Customer Reviews

Simply Sinful

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At the ripe old age of thirty-five, Peter Howard is already jaded; nothing arouses him anymore. He was enslaved in a Turkish brothel until the age of eighteen, and it feels like he has done everything worth doing.

He lets himself get talked into playing cards with Lord James Beecham despite the fact that he doesn't like the man. When Beecham propositions him sexually he resists, but reluctantly lets himself be drawn in. Then Beecham springs the real question: Will Peter join him and his wife in a threesome? They've been intimate but they're more like friends than passionate lovers. Beecham prefers men, and now his wife, Abby, wants a child. Beecham starts to reveal himself as being a pretty decent guy, because he really wants to find a way to please his wife. He hopes Peter will be able to show them how to improve their intimacy with each other.

Abigail Beecham is a remarkable woman and a very likeable character. She's exceptionally understanding about James' sexual preferences. James approaches her with the idea he proposed to Peter. He tells her he has met a man with experience in pleasuring both sexes, a man he hopes can teach them how to deal better with each other in bed.

I love straightforward characters, and Simply Sinful is filled with them. Just like she did in Simply Sexual, Kate Pearce employs refreshing honesty rather than relying on the tired ploys of scheming and lies found in some historical romances. This is how erotic historical romance should be written, and Ms. Pearce has solidified her position on my short list of favorite authors.

I loved seeing Abby's self-confidence blossom as she discovers her ability to arouse Peter. I also loved seeing Peter realize he's both capable and worthy of love. This book is sizzling hot and perfectly provocative. Readers should be warned that this book contains explicit male-male sex, but it's handled very tastefully. In fact, it's really, really hot.

Simply Sinful has all the qualities I look for in a romance novel. I absolutely loved it.

5 Kisses, 2 Peppers (explicit male/male sex, m/f/m, bdsm), Recommended Read

~Lindy
Reviewer, TwoLips Reviews, LLC
[...]

I've always wondered how a historical could be "erotic" and still feel like a historical. This book took me to school. Ms. Pearce brings characters to life in "Simply Sinful" that drew me in immediately.
I didn't read the first of this series, yet, I didn't need to. Ms. Pearce never left me floundering in any way. I "came to" about half way through the book and realized I'd been lost in it. From the opening, I was captured. Peter and Valentin's relationship was revealed and then the emotional bombshells began. I fell in love with Peter and his ability to continue to persevere in spite of seven years in sexual slavery in a Turkish brothel.
The pain of Peter's struggle to feel lovable and necessary in ANYONE'S life made me feel for him, every doubt, every lonely moment. I wanted to deck Valentin for causing him pain, drop kick his real family for seeming to reject him and discuss him with Abigail.
Peter's journey was poignant and beautiful, well worth the time. I couldn't put this book down. Somehow, Ms. Pearce never breaks my trust as a historical and yet, gives me some of the hottest loves scenes to burn up a page.
She's a must buy author on my list.

Erotic tutoring is the name of the game in SIMPLY SINFUL, Kate Pearce's latest release. Readers clamoring for Peter Howard's story will not be disappointed by this smoldering hot read!

Abigail, Lady Beecham, was forced to become James' bride at a young age. Because of this, she and her husband were required to consummate their marriage by the groom's father under threat of bodily harm. After this traumatic experience, Abigail and her husband have a hard time communicating in the bedroom. Her husband stays away at London more often than he is at home, and his scheduled visits to enforce his `husbandly rights' just makes things worse. After years of enduring this predicament, Abigail is tired of being a wife in name only. She wants to give her husband an heir, and if he won't cooperate, then Abigail will find someone who will.

Peter Howard has grown jaded. An escaped Turkish love slave, Peter is skilled in the erotic arts - whether it is a female or a male that he is with. His reputation as a lover is well known in secret societal gatherings, so when James, Lord Beecham, seeks him out, he isn't surprised at the carnality he feels towards James. It's James' unorthodox request, however, that completely takes him by surprise.

Peter agrees to accompany James on a visit to the country in order to meet Lady Beecham. James wants Peter to tutor him and Abigail in their bedroom. Neither Peter nor James realizes how important his anything-but-simple request is and just how much it will change their lives. The timid will become bold, and the bold will become shy - each yearning for the warmth of a soul mate.

I first met Peter Howard in Simply Sexual, also written by Kate Pearce. I was enamored of him then and found my heart aching for every loss he suffered. After reading SIMPLY SINFUL, my crush has turned into full blown love. Simply put - I adore this amazing and resilient character and want him for my very own.

