Strange Attractions [Paperback]

You never quite know what to expect from Emma Holly, which is obviously her intent. She is a writer that continually fascinates me. I don't choose erotic fiction as a matter of routine, because honestly, most of it fails to deliver on the one level I want most - makes me care about the characters. Recently in a debate about the levels of sexuality in Romance in general, some came down on the side of sizzling hot, some for chaste Regency Romances. I said, "Frankly, I don't care which road you ask me to travel; tell a good story, and I will enjoy it." And for me, that is so true. I enjoy Sandra Heath Regency tales as much as I enjoy Angela Knight or Emma Holly, two of the red-hot sizzling writers of today. Why Holly continually leads me down roads I'd travel less is she starts with the most important ingredient: characters. She creates very human, very alive people, reaches in and grabs your heart, and then proceeds to push emotional and physical boundaries like no other writer around.

Once again, with her newest work, Strange Attractions, Holly delivers up a spicy, but emotional dish. An O.T.T. scientist is obsessed with knowing the why of everything. And the most elusive why to him is emotional response and feelings. When he is not being this era's Albert Einstein, Grantham unwinds by playing games with people - his very own human Kens and Barbies, trying to figure out what makes them react as they do. A one man Think Tank, B.G. Grantham very selectively chooses his candidates, looking for people that are strong willed, but flawed. His right hand is Eric Berne - Grantham's Man Friday and Ken doll rolled into one. It's time for Grantham to unwind from his more earth-saving pursuits, so he sends Eric out to find a new subject.

Eric has chosen sexy, wisecracking Charity Willis. Charity immediately wins the readers over. She is a gal who loves being a woman, short skirt, tight tops. Coming from a less than spotless background of a mother who moved about, and "uncles" who moved in and out of Charity's life with the regularity of the Navy, Charity has learn to protect herself. She is wound, yet resilient; she won't take gruff from people who mistake her delight in being sexy as a come on to any Tom, Dick and Harry. But life has not given Charity any breaks. She means well, but she's been fire from more jobs than she had "uncles". She's bright, but little applies herself, because what's the point?

Charity has seen Eric around the offices where she works, Future-Tech, even had the strange sensation he was following her on several occasions. She is attracted to the sexy man, but feels that a man like him would be interested in a girl like her for only one reason. When she's called to the personnel office, she at first fears getting fired for perpetually being late. She is ushered into the office by Eric who says he has a proposal for her. Charity steels herself for the usual, and is ready to put him in his place. Instead, Eric tells about his employer, how he likes to study people, their pleasure, what makes them tick and offers her the job of being Grantham's personal Barbie Doll for a period, after which they will pay for her college education, see she gets a good position with a job that has a future. After hearing the terms of the contract, Charity agrees feeling life has never given her a chance to get ahead before. Since the contract spells out that anytime she feels uncomfortable with Grantham's requests, she just has to say the word, they will bring her back to her home and the contract will end, Charity thinks she has nothing to lose.

So begins the journey of education of this touching brave young woman, that leaves the reader spellbound, with Eric as her guide. A modern twist, a cross between Svengali and My Fair Lady, done as only Holly can do. She strongly, flawlessly uses Multi-POV (point of view) to keep the reader attuned to all her characters inner emotions. Simply put, Emma Holly told me a good story and I enjoyed it. Her brilliance, her open-mindedness, and her willingness to test the envelope mark her as the brightest star in fiction - par none!

2004 Reviews International Organization Award of Excellence Finalist and 2nd Place Winner

I have always been an Emma Holly fan. She and MaryJanice Davidson rank highest priority whenever I'm in the bargain for a good romantica. Everyone who has read Holly's novels, especially her Black Lace offerings, is familiar with her uninhibited, no-holds-barred approach to erotica, and said approach is evident in Strange Attractions. Charity Wills is a man-eating high school dropout who jumps from one dead end, boring job to another. But things take an interesting twist when she is approached by the gorgeous Eric Berne. He's noticed her sharp intelligence and great potential, so he makes an offer she cannot refuse: the opportunity to get an Ivy League education in exchange to being the plaything of one B.G. Grantham -- an eccentric physicist with a penchant for exotic sexual games. Eric and B.G. have a rather close relationship, so to speak, and things take a delicious turn when intense feelings between Eric and Charity ensue. What transpires is a delectable story of the most sensual, erotic, mind and body games ever imagined...

This is Emma Holly's most interesting novel to date and the most daring one since Menage. This novel is not unlike the books she used to write for Black Lace. The plot is rather strange, but it works well with the sexual dynamics within the story. My favorite scene is the one with Eric, Maurice the chauffer and Charity and their little "stop" before arriving to B.G.'s mansion. I also like the encounter with Eric and Charity. There is of course a menage a trois in this novel. I can't help but notice that the men in Holly's novels are bisexual. The only novels that didn't have bisexual males in them were the paranormal ones with the word "Midnight" in their titles. Nicolas Craven, the hero in Beyond Seduction, my favorite Holly novel, hinted at having once indulged in bisexual escapades in the last chapters of said novel. Does Holly like the idea of two men together so much that she's centered most of her novels on said encounters? I like how sensual the aforementioned encounters are in her stories. I also couldn't help but notice that she is always precise with her research on the subjects she writes about -- or at least she makes said subjects sound very believable and convincing. Anyway, as said earlier, this is Holly's most unique offering to date. She has a wonderful imagination. Another winner from Emma Holly! This was the perfect book to read while nursing my flu. I cannot recommend it enough.

There's something about Strange Attractions that leaves you with a slightly gloomy feeling. Maybe it's because I prefer a real element of romance in my books, which I thought this book lacked. In spite of its categorization as an erotic romance, the book seems to suffer from a complete lack of emotion. The storyline is virtually non-existent, which is okay, I suppose, because we generally don't pick books of this genre for their intellectual complexity, but it bothered me that the main protagonists didn't at any point of time, act in a way that leads us to believe that they were in love. The sex scenes were very well written - Holly never suffers from a lack of imagination in this department - but it got boring after a while because that was all there was to the book - sex. The three main characters was incredibly drawn to each other sexually, but their relationship lacked emotional depth, which makes the ending hard to buy.

All in all, this book is pure erotica, and nothing more. If erotica is all that you're looking for, then Strange Attractions is definitely worth reading, but if you prefer a believable romance to go with the sex, you might give this book a miss.

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