Sandy M’s review of Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day
Historical Romance published by Brava 25 Jan 11

I’m the typical reader when I have a book I want to devour in hand – it doesn’t take long to get it read, and then I’m disappointed because it’s over and now I have to wait for the author’s next book. So this time with a Sylvia Day book, I made myself slow down. Savor. Anticipate. Hunger. Need.

It’s not easy putting a great book down, but it’s definitely worth it to make it last longer when reading someone like Sylvia Day.

Eliza is a vintage Day character. Intelligent, independent, self-sufficient, strong, in control of her life, answering to no one. Thus, she immediately takes recently received threats quite seriously and seeks out a thief-taker to get to the bottom of the danger now on her doorstep. She refuses to give in to whatever the culprit hopes to gain from raining unexpected accidents on her. Upon meeting the recommended and mysterious Jasper Bond, Eliza knows with a glance he won’t do. He’s too handsome, too well turned out for anyone to believe he’d be interested in the staid Eliza Martin. She tries to tell the man he’s not what she had in mind but runs up against a brick wall like she’s never hit before.

Jasper Bond is a self-made man, turning a horrible beginning in life onto a path of destiny of his own choosing. He is also living for revenge, and he’s closer to his goal than ever before. When he meets Eliza Martin, he’s quite taken with her, much to his surprise. She doesn’t fawn or pretend as other women of society do, she says what she means and means what she says. He’s a tad perturbed when she dismisses him without so much as an interview for the job she needs done. Knowing he wants to be near this woman and wanting to find out why, he finagles his way into her life, determined to discover who it is behind the mystery of who would want to harm her, why such is the case, and then take care of the bastard himself.

When Jasper and Eliza are together, it’s pure pleasure to be part of their interactions. They’re honest with each other from the start, lust after each other with every look, and they work together very well, Eliza trusting in Jasper when the need arises and Jasper listening to Eliza when she has information to offer. It’s just one of those slowly blossoming relationships that is so satisfying to read. Their pride and pleasure go hand in hand with who they are, both before and after each other, and you feel that with every word they utter, every caress they give, every look they share. They make love with unparalleled passion. Something I wish more heroes and heroines would do. But, really, no one does it better than Sylvia Day.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Wealth has its dangers…

There are disadvantages to being an heiress, as Eliza Martin knows well. Fortune hunters flock to her, acquaintances lie and pander, and lately, someone is engineering “accidents” to propel her to the altar. But Eliza will not be bullied, and she will get to the bottom of this plot. All she needs is a man to infiltrate her assemblage of suitors and find the culprit. Someone not easily noticed; a proficient dancer, quiet, and even-tempered.

…so do certain men

Thief-taker Jasper Bond is entirely too large, too handsome, and too dangerous. Who would believe that an intellectual like Eliza would be seduced by a man of action? But the combination of her stubbornness and the mystery makes the case one Jasper can’t resist. Client satisfaction is a point of pride and it’s his pleasure to prove he’s just the man she needs after all…

Read an excerpt.