I found Abigail to be a worthy heroine to Peter's hero. While still basically an innocent, she is willing to do anything to make her marriage work - even allowing herself to be taught about sex by a stranger. For that alone, Abigail's bravery comes to the forefront as one of her most outstanding characteristics.

SIMPLY SINFUL pushes the envelope on eroticism. More than once I found myself fanning myself over the heat generated between Peter, Abigail, and James. Whether they were together as a ménage or paired off as a couple, the emotional intensity was scorching hot. Kate Pearce's newest release; SIMPLY SINFUL is truly a decadent read!

Natalie S.

This was my favourite of the trilogy as the characters showed signs of vulnerability and weakness yet were dearly appealing despite their faults. I much prefer characters I can visualize to those male heroes who perpetually wear a frown and are described as near perfect, or female characters who are barbie-like, stubbornly fighting a godlike hero that any other woman would give her right arm to have and to hold! I am digressing, however.

Peter Howard is a character we met in 'Simply Sexual' but he plays a secondary role in that book. We know that he and his friend (Valentin) were abducted as young boys and were trained to offer sexual pleasure to both men and women in a turkish brothel. When they tried to resist, the boys were punished so severely that they carried physical and mental scars years after they were rescued from this life of anguish. Peter has been feeling restless with no real purpose in life since his best friend got married and found happiness. For Peter, Valentin was his soulmate as he was one of the few people he could be open and totally honest with, the one who could tap into the recesses of his heart. Valentin is now engrossed in his wife who is also expecting a baby, leaving Peter with the bitter notion that he is an unwelcome third.

Weary of his life which provides ample sexual amusement without love, Peter is vexed by the amorous advances from Lord Beecham. He feels that people simply want to use him for his vast sexual experience so he will use them in kind, by offering raw sex without any finesse or feeling. When, however, Lord Beecham asks for his help in sexually satisfying his wife, Abigail, Peter is intrigued. Theirs was an arranged marriage and Lord Beecham was coerced into fulfilling his marital duties. He has never managed to satisfy his wife who feels bereft and frustrated.

When Peter meets Abigail, he is captivated by her strength of character, her determination to learn how to entice her husband to her bed and hopefully get pregnant which is her dearest wish, her will to make her life meaningful. In Abigail he sees the woman he can confide in, a woman he can reveal his past to and share his life with.

The novel explores how three basically lonely people achieve some measure of happiness through honestly confronting the hidden and taboo aspects of their sexuality. I thought it had poignancy and heart which was lacking in the other books.

Kate Pearce delivers a truly sexy read with this, the second in the series.

One thing to note, this series contains M/M sex, this book more heavily than the previous. Even so, I loved the story and can't wait for the next two to be released.

I loved this book. If you want a book that really gets the juices flowing, this is it! I can't wait for Simply Shameless (House of Pleasure) and Simply Wicked to be released.
Kate Pearce is the best writer of this type of material that I have come across.
These books are not for the shy and timid, unless you are seeking to broaden your scope and get a little bit of an education.
Keep it up Kate!!! :)

I read SIMPLY SEXUAL and SIMPLY SINFUL over the weekend, but I have to say that I particularly enjoyed Peter's story. I truly did love everything about it -- well, except for Val's jerky behavior throughout. (Although I acknowledge that Peter contributed to that whole situation, since he reacted automatically with hurt and withdrawal.) I enjoyed Abby and James' relationship. I thought that it made sense, how it was explained by the author. I could understand how their almost familial feelings for one another, coupled with Abby's virginity and James' preference for men, could have such disastrous results for them sexually in the very beginning. But I could also understand how they could maintain their strong friendship and the love they bore for one another, and fifteen years later, with each in their 30s, learn to find sexual pleasure in each other's arms -- provided Peter was there to help, of course! Their relationship with each other was open and honest and loving and accepting. I also enjoyed the resolution of the story, although I would have liked a better resolution for Peter and Val (and Sara). That was a little oblique. Still, it seems obvious that Val's brother Anthony has a story next, so perhaps we'll see more of Peter and Val.

I have no issue with menage scenes, but I have to admit that I've always wondered how authors could write them and not have all parties involved to the same degree, if you know what I mean. I was pleased that Peter and Val and James did not have those hangups. (Well...Val does, to a great degree, but makes the exception for Peter alone.)

