Total Surrender by Cheryl Holt

Not her best but still fairly entertaining

3 stars

With her dissolute brother having gambled away every possession she owns, Lady Sarah Compton knows that her life will soon be very difficult. Before she accepts her fate, she travels to a country party, determined to enjoy herself one last time. What she doesn't realise is that the country party is actually a trysting event for the decadent members of the aristocracy.

The bastard son of an earl, Michael Stevens loves his reputation as a debauched seducer yet he is drawn to the innocent Sarah for reasons he can't fathom. When she refuses to leave the party when he warns her of the dangers, the pair embark on a very exciting journey where Michael promises to teach Sarah everything he knows of seduction. And in turn, Sarah might teach him everything she knows of love.

I am a fan of Cheryl Holt but I have to admit that I didn't feel that this was one of her better books. Michael was a very deep and complicated character while Sarah was a typical feisty yet innocent lady. They did have good chemistry but surprisingly their sex scenes were almost overshadowed by the numerous other sex scenes within the book.

There was also an awful lot of introspection for both characters which really slowed the pace of the book for me. It wasn't a problem to finish the book but I was never overly eager to return to the story once I'd put the book down. There was also often the problem of overly flowery language within the book alongside the numerous Americanisms.

As I said, I personally don't think it was her best effort but it's still an okay read if you're a fan of Cheryl Holt or if you're looking for a little historical erotic escapism. This book is also the follow on from Love Lessons which featured Michael's brother, James. Unfortunately only 3 stars for this book.