One female criminal genius. Three brilliant, passionate detectives who stand in her way. Let the seduction begin…My family expected me to play sacrificial lamb for their supernatural cult. Through a desperate bargain with a demonic fiend, I escaped—into a criminal underworld that saw me as easy prey. I’ve proven them wrong a thousand times over. These days, what I want, I get, by whatever means … want, I get, by whatever means necessary.
Now my fiendish friend is coming to collect its fee: my soul. I don’t intend to pay. Unfortunately, the key to my freedom lies just beyond my reach. To steal it before my time runs out, I’ll need to con the finest investigative minds in London into executing a perilous heist.
Sherlock Holmes. John Watson. Garrett Lestrade. Each at the top of their game; each with a weakness I can exploit. Each so passionate both in the field and between the sheets. I answer to no one and I left my conscience behind years ago, but the more time I spend with them, the more the edges of my steeled heart soften.
We could rule the world if we worked together. But these men will never see the real me as anything but a villain. When the chips are down, I have to betray them—or I’ll lose myself to a greater horror than they could believe exists.
What if the infamous Professor Moriarty was a woman—and she met Sherlock Holmes and his colleagues as young men? Wits clash and sparks fly in Moriarty’s Men, a modern paranormal spin on the classic characters. This reverse harem series comes with fast-burn steam, a slow-burn romance where the main character doesn’t have to choose, and M/M themes.
Warning: Heroine of extremely questionable morality.
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A Study in Seduction by Eva Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book: A Study in Seduction
Author: Eva Chase
Type: First book in Moriarty’s Men
Genre: Fantasy Reverse Harem
POV: Multiple (First Person)
Rating: 4 Stars!
I’d locked eyes with a lot of men over the years. I’d told lies to nearly all of them. But something about this man, in this moment, brought out an impulse to offer him an answer as close to the truth as I was capable of.
“And you’re still here even though you know what I am. A liar. A villain. A murderer.” “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Bash said. “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
A Study in Seduction was a fun and unique read. Eva Chase had us rooting for Moriarty, who we are conditioned to believe is evil. But Jemma was a refreshing change. She was cunning, manipulative, brilliant and tough. There was no doubt that she was in charge the whole time. The book’s packed full of action and mystery, betrayal and humor, with a twist of paranormal.
She sucked in a sharp breath, somehow looking fiercer than most of the soldiers I’d faced off against even in her loose sleepshirt and leggings.
While the story kept me on edge and jittery, it was a tad bit boring. I’m not rushing to read the next book.
“Are you all right?” he asked. He clearly was. His eyes were sparkling, elation emanating from every inch of his body. He’d enjoyed that fight for his life. John Watson was an adorable sick fuck, and I liked it.
See this on Goodreads – Study In Seduction
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**** No Spoilers ****
Alright, this was an interesting read. I’ve never been a Sherlock Holmes fan. Eva did an interesting twist to the whole Sherlock Holmes story. The storyline is definitely intriguing. Jemma is a feisty firecracker of a woman. Sherlock, John, and Garret are extraordinary men. The interactions between then are entertaining. I really enjoyed this book. Definitely a different type of storyline I don’t normally read.
•••••• I highly recommend this book/series! ••••••
~~ I have Kindle Unlimited, and I used that service to read this book. ~~
I love when an author has us rooting for the “bad” person because it’s so different from the norm and it’s cool to see from the other side. This book has characters that we’re familiar with but she still puts her own spin on them. The heroine’s brilliance is jaw dropping and she’s always 10 steps ahead. Very interesting throwing in the supernatural as well. This book keeps you on your toes and has everything you could want, including multiple steamy scenes. The epilogue was brilliant and now I am off to find book 2!! Both narrators were new to me but they did an excellent job fitting the characters and bringing this incredible world to life.
I really like how Jemma cons the trio into doing what she needs. The part with Sherlock and John was full on angsty and I’m here for it.
I love urban fantasy and paranormal tales – and Eva Chase is a true pro at these. I also enjoy an imaginative re-imagining of a classic tale, and one of my treasured hard covers at home is the complete Sherlock Holmes tales. So now we come to A Study in Seduction (Moriarty’s Men Book 1), which perfectly covers all of these things in a fantastically reimagined tale where our
Moriarty is a heroine, Jemma Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson and Garret LeStrade all have major roles (in a much different way than you might expect). The world is a Holmesian one but with a paranormal / fantasy twist, and the writing is superb and wildly imaginative. I addictively poured thorough the pages of this book and an more than happy to highly recommend it.