Elements: menage (three usually, but sometimes more); toys and implements; BDSM; sexual servitude.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
This book is the sequel to Simply Sexual. Simply Sexual is the story about Val meeting and marrying Sara. Simply Sinful is about Peter and Abigail. I recommend reading Val's story first and then Peter's story soon after. I waited 30 days before reading Peter's story and had some confusion trying to remember parts from the first book. For readers who liked the first book, this is more of the same. Read this for the erotica, not for the story. The characters were fine. The first book had some fresh and clever dialogue which I liked. I didn't notice that as much in this book, but it was still good. There is a lot of gay sex (two men), ménage a trios (two men, one woman), rear door activity, bondage and sex toys.

STORY BRIEF:
Val and Peter were kidnapped and kept as sex slaves in a Turkish brothel for seven years. An Englishman discovered them, bought their freedom and brought them home to England. Peter is bisexual and is tired of his life of casual sex. When James was 18, his father discovered that James was gay. The father forced James to marry Abigail. James and Abigail are great friends but have lived apart for fifteen years. All of a sudden Abigail wants a child. Since James needs male influence to be able to perform, he asks Peter to have ménage a trois activity with him and his wife. The three end up in love in different ways with each other.

DATA:
Story length: 303 pages. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 18. Length of sex scenes: 7 short scenes (less than 2 pages) and 11 long scenes (2.8 to 15.6 pages). Total number of sex scene pages: 89. Setting: 1817 England. Copyright: 2008. Genre: erotic regency romance.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Kate Pearce books, see my 4 star review of "Simply Sexual" posted 10/02/08.

Peter Howard has been feeling restless of late. A former sex slave with little knowledge of his life before his imprisonment in a Turkish brothel, Peter finds that, despite his business success and his sexual excesses, there is still something missing in his life. After discovering the pleasures to be had at Madame Helen's House of Pleasure no longer appeal to him, Peter finds himself startled by a most indecent proposition.

Lord James Beecham was forced into marriage at a young age. Though his wife, Abigail, is his best friend, their sex life leaves something to be desired. While he loves Abby, James prefers men to women, sexually, and he knows Peter enjoys both sexes. James proposes that Peter become a sexual tutor to the Beechams, an offer Peter finds too tempting to resist when he meets Abby. As the threesome explores the delights sexual pleasure can offer, the hole inside Peter begins to fill. And the person filling the void is Abby. But is a future possible for an ex-slave turned businessman and an aristocrat's wife?

I'll be completely honest - when I sat down to write this review I had no idea how to talk about this book. Simply Sinful has to be one of the most complicated, intriguing love stories I've ever read. Kate Pearce does not shy away from the complexity of human emotions, and her skill at bringing said emotions to life is unsurpassed. Simply Sinful was such a rich, layered read that it has stayed with me long after I finished the book.

The moment I finished the first House of Pleasure book, Simply Sexual, I wanted to read Peter's story. His imprisonment in the brothel has left him scarred in a way that time alone could never heal. If ever a hero needed to be loved, it would be Peter and I was so happy for him to find himself capable of loving and being loved. His heroine, Abby, is a treasure. She's honest, intelligent, and refreshingly guileless; it's easy to see while Peter falls for her.

Though the romance is primarily between Peter and Abby, it is by no means the whole of the love story. James is every bit as important to the tale as the other two. Part of what makes this story so different is that Peter and Abby both honestly love James, and he them. The passionate adventures the three of them embark on, whether in twos or threes, are too deliciously wicked not to be mentioned. Simply Sinful is and isn't a threesome romance in a lot of ways, but to say what happens and how would be to spoil some of the fun of the book.

If I could ask for one thing, it would be for some more clarity as to the nature of Peter and his best friend Valentin's (of Simply Sexual) relationship as of the end of the story. I finished the book with nagging questions in my mind that have yet to go away. Still, though perhaps I curse at the struggle it is to do Ms. Pearce's work justice in discussing it, I greatly enjoyed Simply Sinful. It's wonderfully different and uncompromising in its refusal to see the world in black and white. Shades of gray make Simply Sinful fascinating, captivating, and, yes, a simply sinful treat!


Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I read SIMPLY SEXUAL first, which was great. I usually don't like historical settings, but I got over it fast. First one was hot and emotional with good characters. This one was a carry-forward of an important character from the SEXUAL book, and was even hotter and more emotional than the first one. Definitely read SEXUAL first, then read this one. It does have a lot of m/m scenes and a bdsm scene- which both made it even better. This is another keeper.