DOUBLE FANTASY - Cheryl Holt
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ISBN: 0-312-942567
March 2008
Erotic Historical Romance

Rural England and London – 1813

Jamieson Merrick has been newly installed as the Earl of Gladstone. He and his twin brother, Jackson, will arrive on the Gladstone estate and take over. It seems that Jamieson and Jackson are the black sheep of this family since their deceased father married their mother, a housemaid who died in childbirth, and he discarded the twins for a better marriage and left his sons to suffer horribly. Now Jamieson, being the first son and rightful heir, will take the estate over from his half-brother, Percy.

Anne Carstairs and her sister Sarah have lived at the Gladstone estate since their parents died. They are poor spinster cousins to Percy and his twin sister Ophelia. Anne believes she and Sarah will be tossed out by Jamieson because of his reputation as a murderer and a true villain. But Anne and Jamieson first meet by a stream, and before she can learn who he is, the strange man kisses her, leaving her flustered. She has no clue that he is the new earl, and when he goes to the house, Anne and her other relatives are in for quite a surprise. Jamie has an ultimatum, and that is he will marry either Anne, Sarah, or even his half-sister Ophelia. If Jamie doesn’t get what he wants, he will toss all three ladies, Percy, and his crazed mother, Edith, out on their ears. But since Jamie feels Anne and he had such a wonderful introduction, he will marry her on the morrow and not give one fig what she thinks.

Anne will fight tooth and nail, but when Jamie locks her in his bedroom and expects her to sleep with him, she can hardly refuse. And Jamie has more experience on his side, especially in the ways of physical pleasure. So, Anne will sacrifice herself for the happiness of the family, but it isn’t all that bad when Jamie shows her the joys of sex.

All too soon the honeymoon is over when Jamie is shot at and, even though Anne welcomes him in bed every night, she refuses to obey him. He tries his hardest not to fall for his wife despite her smile and body making him hunger for her love. But these two will never be truly happy, for Percy and Ophelia have plans, and those include the death of Jamie and Anne to get what they want.

If you have never read a Cheryl Holt novel, hold onto your hats because DOUBLE FANTASY is a Regency soap opera of epic proportions. My mind was spinning as this romance became more of a comedy than anything else. There is an openly incestuous relationship between Percy and Ophelia that is borderline sadomasochistic and includes their loony mother, who follows them screaming and ranting about them burning in hell. Anne’s beloved sister, Sarah, has a secret all too shocking, but that doesn’t stop her from being seduced by Jack. And even though Jamie is so against love, he still doesn’t mind having Anne any way he can.

Fans of Cheryl Holt will have a ball reading about murder, incest, and bawdy sex scenes. I could say I was shocked by the characters and their actions, but I found myself laughing, so no love is lost on my end. I would read DOUBLE FANTASY with some trepidation, but if you can put aside your shock over the way this motley crew of characters acts, you may have more fun than you think.

Kate Garrabrant