Top of her Game (Black Lace)

Customer Reviews:

The Bottom of Her Game.......2005-11-20

Having recently become an Emma Holly fan after her latest book "Strange Attractions," I had to go back and check out some of her other works. "The Top of Her Game" is so poorly written I have decided not to finish reading it. I found myself thinking this must one of the author's earlier works, since her writing style is much more evolved in "Strange Attractions."

The story reads like a a porn movie instead of an erotic novel because the characters are so one-dimensional and the dialogue so far-fetched you cannot sympathize with any of these people. The plot itself is not a bad premise -- corporate secretary is sent on a weekend trip to a dude ranch with three company execs to ferret out the traitor who cost them a large account -- but the sex scenes are so contrived that I couldn't sustain my suspension of disbelief enough to get into the story. This is partly because some of some of the sex metaphors grow annoyingly repetitive such as "hard as a metronome" (used at least 3 times to describe male arousal) and "juddering" organs (I lost count of how many times I reads this phrase).

Since I know Emma Holly is capable of producing memorable characters with sharp, edgy writing, and explosively sensual love/sex scenes, this story was a major disappointment. Also, though not as distracting as the poor dialogue itself, this book was published in the UK, so the spelling is British English and not American.

Bottom line: if you are looking for hot, steamy erotic romance, don't waste your money on this book. However, if you enjoy the porn-style approach to meaningless sex, this is the book for you.

Not good, very disappointing effort by Ms. Holly..........2005-05-21

Emma Holly is one of the best erotica authors out there. I loved Menage, Personal Assets, The Velvet Glove, Beyond Seduction and Hunting Midnight so much that I couldn't wait to read more of her stuff. I also enjoyed Strange Attractions and The Demon's Daughter, her most recent novels, but they were not up to par with her earlier work. I thought The Top of Her Game would be great because this is one of her early works -- when she used to write for Black Lace. However, I was disappointed with this effort, which comes across more like a very long Penthouse letter than a smolderingly erotic novel. This is the story of a secretary's stay at a dude ranch in Montana. Her boss thinks someone is leaking information to their major competitor and sends Julia to spy on various execs during a getaway business meeting in said ranch. What transpires is a story with endless explicit sex scenes controlled by Zach -- the sexy owner of the ranch. This turns out to be a big opportunity for Julia to act out her fantasy of being a dominatrix. There are various scenes throughout the novel.

Someone here pointed out that the sex scenes are rushed and contrived. I agree with this reviewer. There is no sexual tension between the characters, no development whatsoever. The sex is just thrown out to the reader with no preamble. This is so unlike Emma Holly. The sexual tension between the characters in Personal Assets and Beyond Seduction was second to none. I cannot believe the same author wrote this book. I could not relate to Julia. The whole dominatrix thing is not my cup of tea (I actually enjoy reading about sexually submissive women, to be honest). The only saving grace in this novel is Zach. He sounded absolutely scrumptious! I would have loved to see some tension centered on him. Alas, it was not meant to be. The Top of Her Game is a prime example of a pornographic novel with no substance. This is by far my least favorite Emma Holly effort. I'd suggest you skip this and read any of her other books instead.

Emma Holly "dominates".......2004-09-13

This was the 1st Emma Holly book I read, back when it was a black lace title. While I'm not usually into the dominatrix novels, this one has a really nice love story to go along with all the steamy sex scenes. I recommend all the Emma Holly erotica - though I really HATE the new "chick lit" covers on these reissues. I bet some people are going to get a real eye opener if they think they're buying your typical light love story!

Thank Goodness for Reissues!.......2004-09-01

I've been trying to get a copy of Top of Her Game for two years now and so I was happy to see that Cheek was doing a reissue of several of Emma Holly's more popular but out of print titles from Black Lace.

Top of Her Game, like Personal Assets and Menage, is definitely a keeper. Holly most certainly knows how to create hot tension between her lead characters and she does it in this book quite well.

Julia, despite being at loose ends in her life is fascinated and compelled by Zach, the owner of the Montana dude ranch she's sent off to for the weekend. She's also got some major baggage that comes from a childhood experience of seeing her mother disciplining her lover.

The sex, and there's plenty of it here, is varied, there's certainly something for everyone. If you are faint of heart, this probably isn't the book for you. Then again, complaining that there's too much sex in an "erotic" romance seems to be counterintuitive.

The book is vintage Holly, great scorching sex scenes, hot men and women to choose from, smart independent women and endings that are happy but where the woman is living on her own terms. I most definitely recommend Top of Her Game and urge you to get out there and buy the reissue before this one goes out of print too!

