The Perils Of Pleasure: Pennyroyal Green Series [Mass Market Paperback]

"The Perils of Pleasure", Julie Anne Long's latest historical romance, is a wonderful treat for fans of the genre, featuring vividly drawn, memorable characters and Long's trademark elegant prose.

The devilishly handsome, notoriously roguish Colin Eversea has been wrongly convicted for murder following the sudden disappearance of the only witness to the crime; he is about to be hanged when he is boldly rescued from the gallows by a mysterious woman, Madeleine Greenway. Madeleine, who is a mercenary with a skill for orchestrating difficult and dangerous tasks, tells Colin that she has been hired to save him but not to release him; unfortunately, she is not sure who employed her. When someone tries to kill Madeleine before she can collect her fee, she joins forces with Colin in an effort to discover who has engineered Colin's conviction and financed his subsequent escape, and who may be responsible for the attempt on her own life. Colin is desperate to clear his name and halt the marriage of his childhood sweetheart to his older brother, an event which is scheduled only one week hence. Madeleine wants to collect her money and use it to start a new life in America. But as the two travel through London and the surrounding countryside searching for answers, they find it increasingly difficult to deny either their increasing fascination with each other or their escalating mutual attraction.

Both Colin and Madeleine are wonderful, fully realized characters. One of Julie Anne Long's greatest talents is her ability to breathe new life into tired romance cliches, and in TPOP she works her magic on the handsome, rakish, devil-may-care romantic hero and creates Colin Eversea, a very memorable charmer. Colin's dangerous charm and irresistible sex appeal positively zing off the pages of the book; but it is his little insecurities that he hides behind his facile quips, his conflicted feelings regarding his brother, and his simmering rage about the injustice of his recent fate that make him come fully alive. Madeleine is a refreshingly unusual romance heroine--mature, pragmatic, efficient and enigmatic. Her past history and her tight control over her emotions are very slowly peeled away from her by Colin during their journey. They are a delightful couple and the sexual tension between them is allowed to build slowly to a wonderful peak, without a lot of gratitious mental lusting.

As always, Long's prose is a delight to read and her dialogue full of wit and flair. She is really one of the most talented writers in the genre at this point, IMHO.

Highly recommended for historical romance lovers who enjoy character-driven romance, particularly those who love strong, unusual heroines.

In PERILS OF PLEASURE, Colin Eversea is about to be hung for murder but is rescued by mercenary Madeleine Greenway. Her assignment is to kidnap Colin and prevent his hanging. On her way to return him and collect her pay, she learns that her employer has changed his mind and now wants Madeleine dead.

When I heard the plot for this book, I knew I had to read it. My love of historicals aside, it sounded like a fast read with all key elements packaged in. I read the first few pages and relaxed into the assurance that this author and I had become friends.

Miss Long was a very nice writing style that is easy and enjoyable to read. Once you adjust to the head-hopping and point of view slips, there isn't anything jarring and no 'why am I being punished' moments. She tells the story seamlessly from start to finish.

At the halfway point, something bothered me. I was not feeling a connection to the characters. I stopped reading to understand why I didn't care about Colin and "Mad". I certainly wanted to, I liked this author's style. What I came up with is this: a good part of the book is told from the male mc's point of view. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, Colin didn't seem to have much depth. He is engaged to a childhood sweetheart, but at the same time is a major player who is very hormonally driven. This characteristic is not endearing to me. We weren't in Mad's point of view deep enough to really know her. Realizing what I was facing, I continued, but the end of the book felt contrived and disappointing.

Overall, I'm torn on my feelings for this book. Would I read this author again? Absolutely. There is more than enough of what Miss Long does well that would make me read her other works.

CarolASpradling.com author

I don't often label a book a keeper - but I will keep this one and look for more from this author. I really like the heroine - Madeleine Greenway - she's totally unique, with an interesting past, a very different profession, and a maturity that is rare in historical romances. Ms Long has created an endearing hero in Colin Eversea, and it's fun to see him struggle with the reality of Madeleine and his attraction to her. I was swept along with them on their crazy race for answers to the mystery surrounding Colin. Highly recommended!

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