Did I really just waste two hours of my life on this book? I loved all Small's historicals and her Hetar series, but I don't know what she was thinking with this one. At least in the Pleasure books that have had romances , there was some kind of plot. This book had no plot. It was whine, prize, sex, job, sex, promotion, sex, promotion, sex, oh! I work for the devil! WHILE she's having sex. She's a cold-hearted witch and I'm glad this wasn't a romance because I would have been disgusted if she had ended up with a permanent man. Don't waste your time with this book. ( )

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Aug08

Bertrice Small is another big name in women’s romance. Her earlier books (WAY back in the 80s) were much spicier than the average historical romance and if you wanted a steamier read, then you knew Ms Small would deliver. Finally in 2005 she published her first erotic contemporary romance and “Dangerous Pleasures” is the fourth book in her ‘Pleasures’ series. This series is definitively erotica as the sex is almost a character itself. If you removed the sex, the story would be quite incomplete, and for me at least, that’s one way to delineate between romance and erotica.

The ‘Pleasure’ stories are about a women only cable TV channel. Via special technology (which actually reads more like magic but is nonetheless, called technology) the channel only works for women. The remote is keyed to their skin and any efforts by children or males to view or use the channel renders the channel inoperable. All a woman needs to do is think her fantasy, hit the remote, and the fantasy becomes a reality. The channel only operates from 8:00pm to 4:00am. It’s probably a good thing this is fiction because I’m guessing not a lot would ever get done at my house if this sucker were real!

The heroine of this book is Annie. She became a widow just two years ago and now is the single parent to 5 children ranging from age four to eighteen. Even with insurance and living frugally, she’s having a hard time getting by with any extra cash going towards treats for her children. She hasn’t had a date or an evening alone in longer than she can remember. Then, like a fairy tale, her sister enters her into a contest and she wins an all expenses trip to the channel’s newest spa. While at the spa, she discovers new urges and a new life she never dreamed of…but what will it cost her?

I have to admit that I didn’t particularly feel any connection with Annie. She went from being TOO sweet and wholesome to TOO cold and sharky. I felt that the majority of the book dealt in extremes and that just didn’t work for me. There’s a whole bunch of sex, but very little emotion or feeling to go with it. While I readily admit that I like reading about sex…I NEED that emotional bond to make it enjoyable for me.

Ms. Small’s sex scenes are myriad and varied and include oral, anal, vaginal sex. Annie has sex with as few as one and as many as ‘I lost count’. There’s also a bit of bondage and a bit of punishment thrown in for good measure  So if you are a fan of books chock full of almost every sex act imaginable (at least in my tiny imagination) without the extra baggage of strong emotion or love included, then this book may be exactly what you’re looking for. As for me, I’ll likely pass on the next one.

Til next time
JJ ( )