P.S. -My only complaint is the cover. What an ugly and totally misleading cover it is! The main character is a dominatrix, she has sex with multiple partners at a dude ranch in Montana, the cover has a cartoon woman in a sweater with a funny looking blonde bob. What's up with that? Aside from making the book look like chick lit, which it is most definitely (and thankfully) not, it's misleading to the extreme. I know that covers like this make the book more acceptable to buy and read in public but at the same time, they are silly. I'd like to think that as adult women, we can be trusted with a cover that isn't silly.

Fabulous Erotica.......2001-08-28

Emma Holly amanages to balance plot, characterization and seriously hot erotic sex, all without dropping the ball on a single one. The author manages to show the growth of Julia, a life-time dominatrix and the growth of the other characters, none of which remains static. Everyone changes, everyone moves. Julia's cowboy is a complicated man, who shows Julia the power of sex not from a dom/sub view, but as equal partners. Definiately read this one.

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Black Lace Omnibus IV

Manufacturer: Doubleday Direct Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0739407139

Product Description

A 3-in-1 edition including "The Top of Her Game," "Stand and Deliver," and "Taking Liberties."

Tyra Banks success as fashion model and businesswoman makes her a role model as well: a dynamo of beauty and brains, Tyra Banks is at the top of her game ... season.(Cover story): An article from: Jet

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Tyra Banks success as fashion model and businesswoman makes her a role model as well: a dynamo of beauty and brains, Tyra Banks is at the top of her game ... season.(Cover story): An article from: Jet
Aldore D. Collier
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000KF0IV6
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Jet, published by Thomson Gale on October 30, 2006. The length of the article is 1233 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Tyra Banks success as fashion model and businesswoman makes her a role model as well: a dynamo of beauty and brains, Tyra Banks is at the top of her game in Hollywood. Her successful "America's Next Top Model" reality show is entering its eighth season.(Cover story)
Author: Aldore D. Collier
Publication: Jet (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 30, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 110 Issue: 17 Page: 60(5)

Article Type: Cover story

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Top of Her Game (Black Lace)
Emma Holly
Manufacturer: Buccaneer Books Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OW3DIK

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Continual suspense

Suspense novels- two for one!

Suspense novels- two for one!
Double Impact
Tess Gerritsen , and Debra Webb
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Gerritsen, Tess | ( G ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
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Gravity: A Novel of Medical Suspense

Bloodstream

The Mephisto Club: A Novel

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ASIN: 0373835833

Book Description

In a world where nothing is as it seems, who can you trust?

TESS GERRITSEN'S
Never Say Die

Willy Jane Maitland traveled to Saigon to uncover what had happened to her father, missing in action twenty years ago. Instead she found intrigue -- and murder. Only the rumpled and irreverent ex-soldier Guy Barnard seemed willing to help. But as Willy was about to discover, even Guy had his hidden motives, his shocking secrets . . . and Vietnam was a dangerous place to fall in love.

DEBRA WEBB'S
No Way Back

Michal Arad wanted vengeance when he kidnapped former CIA agent Ami Donovan, claiming she'd posed as his lover to set him up as an assassin. But Ami had amnesia and no way of knowing the truth . . . until Michal took her in his arms. In spite of her fear, Ami sensed Michal wasn't a ruthless killer, but the man she'd once loved . . . and the father of her child.

Breathtaking romance . . . heart-stopping suspense

Customer Reviews:

Continual suspense.......2005-09-22

Her writing just keeps getiing better with each book. I have read all books and eagerly await the next. The plots and characters are alive and never dull.

Suspense novels- two for one!.......2003-08-01

Double impact is a collection of two short stories by best selling author Tess Gerritsen and Debra Webb. Though Tess Gerritsen is a more acclaimed writer, Debra Webb's story was the one that I loved- a suspenseful mystery romance that had two great characters and a fast moving plot with lots of twists!

Tess Gerritsen's story (Never Say Die) is about Willy Maitland who goes to Vietnam to find the truth about her father who disappeared years ago. Once there, she finds alot of secrets and a solider (Guy) who has his own hidden motives for helping her.

Suspense novels- two for one!.......2003-08-01

Book Description

Those who control technology, control the future. While that prospect may sting, there is a bright side. America's preeminence stems from a remarkable intertwining of technology and democracy. The Constitution set the course. Technology provided the means. As we recognize that technology is about power--physical, economic and political--business is facilitated but principles of liberty and justice may be at risk. This book examines causes and offers remedies to strengthen self-government and restore politics as the public life of a people.

