more conventional romance novel from Elizabeth Hoyt than any installment in the Prince series, but it still wins with it's compelling, fully rounded characters and beautiful style.

Samuel Hartley is literally and metaphorically a hunter: patient, clever, and relentless. He plays a cat and mouse game with the heroine, Emeline Gordon - he enjoys the chase and her resistance only eggs him on further. This is a metaphor that Hoyt draws upon repeatedly - Samuel is always the cat, and Emeline is always the mouse.

Emeline has gotten a lot of flack in the reviews, and I think that's a shame. She is a classic ice queen character - correct and withdrawn to the point of being frosty. But Hoyt makes sure that we understand how Emeline became the person that she is: she's an aristocrat, and one by one all the men who were to shoulder the burden of managing her life - her brother, her husband, and then her father - died. Emotionally bereft and totally unprepared, it fell to Emeline to manage the family finances, raise her young son, and take care of her elderly aunt. She rises to the challenge, in a large part thanks to her increasingly rigid self-control.

I thought it was very clear that Emeline felt like she was walking a tightrope, with a horrible abyss yawning beneath her. No wonder Samuel makes her panic, snap, and flee. He unbalances her, sends her wobbling on that tightrope, and Emeline is terrified. So she lashes out at him, like a mouse trapped by the claws of a cat would try to bite.

Emeline is not particularly nice to Samuel - but then, Samuel is not particularly nice to her, either. He hunts her down like a fox in a hole. It's all very primitive and sexy, but meanwhile we see enough of Samuel's soft and caring side, and enough of Emeline's strong and vibrant nature, to know they will work as a couple once the predator has captured its prey.

I really can't wait to read whatever Hoyt comes up with next, I'm excited to have discovered her.

Lady Emeline Gordon is as prim and proper as ladies come. A widow, she teaches wealthy girls the rules of etiquette and propriety in London. She is also known as a successful hostess and a good mother to her son Daniel. Emeline's life is going along splendidly when an American soldier charges into her life and upsets the delicate balance to which she's become accustomed.

Samuel Hartley is a wealthy American and a former soldier who owns his own business. He comes back to England after a six-year absence for business and revenge. He believes that the soldiers in his regiment were betrayed and he's determined to find the culprit. Along the way, he enlists the help of Emeline as a chaperone for his younger sister, but in reality his desire to become closer to Emeline is because her brother was one of the soldiers who died all those years ago.

To Taste Temptation is the first book in a new series by Elizabeth Hoyt, the talented author of the Prince series of historical romances (The Raven Prince, The Leopard Prince, and The Serpent Prince). I have to say that I loved the Prince series, and for that reason Hoyt is pretty much an auto-buy for me right now. Well, after this story, I'm in danger of revoking that patronage.

One of the things I loved about that first series of books was the characterization. These were heroes and heroines with depth, intellect, and pasts--all of which you got to know over the course of the book. I didn't feel that way this time. Samuel was a man bent on revenge, which I completely understood. Someone killed his comrades, and put his own life at risk, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. But other than that I didn't really feel like I knew Samuel. I didn't know what drove him to be such a good businessman, how he felt about his younger sister being raised apart from him, why he'd been single for so long. Hoyt did a good job of illustrating just how and when Samuel fell in love with Emeline, but I didn't feel like I got a good enough grasp of the character himself. As for Emeline, she was the perfect lady--a type of heroine of which I'm infinitely fond. But the point at which I realized why she had to be so came too little too late because I'd already developed a sense of indifference toward her. I also didn't really feel that she was ever falling for Samuel. I thought she enjoyed his company well enough, but she seemed disparaging and haughty toward him for so long that it was hard for me to imagine her breaking down these walls so quickly.

To Taste Temptation was well written, but not as entertaining or engaging as I'd hoped. I didn't love it, and I'm not really even sure if I liked it all that much. In fact, the only reason it gets 3 stars from me right now is because I am utterly indifferent and can't really bring myself to give one of my favorite authors a 2-star review. I'll just say that if this is your first Hoyt, don't judge the rest by its standards. Read The Raven Prince, which is wonderful, suspenseful, entertaining, and dazzlingly well-written considering that it was a debut novel. As for me, I'll just look forward to the next book in this series and hope it hits a higher note.

