Customer Reviews

Only Pleasure

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been a big fan of Lora Leigh's books but this is not one of her best. The sex is HOT but the plot needs work. He says she's a princess but treats her like a whore. Catches her as she's leaving places and then leaves right after the sex. Doesn't invite her to any events with his friends & his friends notice and wonder about it. I would've told him to shove it no matter how hot the sex was. Very disappointed.

Kia Stanton discovers the reality of a sordid club when her husband brings a member home with him and tries to persuade Kia to have ..."relations"... with this man by using force and alcohol. This left Kia lost and hysterically searching for resolution...and leads her to tell her friend of the activities of this club. Her best friend betrays Kia and begins to gossip about what Kia had said...this, of course, brings Chase Falladay into the situation by trying to get Kia to retract her story. Instead, Kia, goes into isolation in an attempt to rediscover herself. Two years later, she bumps into Chase and Khalid at a party. This strikes up old memories and curiosity she has about this club and their practices in "sharing" members. Well, she goes with Chase, knowing fully well what is waiting between Chase and Khalid. After the three-way romp, Kia falls in love with Chase...of course, Chase refuses to have relations with Kia without Khalid. After a little persuasion, Kia finally gets Chase alone...but this love comes with a price...as someone from Chase's past seeks revenge and sees Kia as a means to that end. Lora Leigh's books are always a sordid tale of male, female, male, love stories and this book is no different. She does seem to have something big in-store for Khalid, as his story is more developed than in previous books...though he does come off as the third wheel late in the story. This wicked club novel is well-paced and the tones set-up the woman in distress scenario very well. There are some minor issues with the plot...but nothing worth mentioning or anything that will detract from the story..........Another book I would highly recommend is: Sirens by Geo Tin--Sirens (Mass Market)--another sordid tale of forbidden love.

This winning erotic romance illuminates the seduction and romance of Chase Falladay, who was highlighted in "Wicked Pleasure," and Kia Rutherford. The sex scenes in the courtship are explicit and adventurous into the areas of menage a trois, light bondage, and spanking.

Khalid, a character previously introduced in the series, is intimately included in the seduction scenes. I am hopeful that he will be the focus of the next book in the series.

The erotic romance of Chase and Kia was thoughtfully written and very enjoyable to read. My only disappointment is in how Ms. Leigh portrayed the character of Chase Falladay who I enjoyed immensely in "Wicked Pleasure."

The character of Chase Falladay didn't completely resemble the character that was previously in "Wicked Pleasure." Previously, Chase Falladay seemed like a man who was comfortable in his own skin as was illustrated by the openness and ease that he exhibited with his former lovers (i.e., Jaci his future sister-in-law). Ms. Leigh tried to explain and reconcile why Chase was not able to treat Kia with the same TLC as all his former lovers, but I didn't buy it.

Instead, she portrayed Chase as a somewhat diminished, mixed-up guy who was afraid to fall in love with Kia. For example, he had so many hang-ups that he refused to phone Kia after any sexual encounter with her and Khalid. He finally is forced into spending time with Kia (outside of the sexual encounters) only after she is threatened by some unknown stalker. That part of this book made Chase seem lame and immature. In fact, I hated it so much that I almost wished that Kia had told Chase to take a hike and instead pursued Khalid.

In her next book, I hope that she allows her hero (probably Khalid) to take the driver's seat in his courtship of his lady and not simply go along with what fate throws his way.

"Only Pleasure" is an erotic novel that falls flat. There are a few decent sex scenes throughout the book, but the storyline that ties it all together is weak, unbelievable and you truly don't care about the characters when it has reached its end.

Kia Rutherford, the main character and supposed heroine of the novel, is almost raped by her husband, Drew and another mystery man. She then realizes that he is a member of the "club", a secret, elite group of men and women whose chief interest is threesome sex. Kia is drawn to Chase Falladay, who is also a member of the "club" and agrees to keep the club a secret in exchange for his protection of her from Drew. Chase was a former government agent who is harboring a dark past of his own, since he had to kill a woman who fell in love with him but tried to kill his brother, Cameron. Kia soon ends up involved in the "club" with Chase and his friend Khalid and it doesn't take her too long to realize that she has only joined the club because she is in love with Chase and always has been and that this is her only option to be with him. She assumes that he will never return her affection because he is only in love with the idea of the club and the "pleasure" that he has only promised her he would provide. But both of them will soon find out that someone bent on revenge wants Chase in agony and will stop at nothing, including hurting Kia, to get to Chase.

The sex scenes in this book, which is the main reason it would be picked up anyway, are somewhat worth the time and effort it takes to struggle through the ridiculous story. Some of the things that the men say in this book is an obvious finger pointing at the woman who wrote it. No men talk like this, especially the rugged, manly men that are supposed to be being portrayed in this novel. Chase and his brother Cameron are equally cheesy in terms of their long speeches to their women who you have to think got hit with a bat to smile at their attempts to show their affection. Khalid's terminology also becomes a bit disturbing, particularly for Kia, since he enjoys having sex with someone he constantly refers to as "little one". The term "baby" becomes particularly over-used and it just all clumps together as a fantasy of the author's that you can imagine she is giving you special permission to read. The story, language and characters are completely unrealistic and unbelievable. The "climactic" ending seems so last minute and is actually humorous in its execution and verbiage.

If you're looking for a book that reads like a porn film with a fair amount of sex and an extremely thin plot, this is your novel. If you're looking for a decent quality erotica, try something else.

As always, Leigh delivers a great story, hot sex and a mouth watering Alpha male. This latest story in her Bound Hearts series meets all expectations of heat, action and great characters.

