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Too Hot to Handle
Emily Barnett is happy to be who she is: a country-bred old maid at 26, with a blind sister and niece to care for. But her pompous, stuffy cousin Reginald wants her to also be his wife--he inherited her family home and needs her dowry to run it properly. When Emily refuses to marry him, he kicks the three women out. Emily goes to London, determined to find work as a governess. At her first interview, in the home of Michael Farrow, Earl of Winchester, she discovers that working for a rake can be dangerous. Michael is interviewing potential mistresses, and he mistakes Emily for one of those candidates. After he realizes his error, he insists that she take the job as governess to his wards--an offer Emily can't refuse when he also allows her sister and niece to move into his house. Emily's days are filled with teaching, but her nights are full of teasing, as Michael tries to convince her to take on a dual role as his mistress. With scheming females waiting in the wings, can Emily and Michael learn in time that only true love is too hot to handle?
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 30, 2005
4 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Cheryl Holt
92 books396 followersCHERYL HOLT is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon “Top 100” bestselling author who has published seventy novels.
She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.
Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be one of the masters of the romance genre. For many years, she was hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance”, and she’s also revered as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.
She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.
She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.
Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be one of the masters of the romance genre. For many years, she was hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance”, and she’s also revered as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.
She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 1, 2010
I'm pushing this one up to 4 stars although It may be only a 3.5. However it started out so strong had me chuckling from the start that it bloody well deserves the added half star.
This starts out so strong but somehow the characters that were so intriguing in the beginning were never fully developed and just fell flat. Even the secondary characters that I so enjoyed were also lacking and never got enough time in the book.
The fact is it had really good bones but the meat was missing. I found it unforgivable that when Michael goes in search of Emily and her cousin tells him of the things he is Making her do he hits him but then returns to London????? Hmmmmmmm. If you loved her wouldn't you go get her and never allow those things to happen?
I really wanted to love this book the beginning had me thinking this would be a 5 star but for the lack of character depth and a rushed ending it was only a 3.5 - 4.
But I still think it is worth the read and will read Chery Holt again.
This starts out so strong but somehow the characters that were so intriguing in the beginning were never fully developed and just fell flat. Even the secondary characters that I so enjoyed were also lacking and never got enough time in the book.
The fact is it had really good bones but the meat was missing. I found it unforgivable that when Michael goes in search of Emily and her cousin tells him of the things he is Making her do he hits him but then returns to London????? Hmmmmmmm. If you loved her wouldn't you go get her and never allow those things to happen?
I really wanted to love this book the beginning had me thinking this would be a 5 star but for the lack of character depth and a rushed ending it was only a 3.5 - 4.
But I still think it is worth the read and will read Chery Holt again.
January 10, 2011
An absolute must read! Sexy page turner!!
Read
January 11, 2021
Sensual historical romance
5 stars
Emily Barnett has run to London to escape her scheming cousin who plans to marry Emily and then send her blind sister to an asylum. Now needing to raise funds, Emily interviews for the position of a governess for the wards of Michael Farrow, Earl of Winchester - only when she arrives at the Earl's residence she realises that she's accidentally stumbled across the Earl's interviews for a new mistress instead!
Michael Farrow likes his women to be experienced with lusty appetites much like his own. One look at Emily in her drab outfit and he can tell she is not the type of woman he is used to but he's intrigued all the same. When she runs off, scandalised, Michael tracks her down to offer her the position of governess. But as they are thrown into close contact together they both begin to realise that neither can deny the passion they find in one another. But when Emily's cousin, a jealous ex-mistress and a devious ward all start to plot - Emily and Michael have to decide how much they really want to fight for each other.
This is the first book of Cheryl Holt's that I've read and I found that I really enjoyed it and will definitely be looking out for other books of hers in the future.
I really liked Emily's character especially - an innocent and naive young woman while still refreshingly strong and resilient. Michael on the other hand is one hundred percent alpha male and tries so hard to keep his emotions out of his life that it is really enjoyable when you finally see him brought down by love. Their interactions are funny, fiery and sexy. The secondary characters are also very well developed and have their own stories which add nicely to the story.
The plot isn't too demanding and you definitely focus more on the interactions of the characters because of this. If you enjoy your historical romances light with some passion and emotion thrown in then I would definitely suggest that you give this book a try as I'm sure you will like it too.
January 30, 2018
Rated 3.5
August 21, 2022
I loved it🔥😍
January 7, 2026
Adventurous and steamy.
Perfect entertainment.
Perfect entertainment.
June 10, 2011
Enjoyable historical romance opens with our heroine, Emily being mistaken for a courtesan, who's interviewing to be the Earl of Winchester's new mistress. The beginning of this romance had me in stitches. It is really a great scene. And our heroine is naive and as innocent as a babe. She will keep you laughing. There's one scene where she is stroking the earl's private part and she says "What is this thing?" I almost fell off my chair. Ms. Holt delights us with some truly gifted story telling in Too hot to handle. I don't like to recap a story in my reviews, but To let other readers know what I liked or disliked about a book. In Too hot to handle, I enjoyed the comical scenes as well as the sensual sex scenes between Michael and Emily. And there's a second romance going on in the background, which I would have liked to see in a separate book. Alex and Mary deserved their own story. A good read, I recommend it with 4 stars.
