Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters Series #4)

Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) - Eloisa James As much as I enjoyed this book, because it's just a FUN read... I have to say that I had a hard time pushing the "ick" factor to the back of my mind.Mayne deserves to be happy. As does Josie. But, I had a tough time with the differences in Imogen's and Rafe's ages... there's a MUCH BIGGER gap between Josie and Mayne. Somehow, Josie is actually 19 years old now... she was only 15 when we started with book #1. But Mayne is anywhere from 34 to 36... some mention about him turning 35 or turning 36? I lost track. But essentially, Mayne is TWICE Josie's age. Now Josie isn't your average Young Miss, but still...And Ms. James did address the issue -- or rather, Mayne did. I appreciated that she didn't just skirt by it. But as much as I wanted Mayne and Josie to be together, I just... shuddered every now and again.As for Darlington and Griselda... that was another "ick" factor for me. Turning Darlington into a decent guy after his sarcastic, hateful ways just seemed like a stretch for me. Griselda deserved better. And while much is made about an age difference between them (she's older), it was only by 5 years. Hmmmm.I was amused and not amused by the whole Sophie-Gemima thing. I expect that we're to deduce from the story that Lady B tells Griselda re: the hotel incident that Lady B was Gemima's lover until Sophie came along. I was amused, because Sophie definitely was NOT the one for Mayne; and how he could have every thought that she was the right one for him or some angel... PUHLEAZE! I get Mayne's reasoning, I just don't understand why it took so long for him to figure it out. The timing was necessary for the story, BUT... Dunno. And if we're going to go down the path of sexual preference for a minor sub-plot, I'm good with as little detail and discussion as possible. It's just not necessary to the story, after all. Like the Lord that Annabel had her eye on in a previous book. But I wonder how many actually caught the inside joke. Because for Sophie, it made perfect sense - unfortunately.The fairy garden scene with Josie and Mayne was probably one of my most favorite scenes from the entire series.I really enjoyed the multiple Shakespeare references in this book -- not just the title, but many, many instances that were quite delightful. And overall, this book was enjoyable. I just had a few nits.Off to another Eloisa James novel.