When I started the Looking Glass series by Eva Chase it was love at first sight. I loved the world, the characters and the way the story was written. And one of the series she recommended to read next was this one. She promised me a lot of plotting and planning and of course, a main character who was not a nice and good girl. We are talking Moriarty here after all. And ever since I’ve been excited to start this series.
Rightly so it seems! I opened the book and started reading and once more it was love at first sight. The first thing that caught my attention was the combination of writing style, atmosphere and setting. The books are set in modern times, and yet the writing style creates an atmosphere that really connects with the Sherlock Holmes books and vibe. The way they talked, the way the world was described. If the USB drives and phones weren’t mentioned, I would have believed it was set years and years ago. And yet it never felt odd or weird or wrong.
I also really enjoyed the plot and the slight bit of supernatural that was twirled into it. The supernatural was small and subtle, only showing up once in a while, but never taking over. However, it gave the story just that little bit extra and upped the stakes. Not that the plot wouldn’t have been fine without them. The plotting, scheming, planning and heisting was already very delicious on its own, especially because all character were observant and intelligent.
Which is the most amazing thing of this book: The intelligent characters. Intelligence is such a huge turn on! I fell in love with all the guys and I loved Jemma an awful lot too! Watching them learning about each other by simply watching and asking all the right questions and pushing all the right buttons was so delightful! No stupid for the sake of drama, no missing obvious clues and no refusing to make obvious connections. The plot was created BECAUSE the characters were smart and therefore outsmarting each other.
I’m so looking forward to next week already! This is gonna be one of my new favorites! I feel it!
Well…it starts slow and deviates from any Sherlock Holmes stories I expect and love, but it does end somewhat interestingly. Don’t expect Holmes, but think of this as just a story of intrigue and plotting with dash of steam. I’d actually give a 3.5 stars as story feels little slow in the beginning but it does pick up.
Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I loved this book. I haven’t read crime/mystery/etc books before. Might not have done this one, if not for the crazy paranormal twist, and the promise of sexy times with THE Sherlock Holmes from a FEMALE Moriarty. [Which, btw, didn’t disappoint.] The sex scenes with the other three were just as great, in their unique ways. I’m not sure this qualifies as a reverse harem; really, she just sleeps around, using sex as a tool, and while the scenes were hot, the author succeeded in making them feel that way, too. Plus, she only did it once with each guy. Maybe that’s just genre ignorance on my part, or maybe it gets more ‘harem’ in later books. DON’T LET THAT DETER YOU. I devoured this entire book in one day. Jemma was so calculating and scarily intelligent. Each thought and clue placed just so our hapless heroes “made” each decision themselves. It took some mental gymnastics on my part to get over the fact I *knew* from the beginning she was manipulating them, and this wasn’t going to be a typical romance (hiya—hardcore happy-happy-feels-feels fan, here) but I couldn’t be more pleased that I gave a book a chance. Super fun, super twisty, super engaging. I loved the interactions, so, so much. Of the male POV chapters, I’d have to say Sherlock’s was the best. Though, I loved Lestrade’s as well. I personally didn’t have any issues with him, his thought processes, or anything of the sort as I saw in some amazon reviews. I was 100% invested in all of them, to be honest, and totally ship an entire HEA with all of them. Amazingly woven plot. Five glorious stars all day.
A great turn on the Sherlock Holmes world. I can’t wait for book two!
This book gives a whole new look to Sherlock Holmes and company. Sherlock was just like I always pictured him. John was different than I expected. I always pictured his studious and not that outgoing, but here he is outgoing and can handle himself in any situation. Garrett was rule oriented but could be talked into some sticky situations. Jemma was strong, capable, smart and manipulative. She definitely used her feminine wiles to get her way. Growing up in a cult will kinda skew your sense of right and wrong. I did like that she didn’t leave the guys hanging out to dry and loved that they are now on a mission to find her to get some answers. I also like Bash, always there without any question. I can’t wait for the next book. I requested an advanced reader copy and am under no obligation to leave this review.
Wooooo!!! What a fabulous start to this new series!!! There aren’t words for the amazing-ness of this page turner. Amazing characters with an amazing plot that I can’t wait to see where it goes next!
I was gifted an ARC in return of an honest review.
Super fun read! Once you start on this mystery, you will never look at Sherlock Holmes stories the same way. Jemma Moriarty is just as much a genius as Sherlock Holmes. On this adventure, she is right on top of every little detail and Sherlock is a bit behind. Steam 7/10 * Sweet 9/10 * RH * Alt 1st POV * cliffhanger