To Taste Temptation is the first of four brand new books by Elizabeth Hoyt in her new series The Legend of the Four Soldiers. Each soldier was returning from war. When they got to a four way crossroads, each one decided to go their own way. This is Iron Heart's story.

Samuel Hartley and his sister, Rebecca has recently arrived in London, where they will be staying for a few months. Their next door neighbor is Lady Emeline Gordon. When Emeline first meets Samuel, she is appalled by him. What type of man attends a ball wearing moccasins? Right away from first sight, Samuel knows he would like to get to know Emeline better. Rebecca needs a chaperone to teach her how to act like a proper lady. Samuel enlists the help of Lady Emeline. Emeline is starting to see that underneath Samuel's appearance is a wounded man. Can Emeline help heal Samuel's heart? Also how does Samuel's mission to seek out a traitor how into play with Emeline's brother?

I actually started out this series a little backwards by reading To Seduce a Sinner, the second book in this series first. Luckily for me, you do not have to read these books in order to enjoy them. As far as historical romance authors go, Elizabeth Hoyt is one of the best. Every book I have read by her, I have liked. Don't be fooled by Emeline. Just because she teaches young ladies how to act proper does not mean that, she won't stand up for herself. Samuel may dress the part of a gentleman but when it comes to the bedroom, you can't take the wild out of the man. Now is the perfect time to start this series before the next two books release.

At first widow Lady Emeline Gordon appears a tad snobbish. She's very concerned with appearences and social standing. So when Samuel Hartley moves in to the townhouse next door, she's appalled to find out that he's a buckskin wearing American.

Samuel Hartley is a tortured hero and friend of her dead brother. He's in London on a mission to find the man who betrayed his fellow soldiers. Causing the death of her brother and many others. His sister Rebecca has come along to get to know this older brother who has only been a sporadic presence in her life for many years.

Very early in the book, Samuel asks Emeline to guide his sister through the month of the London visit. She agrees and Love Story Ensues...

This book is littered with great characters. Lady Emeline's small son Daniel and her aging aunt. Samuel's sister Rebecca, the footman O'Hare and fellow former soldier Vale.

Hoyt is truly a great writer. A fresh voice in our sometimes cookie cutter historical romance genre is most welcome. I've read versions this story line before yet, it felt new.
Oh,and the love scenes are HOT!!

My only small quibble (very small) is that the mystery of the traitor distracted me a bit. The love story and clashes of class would have been enough conflict to carry the plot along.
The added bonus of the fairy tale "Iron Heart" that begins each chapter is wonderful.

****I enjoyed this book right down to the last page. It's passionate, emotional and intellegent.
Go Get It!!

This was a great story, passionate, exciting, and heartfelt. The hero and heroine were perfect for each other. There was a lot of tension, tons of chemistry, and just the right amount of drama. Samuel Hartley is very believable as a war-scarred soldier, dark and dangerous, a true hunter. Lucky Lady Emeline Gordon gets to be his prey, and she is more than his equal in spirit and strength. She's maybe not the nicest person in the world, but this only made her more real, a character with depth and feeling. She doesn't want to have anything to do with Samuel at first, let alone like or love him - he's from the colonies, she's an aristocrat, he's so very different, she upholds and conforms to society's strictures. Unlike other across the tracks romances, however, Hoyt does a great job depicting the clashes and differences between these two characters, so that Emeline's resistance to Samuel seems rational and understandable. As for Samuel, he's tortured, driven, loyal and by no means perfect. It could have been so easy, I think, to make this character overblown and overdone, a brooding soldier bent on revenge - but I'm grateful to Hoyt for sidestepping such a pothole and exploring Samuel and his feelings with understated, sympathetic complexity. While the thrill of the chase was a big (and fun) part of the book, there was more to their relationship than that - enough to make me believe that these two were really in love, that they were really going to make it. As for the more basic plot structure of the book, a mystery gives Emeline and Samuel an excuse to get together, but it's really only peripheral - not that well integrated into the romance or that nicely executed. Other than that, a well written book that stayed with me long after I'd turned the last page. On to the next in the series.

This book was a rush. It is a very strong romance but has a lot more going on. There is the mystery of betrayl, there is violence, tragity, suspence, colorful characters and raw emotion. Every romance reader loves a good hard core romance. This reaches every readers hard core interest on every level. Can't wait to read the stories behindthe other three soldiers.

Lady Emeline Gordon has been a widow for five years. She has an eight year-old-son named Daniel Gordon, Baron Eddings. She is part of London's elite social circles. She is also the sister of Reynaud, which makes her vital for Samuel Hartley's plans! Reynaud had been a captain, fighting in the colonies when he fell at Spinner's Falls. Samuel had been one of the few survivors. He is now very wealthy due to his Boston import/export business. In fact, his business is one of the things that has brought him and his younger sister, Rebecca, to London. While here, Sam convinces Emeline to chaperone Rebecca for the Season. Yet that is mainly a cover story for him, because Samuel is convinced that the Wyandot tribe had not stumbled upon the soldiers at Spinner's Falls; they were betrayed and led to slaughter.

Emeline considers Samuel to be too barbaric for London Society, even if he is wealthy. The man even wore moccasins to a grand ball. Yet Emeline cannot help but wonder what the man's touch would be like. Emeline agrees to chaperone Rebecca. With the help of her aunt, Tante Crestelle, Emeline begins teaching Rebecca all she would need to know in order to be a success. There is no time to waste. However, Samuel begins acting strangely around her. Dare she hope the odd colonialist feels the same attraction between them?

*** This is the first of four books. The plot is sound and the story flows smoothly, yet I never came to really like the heroine, Emeline. I grew to care for all the other characters though, especially Rebecca and Melisande (Emeline's friend). At the beginning of each chapter is a small narration of "The Legend of the Four Soldiers". Obviously Samuel is the one who headed east. I found this to be a wonderful addition to the entire book. Very well done! It will be interesting to see how the other three soldiers fair. ***

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This was the first book I've read by Elizabeth Hoyt and was not disappointed. I really liked how she introduces the fairy tale at the beginng of the book and with each chapter continues the tale and then returns to the novel. Her characters are brillant. From beginning to end I enjoyed both the fairy tale and the novel.

I loved Sam Hartley's and Lady Emeline Gordon's story. For the time in which the story takes place you understand the struggles that these two characters have to deal with. I appreciated the reality of the history and the way it was addressed in the novel.

I couldn't put it down.

Samuel Hartley was raised in a cabin in North America's colonial wilderness. After inheriting his uncle's business in Boston, Sam became quite wealthy and found his way to London both on business and in search of the person who betrayed the 28th Regiment causing a bloody massacre at Spinner's Falls. Of the men killed one was Captain Reynaud, the beloved brother of the very beautiful widowed Lady Emeline Gordon whom Samuel has engineered a meeting in order to obtain her help in preparing his sister Rabecca to enter London society, and to gain him entrée to continue his investigations.

No matter how wealthy Samuel is, Emeline who is a model of propriety is aghast at his rough exterior and refusal to conform to a more gentlemanly mode of dress. How dare he wear moccasins to a ball! Yet, underneath it all Emeline is more than a bit attracted to Sam's manliness no matter how beneath her in station or impossible a liaison would be, sparks ignite each time they meet.

*** A friend alerted me some time ago to Ms. Hoyt as a new historical romance author I would enjoy and I'm sorry to say it took me this long to finally get around to sampling her prose. Well, all I can say now is that after reading TO TASTE TEMPTATION I will be more than likely to move her from the bottom of my TBR stacks to the top!

Lady Emeline and Samuel Hartley were extremely well developed leads whom you could quickly embrace. Emeline was a bit hard to like at first and I really didn't warm up to her readily until I found her interaction with her 8 year old son Daniel so very charming and unusual (for a woman of that era - 1764) and began to understand her fears and what held her back from surrendering to her love of Samuel, especially when she seemed so attuned and sympathetic towards Sam's torments.

Ms. Hoyt's plot was interesting I especially enjoyed the bond of friendship that Samuel and Lord Vale (Lady Emeline's fiancé and one of Samuel's first suspects) formed even as Samuel was falling in love with Emeline. The other secondary characters, also cleverly woven in, were equally delightful especially, Tante Cristelle and Emeline's good friend Melisande whom I so hope is on this author's `To Do' list for a story of her own.

At the beginning of each chapter were passages of the fairytales of four soldiers which evidently parallels the authors ideas in creating this series. These fairytales were a nice touch and an additional story to enjoy. All in all, this series promises much in the way of action and adventure and TO TASTE TEMPTATION is a zesty and very sensual treat bound to please the palates of fans of this genre.

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