Promise of Pleasure

by Cheryl Holt

Secret desires. Forbidden fruit. Untapped passion. No sooner does Mary Barnes, yet to be touched by a man, drink a secret elixir than a handsome and mysterious stranger walks into her life. But Mary... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425235084
• ISBN13: 9780425235089
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

1s book in trilogy of where and a few drops from a magical elixir -- leads to romance

Cheryl Holt books in the past were very edgy Historical erotic Romance where the evil was disturbingly VERY evil and good always won. I could not put this book down because I was waiting for the evil to emerge but it wasn't to her normal standards. The concept was that Mary Barnes is Cinderella like character - evil stepmother and stepsister. Viscount Jordan Winthrop needs to marry an heiress and somehow the oldest child of the rich deceased father is penniless. Jordan and Mary start having an affair - while he plans to marry her younger evil step-sister. I could not put it down - great writing - not quite what I was expecting though --- looking forward to Taste of Temptation (Berkley Sensation) due out June 2010.

Loved it!

I can't understand the bad reviews of this book. I almost passed it by. Glad I didn't. It was a true Cinderella story with a prodigal son story thrown in. Give it a chance. Some fabulous and hot love scenes.

I wish Cheryl would stop doing stand alone books

In one of Cheryl's older books the romance between Cassandra and Paxton would have been followed up in the next book in the series. But for years now Cheryl has been doing stand alone books with titles that would make one think the books are linked when they are not or loosely linked. I liked her older stuff much better. I gave up on her for a while but thought I would give this book a shot. It is closer to the old Holt books but once again I noticed the next book coming out is a stand alone again. I really enjoy starting to get to know a secondary character and having the next book about them. If I am investing my time in reading and caring about characters I like to see them again. Cheryl used to have this great talent of turning bad guys into the hero or heroine in her books I miss that too. Oh well - I guess there are other authors out there now that I read before her because I feel like she won't give her fans what they really want - whether she is following her editors dictates or not. Otherwise this is a good book - however because she tries to add two romances to the book both end up lacking.

Even though there are some flaws, this Cinderella story is almost 4 stars

Cheryl Holt's latest novel, Promise of Pleasure, is a Cinderella tale with a bit of a twist. The Prince in this fairy tale in many ways is not princely but the heroine is very much like the original Cinderella, overworked and underappreciated by her family. Mary Barnes is almost a servant in her own home; her mother and one of her step sisters treat her disdainfully. Mary has hopes of marrying a neighbor, Harold, and escaping her demanding family. Problem is he has not cut the apron string with his mother so poor Mary is stuck waiting until the he comes to his senses. Mary has two step sisters, Felicity is spoiled and petty and searching for a titled husband and the other sister is a widow who became withdrawn after her marriage. Mary's step-mother invites very, very bad boy Viscount Jordan Winthrop to the house with the sole purpose of seeing him marry Felicity. Jordan is broke and totally irreverent; he brings his mistress and wastrel friend with him to Mary's home. Jordan needs the money since he is essentially cut off from his family. He is prepared to marry the immature Felicity but he is quite attracted to lovely Mary, who initially despises him because of his self-centered nature. Jordan is relentless in his pursuit of Mary, she resists his overtures quite vehemently at first. In her hopes to finally get Harold to marry her, she uses a supposed magic potion but feels that its affects fall upon Jordan instead of Harold. All the characters are bigger than life in this novel and at times this works well (this is true for Mary's "godmother" and for Mary's character too) and other times it just seemed over the top. The baddies in this book are really bad, manipulative with no redeeming qualities at all. Hero Jordan has a terrible case of ennui and he is way too selfish. He really has a hard time seeing any one else's point of view. To his credit he does quickly view Mary as more than a glorified servant. He chases her because she runs and I felt that this is what sparked his interest in her much more than Mary's kind nature. Their romance is very passionate and Mary succumbs rather quickly to him, perhaps too quickly especially in light of the fact that she halted his earlier advances with a sharp tongue and she knows the plans her step-mother has for him and Felicity. Also in this novel is a secondary romance between Mary's other sister, Cassandra, and Jordan's friend. Their romance needed at least fifty more pages, the set up is good but I wanted more conversations and interaction between these two interesting people. Their relationship felt rushed and with their backgrounds and guarded natures, they were the more intriguing couple. Ms Holt ends this novel in her typical fashion, the good guys win and the bad ones have to face the consequences of their misdeeds. Was it my favorite book by Cheryl Holt, no, but the fairy tale aspect was nice and Ms. Holt does know how to write a steamy scene. Also the heroine was likea

fun adult version of Cinderella

In 1814 in rural England twenty five year old Mary Barnes is treated with disdain by her half sister eighteen years old spoiled Felicity who abuses her as a poor relation servant. Mary's widowed stepmother Victoria is as horrific towards her; only widow step-sister Cassandra does not mistreat her. Wastrel Viscount Jordan Winthrop is staying at Barnes Manor as he is expected to propose to Felicity for her money; while Mary has waited a decade for her neighbor Harold Talbot to marry her. Jordan meets Mary and assumes she is a servant. He flirts with her and tells her she is pretty. She later sees him making love with Lauretta. She flees from him, but he watches her in the woods where she kisses Henry who is upset by her boldness; she also is upset as she felt nothing. Victoria tells him who Mary he is, which stuns him as he know he treated her shabbily. He kisses Mary and tells her he wants to do it again. Peddler Philippe Dubois sells her the Spinster's Cure with the understanding she not pay until it proves successful by getting her true love to marry her. She drinks the potion ready for Harold to appear, but Jordan does instead. Desperate after another nasty incident with Felicity, Mary puts potion in his wine. That night he sneaks in her room. Soon they are having a tryst. Felicity, Victoria and Jordan's mistress Lauretta try to end the relationship between the lovers. The first Spinster's Cure is a fun adult version of Cinderella with a strong lead couple and a solid support cast who with several neat twists seem to have stepped out of the fairy tale into the Regency sub-genre. Ironically, the wicked stepmother and stepsister mirror the fairy tale, but neither possesses any redeeming qualities while Philippe is a superb spin on the fairy godmother. Fans will enjoy this fine Regency romance as Jordan must choose between love and money. Harriet Klausner