June 22, 2009
this was a cute but absurd book. i don't think it was one of cheryl holt's hottest. the heroine emily is trying to provide for her blind sister and niece by applying for a governess position with a debauched earl named michael. he thinks she's applying for the mistress position and there's some confusion before he hires her for the actual governess position. emily is probably one of the most naive virgins i've read about in a long time. michael had to explain to her what happens during sex. it's pretty funny to read. of course, she falls in love. i tell you, only in romance novels do women fall in love and then change the men and make them fall too. LOL. anyway, it was a quick read and i enjoyed it.
September 10, 2010
Didn't like stupid characters, not recommended.
The first lovemaking scene was very funny, but nothing else was clever or entertaining. I was annoyed with some stupid things that Michael and Emily did later in the story. SPOILER: Michael should never have trusted Amanda enough to drink what she gave him when he knew that she had recently visited and told lies to Emily. He should not have believed the lie told to him by Reginald. I hate murder mysteries where an innocent person picks up the murder weapon just as the cops arrive. The framing of Michael (being drugged and set up with Pamela) due partly due to his own stupidity reminded me of that kind of story. There were a couple of times I was bored and wanted to be done with the book. Sexual content: strong.
The first lovemaking scene was very funny, but nothing else was clever or entertaining. I was annoyed with some stupid things that Michael and Emily did later in the story. SPOILER: Michael should never have trusted Amanda enough to drink what she gave him when he knew that she had recently visited and told lies to Emily. He should not have believed the lie told to him by Reginald. I hate murder mysteries where an innocent person picks up the murder weapon just as the cops arrive. The framing of Michael (being drugged and set up with Pamela) due partly due to his own stupidity reminded me of that kind of story. There were a couple of times I was bored and wanted to be done with the book. Sexual content: strong.
October 7, 2010
I wondered why there was a picture of a shirtless cowboy on the cover (or at least that's what I interpreted it as), when this was a historical 1800s London romance novel. It followed the same basic plot of any other 1800s London romance novel, but perhaps a bit more scandalous (and erm, detailed in the sex scenes) than others I've read. It was a quick and easy read, predictable but there were a few twists I wasn't expecting. Not a bad book.
October 19, 2010
More like 3.5
Overall I really liked this book, I liked the characters and the story. There were some things that I found unbelievable and ,for someone who has read quite a few romance novels, uncomfortable. When Michael is explaining to Emily about how men and women have s** I found myself laughing that "I'm so uncomfortable, how do I get out of this..." laugh and skimming past it. But that was such a short part of the story that I was able to move past it and enjoy the rest of the story.
Overall I really liked this book, I liked the characters and the story. There were some things that I found unbelievable and ,for someone who has read quite a few romance novels, uncomfortable. When Michael is explaining to Emily about how men and women have s** I found myself laughing that "I'm so uncomfortable, how do I get out of this..." laugh and skimming past it. But that was such a short part of the story that I was able to move past it and enjoy the rest of the story.
June 16, 2008
*yawns* All of her books start out very promising but let you down to an insane degree. The same conversations happen over and over and there are a lot of the same characters. I don't know if anyone every told cheryl holt that a good story has an actual climax. It just all falls flat. At least I only have 3 more of her books to read from a pile of books that my friend gave me.
August 1, 2009
Awful, awful, awful.
From the weirdly cowboyish cover (story takes place in completely unrealistic old England) to the incredibly asshole/whiny hero to the boring/stupid/spineless heroine. The side romance was somehow worse than the main one.
What's sad is that the writing style isn't all that bad, just the content, plot, and characters.
From the weirdly cowboyish cover (story takes place in completely unrealistic old England) to the incredibly asshole/whiny hero to the boring/stupid/spineless heroine. The side romance was somehow worse than the main one.
What's sad is that the writing style isn't all that bad, just the content, plot, and characters.
March 23, 2013
I thought this was a quick easy read although I found Holt made the heroine Emily A little to naive even for a virgin..I mean come on she didn't even know that men and women were made different(rolling eyes) But other than that it was quite steamy and as always Cheryl Holt is my go to guilty pleasure.
July 1, 2010
Loved the book. Hero was had to learn to let his hero side out. One of my most favorite kind of hero! Heroine took no crap and thats another thing I liked. Will be looking for more of Ms Holts books...plus the hawtness meter is high...LOL
May 11, 2008
Great
March 30, 2016
While Holt books have a good plot outline the whole story is hidden. The only point seems to be sex for not only this book but any of hers that I've read. This one was my last attempt.
September 22, 2015
This book seemed lol over the place. There were some good scenes and some awful ones! Overall it was a decent read not one of Ms Holts best.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews