The Pleasure Seekers [Mass Market Paperback]

Ok, I thought that we had done away with silly, unlikely heroine names like Raven, Parris, Skye and now Bliss? UGH! But Melanie George (along with Nicole Jordan) writes very much in the tradition of those late 70's early 80's bodice rippers, so I suppose we should not be surprised. We're all familiar with stories of women who, through circumstances beyond their control, wind up with nothing, forced to either become governess or mistress. Well here's a twist in that in this story, it's a man who's lost all.

Caine Ballinger has lost everything but his useless title as Earl of Hartland due to his father's debts - especially to the Earl of Exmoor. He's been reduced to "pleasuring" the current lady of the manor, the malevolent Olivia Hamilton who bought Northcote on the old earl's death. Caine hates Olivia (and himself) but with no money and no prospects, he is left with little choice but to do her bidding (sexually) in order to remain in his family home. During a house party, Caine becomes intrigued by one of Olivia's guests - Bliss Ashton who just happens to be the daughter of the man he blames for all his troubles, the Earl of Exmoor. Caine resolves to hate Bliss because of her father, whose intractability over Caine's father's debts to him contributed to his death. But there is something besides hate in his eyes when he looks at the lovely Bliss and it does not go unnoticed by Olivia. Not keen on having a rival for Caine's attention, she challenges him to seduce and ruin Bliss with his reward being the return of his family home, not to mention revenge on the Earl of Exmoor. Though unwilling to go along with any of Olivia's machinations, he agrees knowing it is just one more black mark on his already dark soul. But he's desperate to get his home, not to mention some small measure of his self-respect, back and to get Olivia out of his life forever. Any guilt he feels about using Bliss is blunted by his need for revenge against her father. And so his pursuit begins.

Of course he succeeds in seducing her, they fall for one another and she discovers his true motivations. She flees to Paris to forget Caine and move on with her life. Easier said than done - especially when Caine shows up in Paris determined to win her back. Can she trust him with heart? Can he truly love her? And, given the unsavory things he's done and the fact that he has little to offer her, can he make himself worthy of her?

If you like your heroes tortured, Caine will perfectly fit the bill. He's a man on the brink of despair, especially once he realizes his feelings for Bliss. But a couple of issues: Olivia's character was pretty much one-dimensional in that she did cruel things because she enjoyed it and because she could. And if Caine had no money, how does he pay for travel and lodging when he follows her to Paris? And toward the end there seemed to be more than necessary complications, revelations and some too easily resolved conflicts. But I must say that Caine's despair and self-loathing were very well depicted. When Olivia reveals Caine's ugliest secrets to Bliss his despair is palpable and his reaction borders on pathetic. You just wanted to pull him into your arms, squeeze him tight and tell him it would be all right. Though not perfect, this is a highly sensual story of a man who's done many ugly things and the woman who might just be his salvation.

The Pleasure Seekers is difficult to pin down; it's at once tragic and hopeful. Caine is perhaps the most tragic hero I have yet to encounter. He was truly a lost soul, so incredibly tortured, much of it a torture of himself from guilt and feelings of unworthiness. One almost has to wonder how Bliss was able to see beneath his extremely angry, sometimes violent, always challenging outer self to the deeply scarred, painfully alone, nearly broken man inside. George has created in Caine one of the most memorable romantic leads I've ever read. From the very beginning, the reader hurts for him; even when you cannot sanction his actions, you feel his despair. It is extremely powerful.

Bliss is not as fully realized. There seems little to her love for him other than desire, pity, and compassion. She's just not as real or as emotionally compelling as Caine. Only her ability to see deep inside him, and to love and forgive that inner man, makes her a worthy companion.

Some elements of the plot are defintely too quickly resolved, such as the horse and the murder, and Olivia is a one-note character, although there is certainly plenty to loathe. The reader must be happy that poor Caine has found peace and love, but this is not a comfortable story. Caine too often gets close to rape and Olivia's treatment of him is even worse. But it is also a story of redemption...no, salvation. It's a pity that Bliss is not his equal, except in the largeness of her heart, and that the other plot elements are not given their due.

Caine's a 4 & 1/2 star character...the rest is more 3 stars.

Caine Ballinger, the Earl of Hartland, has fallen on hard times. Once a young, spoiled rake, Caine had been content to live the high life in London ignoring signs his financially inept father was ruining the family fortune. When the storm breaks, Caine's father commits suicide, his patrimony is lost, and he is left virtually penniless. When a wealthy widow purchases his beloved home, Caine barters his body and soul. In exchange for staying on at Northcote, he is now Olivia Hamilton's personal stud. Haunted by his father's memory and damned by the choices he's had to make, Caine can only dream of one day taking revenge on the man he blames for his father's death -- the Duke of Exmoor. That opportunity arrives when Exmoor's daughter, Lady Bliss Ashton, comes to Northcote as part of a house party.

An unusual and independent young lady, Bliss Ashton is no simpering debutante. Since her parents' estrangement, Bliss has spent most of her time in Paris with her mother, establishing herself as an artist and living a Bohemian life. While on a visit to England, Bliss agrees to attend a house party with her cousin Court, and arrives to find an estate set in the stark but beautiful wilds of Devon and its scandalously wild and compelling former master. Although her first encounters with the dispossessed earl make him appear to be a crude brute, Bliss slowly comes to know and love the lost soul behind Caine's feral facade.

However, when a jealous Olivia notices the sparks between them, she gives Caine a devil's bargain -- if he seduces Bliss and makes her fall in love with him, Olivia will return Northcote to him. If he fails, Caine will fall deeper into Olivia's debt. A chance to win back his home AND revenge himself on the man he thinks ruined his father? It should be the perfect solution for a heartless debaucher. If he were still heartless, that is.

The first book in a new series, Melanie George packs a powerful emotional punch with THE PLEASURE SEEKERS. A deeply wounded hero, Caine finds a perfect match in Bliss's no-holds-barred surrender, and the reader is instantly swept into their tempestuous love affair. With its provocative sensuality and Dangerous Liaison-like plots and villains, THE PLEASURE SEEKERS is a powerful tale you won't soon forget.

TheSchemer