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Excellent look at technology's effects on American democracy.......2000-05-09

Reviewed in Northwest Science & Technology magazine, Spring 2000 issue

Technology, the source of much of the last century's economic progress, may spell trouble for democracy, according to Edward Wenk, Jr.'s latest book, The Double Helix. Wenk's book provides a detailed and well-thought-out exploration of the intertwining of technology and democracy, what he terms the double helix.

Wenk is in an excellent position to investigate this topic. He was the first science adviser to congress and served on the staffs of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. He is also a professor emeritus of Civil Engineering and Public Affairs at the University of Washington. He was recently recognized for his contribution to public understanding of engineering in contemporary society with the Ralph Coats Roe Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Wenk's book is an excellent chronicle of the history of technology in America. Wenk provides an in-depth analysis of the effects technology has had on our economy, society and public policy.

While technology has helped make America the world leader it is today, Wenk realizes that uncritical use of technology has threatened the democracy that the country was founded upon. Few people seem to see that the answer lies not with more technology, but within us. The answer, he says, involves government, business, media, universities and religious institutions working together to create social change and revitalize a shared moral vision.

Wenk begins by cataloging some of the ways we have been affected by technology. He points out that all technology has unintended consequences, ones that often influence society as much as the technology itself does.

In fact, Wenk realizes, as more technology comes on the scene, the pace of life speeds up. Rather than saving us time, it often seems like technology gives us more choices, but less time to choose. Using a reader-friendly style, he explores a series of what he likes to call "enigmas," including how technology can bring us more information, but paradoxically brings less understanding.

Wenk also details the special influence of information technology on American culture, and ultimately, democracy. Wenk explores how technologies such as radio, television and the Web have helped create what he calls a "functional illiteracy," where language is simplified and information compressed into bite-size packets.

Speed of transmission has become more important than quality of content, Wenk says. He places particular emphasis on the influence of information technology on democratic elections, which now focus more marketing than on actual dissemination of information.

Information technology has influenced democracy in another critical way. To work correctly, democracy relies upon an informed citizenry. Television and the Web may provide more information, and do so more quickly, but the content is more questionable--sources often have conflicts of interest, Wenk says, and the information is less complete as the information bites get smaller.

Even if there is reliable information, it is seldom being transformed into understanding, Wenk says; that process takes time, time that is no longer provided in our high-speed, high-tech culture.

The underlying theme of Wenk's book is that without informed citizens, democracy cannot work. Without a shared vision of what the future should be like, we cannot work together to achieve it. And, Wenk argues, without a shared social conscience, only short term, self-centered decisions will be made.

Where does technology fit in this puzzle? Wenk pins at least some of the blame for these cultural changes on the capitalistic economy, primarily driven by technology. Technology has helped create a culture that demands instant gratification. We can quickly go anywhere we want by automobile or plane; we can easily get anything we want over the phone or through the Internet; we can instantly find any amusement we'd like from television or the Web.

The speed of today's technology does not foster long-term planning or self-sacrifice to the greater good, both of which are necessary for democracy to function, Wenk says. We need to think of the effects of our decisions for our progeny, consider what we will leave for our children.

But, Wenk says, turning technology off isn't a viable option, but neither is relying on more technology to solve the problem. Wenk is still optimistic that the human spirit can triumph when tested--can rise to the occasion. To achieve this, he calls for reform in industry, government and the media.

He points out the many ways that business and government have been partners, benefiting both. Wenk realizes that without a democratic government, business as we know it cannot survive. Industry and government need to learn to work together toward a common goal.

The media also have a role to play in preserving democracy, Wenk says. To function correctly, democracy requires accurate and trustworthy information. The media need to rise above the short-term emphasis on the scandal of the day to provide the in-depth information citizens need to make decisions.

But most of all, Wenk sees that societal change relies on the intervention of religious institutions and universities. To bring about the changes in the other spheres will require a new shared vision. Both religious institutions and universities are in a perfect position to teach civility and ethics, Wenk says.

Wenk does an excellent job of bringing the problem of technology and democracy into sharp focus. Although we are confronted with technology on a daily basis, we seldom think about the consequences. Wenk's long scientific, political and academic career gave him a unique vantage point to consider these consequences, and he doesn't like what he sees.

Excellent look at technology's effects on.......2000-05-09

Reviewed in Northwest Science & Technology magazine, Spring2000 issue

Technology, the source of much of the last century'seconomic progress, may spell trouble for democracy, according to Edward Wenk, Jr.'s latest book, The Double Helix. Wenk's book provides a detailed and well-thought-out exploration of the intertwining of technology and democracy, what he terms the double helix.

Wenk's book is an excellent chronicle of the history of technology in America. Wenk provides an in-depth analysis of the effects technology has had on our economy, society and public policy.

