- Hardcover: 297 pages
- Publisher: Venus Book Club of Bookspan (2001)
- ISBN-10: 0739421751
- ISBN-13: 978-0739421758
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13.5 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Beatrix clouet stopped at the door to her mother's office, a knot of pain compressing her chest. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Beatrix clouet stopped at the door to her mother's office, a knot of pain compressing her chest. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having loved "Menege", I've read just about every Emma Holly book out there. Most of them, while very good, didn't live up to "Menege". This one did! Finally! The story was great, the writing fantastic and the sexy scenes...sexy. I'd recommened it along with, of course, "Menege" and another called "Breaking the Girl". Fantastic erotica all the way!
20 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have wide tastes in reading. A non-fiction history book that is well written excites me as much as good fiction. It's the power behind the writer's vision, their voice that sees the prose come alive. When you get into the Romance genre, it's voice and vision, but it's also a headier mix - romance, anticipation, and an understanding of human nature. The best romances are written by someone who appreciates men and women, their indocincrosies, and relishes that indefinable magic, which makes a person individual, special. Often, I see writers writing men as they want them to be, rather than appreciating the male animal as he really is. No matter how beautifully written a tale is, if the writer does not have a good understanding of men, it shows. One thing you can say of Emma Holly she has the knack. She knows men, warts and all, yet adores their intricacy, understands them, and is able to put that into crafting savvy tales with characters so strong they come alive. Personal Assets is Holly at her very best. It shows Holly's understanding of women and men. She breathes life into her characters so when you finish reading this book, you just did not enjoy these two men and two women, you feel you know them. They are your friends! It's hard to think of Bea, Phillip, Leta and Simon as just fictional characters.
I especially I heap high praise on her Multi-POV (Point of View). I have long maintained this writing style is so much freer, fuller, you get to know the characters, their immediate reactions, then and there, instead of having to wait for the confining "stay within a single character's POV for a whole chapter". Comparing Mutli-POV to enforced Single-POV is the difference between staring at the Mona Lisa and then looking at a painting done with paint-by-numbers! I hear people call Multi-POV "head-hopping" and say it takes them out of the story. Sorry, if you are worrying about "whose head" you are "in" - you were never in the story in the first place! Holly has a strong mastery of Multi-POV, and she uses this so well to bring her characters to life. You are able to become acquainted with her four leads so well. I knew each of them, their quirks, their fears, their vulnerabilities. This style of writing is vital, it's immediate. And Holly shows how it should be done!
This tale is red hot, so know that going in. But it's more than the sizzling sex - it's the people. Holly is simply a master at human understanding, a master of taking that comprehension and being able to put it into words. She is a powerful writer. She evokes, provokes, teases and opens your heart to loving the people she conjures.
Bea Clouet lived in the shadowed of her beautiful, dazzling and powerful mother, and a similar grandmother. Her grandmother founded Milleirs Amis, a small, but exclusive boutique in Paris. Her mother pushed it to the limit, expanding it worldwide. When Bea was 12, her mother married Phillip Carmichael, a beautiful Englishman twenty years her mother's junior. Phillip tried to be a friend to the lonely Bea who never lived up to her mothers expectations. Bea's father was Irish, and Bea favored him. She is a big lass that carries a few too many pounds in a town of half-starved models. Bea generally rebuffed the friendship with Phillip because, as she grew she knew she loved him, and not as a stepfather. Now 23-years-old, she is coming into her own, and since her mother was killed six month before by her latest lover, she decides to push the limit and see if she can push Phillips buttons or at least try to get over him.
Leta her college friend is in town. Leta was orphaned when she was young, and never adopted so she has learned never to trust anyone and to depend only on herself. Bea is one of the few people she has ever been close to, so she treasures her friendship. When trouble arises in the New York store, Leta immediately begs Phillip to give her a chance to run the store. He refuses, but does say she can go learn the store, give him a report of what she thinks could improve it, and if she does a good job, he will consider hiring her as manager. Leta's former boyfriend Andrew pushes his boss Simon Graves and Leta together knowing they will click. And they do! Only, Leta is unaware Simon is starting the ground work to take over Meilleurs Amis, and that it could cost Leta her friendship with Bea. Both romances have so much heart, compassion and understanding. The complexity of the story, the characters - well, it's just brilliantly realized under Holly's marvelous talent. Count me a dyed in the wool Holly fan from now on!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
33 reviews
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Romantica at its best
1 May 2004
Format:Paperback
This book is similar to Emma Holly's erotica stories originally published by Black Lace, but this one has been marketed as a romance novel by Berkley.
