Potent Pleasures
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4.2 • 224 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Eloisa James breathes new life into one of the most popular fiction genres with her highly original debut novel Potent Pleasures, a charming, vividly peopled Regency romance. With an uncanny wit and an eye for the whimsical, she unravels a complex--and often hilarious--chain of events inadvertently set in motion by a young woman's first taste of forbidden pleasure.
About to make her debut in London society, Charlotte Calverstill, beneath the lavish gowns and manners of a well-brought-up young lady, yearns for a taste of freedom. Pushing propriety aside, one evening she sneaks out with a friend to attend a masked ball, and there meets a devastatingly handsome stranger who relieves her--not against her wishes--of her virtue, then vanishes.
Years later, when they meet again, the rogue does not remember Charlotte. But she certainly remembers him; she has since learned not only his identity, but also a titillating piece of gossip about him that is sure to set society abuzz. The intricate web that a now-wiser Charlotte weaves to exact her due ensures justice for some and great merriment for all.
Taking the Regency historical to fresh new places, with artful smoothness and irrepressible humor, Eloisa James delivers a winsome tale of first love and life's unexpected surprises.
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Eloisa James's Paris in Love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Is he or isn't he? That's the question on London society's collective mind in this slow-starting but ultimately satisfying Regency romance. Alexander Foakes, earl of Sheffield and Downes, allowed his Italian wife, Maria, to divorce him on grounds that he was impotent, but now he turns up with a baby daughter he claims is his child by Maria, who kept Pippa's birth a secret until she was dying. Charlotte Calverstill, the unmarried Lady Daicheston, can't believe he is impotent--after all, he "ruined" her in a garden three years ago before leaving for Italy--but Alex doesn't seem to remember their tryst. Nonetheless, he is smitten with the new Charlotte in her trend-setting French gowns, and since Alex requires a mother for Pippa, Charlotte is his choice. Charlotte is less than thrilled that her first lover doesn't even remember their unplanned assignation, but her hormones are drawing her back to Alex, who desperately wants a virgin bride after the debacle of his previous marriage. Thus, the stage is set for surprises all around, though dedicated Regency readers will spot developments well in advance. There are a few unexpected twists, however, and James introduces several well-integrated subplots for variety. As an independent woman with kind and understanding parents who wouldn't dream of pressuring her to marry, Charlotte may not be a realistic representative of her era, but she is an engaging heroine. The depth of characterizations, the steady progression of the plot and the tongue-in-cheek title will attract readers who may just greet James as the next Amanda Quick.
Customer Reviews
Potent Pleasures
I enjoy historical romances on occasions. While I thought this one was overly long, still it was well written and kept my attention.
Waste of time
The description had me excited, but a quarter of the way in I was already disappointed. This wouldn’t be a horrible book if it were cut in half, (or maybe a quarter), but with how long it was, the disappointments just kept coming. The author took plot twists that could have been extremely exciting and completely butchered it every time. It seemed as if the author amped you up for the many exciting twists, just to disappoint you with a lackluster moment. On top of that, you were hopping from one perspective to another without any kind of transition. From the main characters perspective to random servants who had no part in the book. It was an extremely frustrating book to read.
Utter chaos
I tried. I really did. I forced myself to read 75% before I gave up.
The idea for the story line is fine. The execution is not.
The third person omniscient point of view (never appealing, ALWAYS difficult to write well) is utter chaos. The transitions between the characters is not well defined —leaving the reader to have to pause and figure out whose head they are currently in. It is difficult to get lost in a story when you’re constantly pausing to figure it out. I really didn’t need to be inside a foot man’s head when he is an extremely minor character in the story.
Too many names, too many characters, too many side stories. No less than a quarter of the book (probably more) could and should have been cut. Much of that was twaddle. Some could have been salvaged and made into separate stories.
Fortunately, the book has few typos and grammar problems. For that, I am truly thankful.
When I tried to make myself finish the book, I realized that I really didn’t give a fig about the characters or what happened to them. I had too much fluff and twaddle to keep,straight to devote enough energy to care.
This author has several other works published and I will read one of those next, hoping that she developed her storytelling skills and found an editor or publisher to reign in the chaos.