I will admit, I am hard to please when it comes to romance novels. In fact, if a novel becomes bogged down by the conventional plot, hero, setting, etc, I won't even finish it, and will usually throw it across the room before moving onto something else.

While "Beyond Seduction" had its most definite flaws and "roll-your-eyes" kind of moments, it wasn't so awful that I had to quit reading (although at one point I thought if I read the word "chit" one more time I would gag. Fortunately about halfway through the book, Holly laid off the word.) It kept me engaged and stuck to relative realism, as far as your traditional romance plots allow. There weren't any crazy rapes or kidnappings or evil plots, just a pretty straightfoward plot of your typical "headstrong" heroine setting out to ruin her reputation by mingling (literally and figuratively) with a known (typical) rake, "true love" ensuing. There was nothing wonderful or unforgettable about either the hero or the heroine, but for the time I was in the book, they did their job.

I was expecting more in the erotica department, however. All things considering, the love scenes were pretty standard, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, the book was sexy, just not as "hot" as I had been lead to believe. Was it good enough to read another Emma Holly book? Yes, probably. Would I run out and recommend it to all my friends? Probably not.

I like erotica, but sadly I find that most of it so so poorly written and/or plotted that it's almost unbearable to read. Emma Holly is a skilled writer whose characters really come alive without the usual cliches--she writes her sex scenes as if she really enjoys them, and makes you care about the characters, which is rare in romance, let alone erotic romance. I am making my way through many of her books now--if this is your cup of tea, and your idea of sex isn't limited to vanilla, you'll love these.