This definitely pushes the limits of what we think of as romance, and I congratulate Holly for that. This story is a blend of romance and erotica, better known as romantica. There are multiple explicit sex scenes in every chapter, multiple characters having sex with different partners, even some menage a trois and male/male sex. And yet the story focuses on the growing love between two different couples, and the plot itself that ties the whole story together is well-thought out by Holly.
I have always appreciated Holly's open-minded attitude toward human sexuality and erotica, as well as her expertise at crafting very steamy and diverse sex scenes. The fact that she has been able to successfully translate all of that into a book that is considered a romance novel is noteworthy.
The only reason I give this book 4 stars rather than 5 is because in my opinion the ratio of sex scenes to story plot is skewed a little too much in the direction of the sex. Since this is a romance novel and not pure erotica, I would have liked to have seen a little more storytelling to round out all those sex scenes. As it was, there were just little snippets of plot bridging explicit scene after explicit scene of very hot sex.
But let me repeat, what Emma Holly has accomplished with this book is a benchmark in the romance genre, and I hope she will continue to push the limits by writing more romantica in the future.
68 of 73 people found the following review helpful
Delicious and insatiable erotic romance!
22 Jan 2004
Format:Paperback
I am officially hooked on Emma Holly! Having read Menage, a rather spicy Black Lace offering, I couldn't wait to get my hands on another book from this author. Personal Assets is one of the steamiest, insatiable and wonderful erotic romance novels ever written. Parisian boutique Meilleurs Amis (Best Friends) exudes elegance and eroticism. Beatrix trusts that her young and hot British stepfather Philip will look after her late mother's business. Bea has always loved Philip and she seizes the opportunity to seduce him. But in the midst of seduction, her best friend Lela falls for Simon, a powerful and good-looking businessman who threatens the future of Meilleurs Amis. Will carnal and heart desires get in the way of the aforementioned dilemma? There are various twists throughout the novel.
The erotic scenes keep the juices flowing and your senses in full alert. I loved the scenes that centered on Bea and Philip. The sex scenes between Lela and Simon are also wonderful, but the sexual tension isn't as palpable. The man-woman-man menage a trois in Italy is my favorite scene. The romance in the novel is also wonderful. Emma Holly sure knows how to write erotic romance without the formulaic bells and whistles that accompany said genre. Her writing is sharp, the sex scenes downright explicit and the story is memorable. I shall read her other novels with gusto. Are you in the bargain for a book that contains pure animalistic passion? Pick this one up!
The erotic scenes keep the juices flowing and your senses in full alert. I loved the scenes that centered on Bea and Philip. The sex scenes between Lela and Simon are also wonderful, but the sexual tension isn't as palpable. The man-woman-man menage a trois in Italy is my favorite scene. The romance in the novel is also wonderful. Emma Holly sure knows how to write erotic romance without the formulaic bells and whistles that accompany said genre. Her writing is sharp, the sex scenes downright explicit and the story is memorable. I shall read her other novels with gusto. Are you in the bargain for a book that contains pure animalistic passion? Pick this one up!
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Emma Holly does it again!
14 Jan 2004
Format:Paperback
I stumbled across Emma Holly's "Beyond Innocence" a couple of years ago, and since then, I've been hooked! I've bought any older book of hers that I can find, and I always look forward to something new. With "Personal Assets," Emma does NOT disappoint. While so much erotica is all about the sex, Emma manages to deliver steamy sex scenes as well as a wonderful story. Actually, "Personal Assets" has two great stories about people falling in love, despite their insecurities, doubts, and preconceived notions. And again, the sex is HOT! Fans of Ms. Holly will not be disappointed. If you have not read any of Emma Holly's work, "Personal Assets" is a great way to start.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
