Review: Secret Pleasure

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Secret Pleasure by Lora Leigh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Soulmates torn apart by distance and misunderstandings is unbearably painful.  Secret Pleasure is a difficult story to read.  Alyssa Hampstead is a very protected daughter of a dominating mother.  No one messes with this princess.  When she takes a summer vacation away from her suffocating cocoon, she experiences an explosive pleasure at the hands of Shane and Sebastien.  When they are forced apart, it seems as if Alyssa dies and becomes a shell of herself.

From a character perspective, I loved the story.  Ms. Leigh creates characters I generally love.  The heartache she puts them through is sadistic.  Only a masochist would be able to handle it without breaking.  I really loved these three characters.  I find Shane and Sebastian are to die for and Alyssa is the sweetest girl.  Their summer fling is everything a young woman wishes it to be.  It's the stuff fantasies are made of and almost every single one of Alyssa's pent-up dreams are made to come true.

My problem with this story is the plot device.  The main reason why the lovers are torn apart is poorly constructed.  With the power of Shane and Sebastian's family, I find it illogical they took so long to figure out the perpetrators.  What I find even odder is Alyssa's mother was not able to figure it out quicker either.  This does not mesh with the way the characters are designed.  Especially when the villains are revealed.  These so called masterminds should not have been able to pull this off.  I don't buy it and it let me down.

The story is also surprisingly jarring.  Ms. Leigh usually writes a smooth story with better transitions.  The sexual tensions is good.  The sexual acts themselves are a bit worn because it is very similar to many of the ménages from previous stories in this series.  When I first started reading the Bound Hearts series close to a decade ago, the sex was fresh, erotic and arousing.  I'm not sure if it is because I'm jaded or the sex Ms. Leigh provides is no longer as edgy and enticing.  Regardless, I still enjoyed the story because of the characters.  One can hope the next book in this series will be sinfully pleasurable.  Recommended for ménage lovers who enjoy angst and lovers reunited.

*provided by NetGalley



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