I can't give it a 5 star review because, quite frankly, the writing was a confusing mass of character's thoughts and actions. The frequent point of view changes and head hopping left me wondering who was doing and thinking what. I lost track of how many times I had to stop and sort out who's point of view was being written. I've never seen this before in her books, so it was a very big and unpleasant surprise.

One other problem with this book is an issue with backstory. This book relies heavily on information which isn't provided in this volume. I'm not sure it could be read as a stand-alone and it make sense to a new reader. If you have not read the previous book, [...]I highly suggest you get it and read it first. if it's been a while since you read it, I would recommend a re-read to make sure you are caught up on previous happenings.

But (or should I say butt?)......why is anal sex played out as frequently (if not more so) than vaginal? I get the menage, and love that fantasy, to be honest. However, it seemed that the emphasis on anal sex was so repetitive that it took away from the story. This is the 2nd book I've read by Lora Leigh (Wild Card was the other), and I felt the same way: good story, hot sex, but an overemphasis on anal sex. My only guess is that Lora is appealing to gay men as well as women. Can she write a book where anal sex is an occasional treat? I am no prude, and love reading sexual scenes (and sometimes skip paragraphs to get there!), but (butt) Lora, please give us more vaginal!

Kia Rutherford has been living in self-imposed isolation. She has been hiding from the world and everyone in it including herself. For two long years she has lived with the stinging aftermath of betrayal by those she loved and trusted. Her ex-husband Drew Stanton had initiated a ménage on her behalf with a man she didn't know, that had almost ended in rape. Had that unknown man not realized she wasn't a willing participant, it could have ended very badly. When she desperately needed someone to talk to, she trusted her old friend Rebecca with the secrets Drew had imparted to her about Ian Sinclair's club that catered to men who share their women. Kia had also told her about the attempted rape, and was horrified when Rebecca made her the hottest topic of gossip by repeating everything she said to anyone who would listen. The gossip had brought Chase Falladay to her home. He was an investigator for Ian, and he told her that if she would retract everything she said, he would see to her protection. She had learned a valuable lesson from those events. Kia knew she could never trust anyone again.

Chase Falladay found himself in very unfamiliar territory. He has wanted to possess Kia since he first became aware of her - before her marriage, during her marriage, and now that she was alone again. He had been checking up on her lately, and was dismayed to learn how she had cut herself off from everyone. She had no friends, no lovers, and Chase now felt like he had let her down by not making sure she was okay. Now that he had seen her again, he knew he would be unable to stay away. It only took one touch for the intense passion between them to spiral out of control. When Kia realized Chase meant to share her with a close friend, she was afraid, but willing to let him lead her wherever this journey with Chase led. When Kia was attacked after an encounter, Chase rallied his brother and friends to ensure her safety. He just hoped the threat could be identified and neutralized before he lost the person that meant the most. He knew with absolute certainty, it was a loss he wouldn't recover from.

Another winner in the Bound Hearts series! I have been waiting for Chase's story since he was featured in Cameron's tale, Wicked Pleasure, and what a heart stopping story it is. These books are all consistently good, but this one surpasses them all. Chase has experienced so much loss in his life; he just constantly waits for the other shoe to drop. That is what drives many of his actions. Kia is one of the best characters I have read in a long time. You can feel her pain and heartbreak caused by the duplicity of those she trusted. It is exciting to see her journey from being the broken lost women she is in the beginning allowing the stronger sensual vixen to emerge fortified by the love Chase gives so reluctantly. Combustible and suspenseful read you will want to add to your personal library.

I have a "like/hate" relationship with Lora Leigh's books and had pretty decided to never pick up another one of her books.

So, I was somewhat pleasantly suprised with "Only Pleasure." I read it simply to find out what happened to Chase.

I'm still not a fan of her's. I think the men are too dark and I think the whole club thing is more like a cult then a sexy, erotic establishment.

But I did like the characters of Kia and Chase. Chase wasn't borderline psychotic like his brother and Kia was at least strong enough to push back from time to time. And I was pleasantly surprised to find myself interested in the character of Khalid. I will probably read his story when it comes out but that will probably be the last L.L. book I read.

To me, her books simply are not enjoyable because the men are too damaged or psychotic or condescending towards the women they supposedly cherish for the books to be enjoyable and no amount of sex makes up for that.

Dena

I found this book extremely disappointing! I've read and reread nearly everything that Lora Leigh has written so I have to say that I am usually a huge fan. However, after finishing this book I honestly wished that I had my money back as it definitely wasn't worth it. All sex, NO PLOT!! While I appreciate a well written menage just as much as the next person, I do like to have some story-line mixed in. I'm not giving up after one disappointment as I thoroughly enjoyed Coyote's Mate and I am eagerly awaiting the release of Maverick, but Only Pleasure was extremely substandard Lora Leigh.

Okay - so I wanted to kick this "Chase" in the crotch a few times, personally, but it kept me turning pages. Talk about obtuse male! And yummy Prince Khalid as "third", does it get any better? The one problem I had with the book was that there were a couple of scenes where I thought Chase and Khalid came off a little too predatory. Especially after Kia is accosted by her stalker ex, and finds out Chase had turned him down to play third for her. She's already feeling wounded by him, and then this makes her feel complete rejection. So then, he and Khalid decide to seduce her on top of it? And, Chase, the one Kia's in love with, runs out on her for a third time, because he doesn't want to "hurt" her? But wanting to kick his butt--and rooting for very likable and sympathetic Kia, made this one a page turner for me. WARNING: HOT SEX, threesomes, toys, anal and oral, light bondage - the whole enchilada, so don't read and then leave a nasty review because you were taken by surprise. HOT, HOT< HOT!!!