Pleasure for Pleasure (original 2006; udgave 2006)

Just like the book before this one it again took until chapter seven for me to get into this story. So anyway I really wish it would stop being mentioned how much older Garrett is than Josie because it makes me feel icky with how much older he is than Josie.
 
This story begins for me when Garrett and Josie get tipsy in the Starlight room in his house and he gets her to shed her corset. This scene just made me smile because I could totally tell it was a precursor for things to come.
 
I became so incredibly annoyed with how the author gave dual top billing with what is suppose to be our main couple and a secondary couple, Garrett's sister who appears in previous books and the guy who starts a nasty nickname for Josie, The Scottish Sausage. The author dedicates whole chapters to the secondary couple and alternates the two stories. I would be just fully immersing myself into Josie and Garrett's story and then would be rudely jerked out of their story into the other couple. It got so bad for me I actually skipped the chapters that didn't pertain to Josie and Garrett. They are who I wanted to read about darn it!
 
There were times I was reading this story I kept asking myself why I was trying so hard to get into it instead of treating it as blase reading and then there would be a Mayne scene. The author writes this character so strikingly, it's a shame to me she couldn't write him a supporting story.
 
There are definitely some scenes and dialogue between Josie and Garrett which cause a pang in your chest but few and far between. I will say I'm not someone who feels a need to get married but there is something about the way some men say "their wife" and when Mayne said wife in regards to Josie I seriously got shivers.
 
Too much attention alternating between the first and secondary couples and I totally feel like the author flaked out on a character I loved; maybe my expectations were to high. This book received a B solely on the back of Mayne. Josie was a really likable character but sorry she just didn't meet up to Mayne standards.I would like to say though, this has been one of the strongest series I have ever read. Each book was above average and kept me involved with the series, which is extremely hard to do. The author just needs to curb her ADHD and focus on the main couple. ( )

Another chubby, insecure heroine. I liked this book, but mostly because of that theme, so I'm not terribly inclined to read the rest of the stories in the series. I think the novelty of historicals has worn off for now, with the exception of the ones that cater to my preferred heroine (fat, abused, scarred, insecure, tomboyish, plain, etc etc). (3.5 stars)

First read in July 2011, re-read December 2016. I almost bumped this up to four stars, and probably should to be fair, but while I ADORE this heroine's insecurity about her figure, her overall confidence kind of flew in the face of it, tempering the angst that I love in these kinds of tales (notably, how she concocted the scheme at the end because she was so confident that Mayne loved her and not Sylvie, and that he just needed to figure that out). I also enjoyed the secondary romance as well.
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Charming and rather witty in places, if a bit scattered. The novel is subversive of the form in some respects. First off, there's three romances, one between the trite but true younger woman and older man (except the younger woman is full figured and plump not a stick, although back then that was actually appealing), one between an older woman, who is not a virgin, and a younger man, and a third between two lesbians - which is subtley referred to, mainly because the author is no doubt aware of who her audience is. We also have a marvelously comical scene where the hero, a reformed rake, is teaching the heroine how to walk seductively, while wearing her pink dress.

The title refers to Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" but the writer riffs off of Midsummer Night's Dream and Little Women mostly. Saw a lot of references, including quotes from, Midsummer Night's Dream.

The heroine is a bit of a nit-wit, but she is also only 18 and far from worldly, so it is forgiven. The hero, while much older than she is, isn't that much older as far maturity goes - so they are well-matched. There's some lively conversation. But the best romance in the book, is the sub-plot between Griselda (the heroine's chaprone and the hero's sister) and Darlington (a writer of pulp fiction) who is much younger than she is. They have a heated affair and he pursues her until she agrees to marry him. It's a charming romance and I wanted more of it.
The book should have centered on these two - it would have been riskier and less appealing to many of James' readers, who may well prefer the trite but true younger girl, who is a tad wet-behind the ears, and the older rakish guy that seems to be the main course in 95% of the Regency novels. But Griselda and Darlington were a breath of fresh air.

The lesbian romance...gets short shrift. I wouldn't recommend James to non-heterosexuals, her homosexual characters when they pop up are annoyingly cliche and stereotypical. That said, it's admittedly rare we see them at all. James like Heyer, makes me miss Oscar Wilde.

There's two mysteries...I suppose. One about Sylvie and why she doesn't like the hero, which I figured out pretty quickly. And another about who the writer of the risque memoirs is. The memoirs are loosely based on the hero's exploits. It's fairly easy to figure out who is writing them.
I knew 20% into the book.

Overall, a nice romp. Not memorable, but likable for what it purports to be. And more ambitious than most of those books.


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What a great story! I laughed and cried many times! Such wonderful writing and really engaging characters!! I love this authors work!!

This was my favorite book of the series!! Who can resist the ugly duckling and the ultimate bad boy pairing up! Hot and steamy too!

I am currently on a Regency kick and this one was terrific!! ( )

Sweet story about two people finding that what they think is love is only fleeting and that the attraction they have for each other is in fact a deeper love that will satisfy them. Josephine Essex has been labelled as the "Scottish Sausage" because she's not of the ideal size, but she yearns to be liked and loved. She is almost attacked and has to be rescued, she marries in haste, and has no repentage but wonders if her new husband really loves her.

Charming story that I really enjoyed. ( )