Even if there is reliable information, it is seldom being transformed into understanding, Wenk says; that process takes time, time that is no longer provided in our high-speed, high-tech culture.

Book Description

The long quest for harmonisation of direct taxation among European Community Member States seems as far from its goal as it ever was. Indeed, many leading tax scholars have given it up. Yet it is clear that European tax law is undergoing some kind of integration. In The Impact of Community Law on Tax Treaties Dr. Pistone discusses such matters as: + how Member States must comply with EC law as they apply their tax treaties; + how EC law regulates cross-border tax issues within the Community; and + how EC law affects tax treaties between EU Member States and third countries. The analysis is undertaken in the context of the work of European tax scholars writing in most EU languages, thus bringing numerous important theories and proposals into the spotlight for the first time. The author provides expert commentary on 27 leading tax cases from the European Court of Justice, from Avoir fiscal (1986) to Hoechst & Metallgesellschaft (2001). He clearly delineates the legal framework built by these cases, and the repercussions on national, Community, and international tax law and practice. However, the major contribution of this book, above and beyond its full-scale analysis of a crucial European legal regime as currently constituted, is the author's proposed EC Model Tax Convention, presented in Chapter Five. This Model combines existing provisions of international tax law, as embodied in the OECD Model, with the principles of Community tax law as enunciated by the European Court of Justice, and at the same time converts the body of recent scholarship into viable action programs. The EU Commission itself has just come to support this solution to the conflict between tax treaties and EC law by stating - on 23 October 2001 in its document COM (2001) 582 final (pages 14 and 15) - that "the most promising way...is to agree an EU version of the OECD model convention and commentary (or of certain articles) which meet the specific requirements of EU membership" and that it shall "come forward in 2004 with a communication on the need to adapt certain provisions of double taxation conventions based on the OECD model to comply with Treaty principles. This will constitute a first step towards the possible elaboration of an EU model tax treaty". Chapter V already provides for a full draft of such model, thus placing the book among the most important and original works on European tax integration to appear in a long time. No tax official, practitioner, or scholar - even beyond Europe, as the Model is clearly applicable to other regions of the world - should be without it.

The Double-Edged Helix: Social Implications of Genetics in a Diverse Society

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The Double-Edged Helix: Social Implications of Genetics in a Diverse Society
Joseph S. Alper , and Jon Beckwith
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0801869641

Book Description

The Double-Edged Helix explores the impact of recent genetic discoveries on both different population segments and society as a whole. The authors address the medical and ethical implications of the new technologies, outlining potential positive and negative effects of genetic research on minorities, individuals with disabilities, and those of diverse sexual orientations. Presenting a wide array of perspectives, this book emphasizes the need to ensure that research into genetics research does not result in discrimination against people on the basis of their DNA.

A Computational Study of Munitions Response to Double Impact and Crushing Impact From a Flyer Plate

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A Computational Study of Munitions Response to Double Impact and Crushing Impact From a Flyer Plate

Manufacturer: Storming Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: 1423534182

Product Description

This is a ARMY RESEARCH LAB ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND MD WEAPONS AND MATERIALS RESEARCH DIRECTORATE report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A296383. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: This report describes the results of a series of hydrocode computations, each of which modeled a steel flyer plate striking a single munition, either an M2A3 or an M483, in one of two different mounting configurations. One mounting configuration was for the munition to be first struck by the flyer plate and then to subsequently translate and strike a backing plate. The second configuration was to have the munition mounted with a buffer pack in contact on the flyer-plate side and be in initial contact with the backing plate on the opposite side. Some of the computations simulated experiments that were previously performed and reported by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. Those experiments were not instrumented, so only limited data were produced. The primary purpose of the computations was to compute the pressures that may have occurred in the explosive fill to help explain the various exothermic reactions (or lack thereof) that occurred. Several different flyer-plate velocities were simulated in the computations. A brief discussion of parameters that may be related to ignition by shearing is also included.

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Double Impact

Manufacturer: Blue Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000EEPKWK

Product Description

The collected collaborations of the poets Kevin Opstedal and Michael Price, known as the progenitors of Blue Press, and two of the last remaining friends of William Holden.

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Double Impact #4 September 1995
Ricky Carralero
Manufacturer: High Impact Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: B000S52U2S

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Double Impact (# 0)
High Impact Entertainment
Manufacturer: High Impact Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: B000MUCJZC

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Double Impact (# 3)
High Impact Entertainment
Manufacturer: High Impact Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: B000MUEJNM

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Double Impact (Assassins for Hire, # 1)
Ricky Carralero
Manufacturer: High Impact Studio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: B000OZR784

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